Full Description

How many times have you arrived at work, exchanged greetings with your colleagues, attended a meeting or two, and then sat down at your desk overcome by the incredible feeling that you were surrounded by geniuses? And how many times have you headed home from work, looked around, and been struck with an awesome sense that you were surrounded by a world of geniuses and brilliant ideas?

If you’re like most people, caught up in the stress of work and everyday life, the answer is a resounding “never!” But that’s all about to change.

In Surrounded by Geniuses Alan Gregerman presents a revolutionary guide to personal, professional and organizational success based on two powerfully simple ideas:

First, that there is genius hidden in all of us. And second, that we are surrounded by a world filled with genius that can be used to transform any company or organization in order to deliver compelling customer value.

He then shows us in clear and practical ways how to unlock the genius in ourselves and our organizations by discovering and applying insight from the worlds of business, history, popular culture, nature, science and even science fiction. He does this by taking us on ten remarkable journeys to learn essential lessons from a world-class shock trauma unit, eight-year-old “salespeople,” rocket scientists, aerobics instructors, cheetahs, Seinfeld re-runs, and more. By the end, you will be astounded to find yourself surrounded by so many brilliant people and ideas.

So grab your curiosity and your most comfortable shoes. It’s time for a remarkable trip to your future success!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments -
Preface -
Introduction -

Part I: The Context -

Chapter One: White People Swimming Slowly -
How the slowest swimmers in the world came to dominate the world of swimming, and why you don’t have to be brilliant to do brilliant things.

Chapter Two: The Quest for Compelling Value -
Why you have to reinvent the game if you want to win.

Chapter Three: Genius in Chains -
Why traditional approaches to strategy, innovation, and marketing no longer make any sense and what to do about it.

Chapter Four: Curiosity as Competitive Advantage -
Why our innate gift for curiosity is the only real weapon in the battle to remain relevant and how to rediscover it; and
Why geography matters, and why a thirteenth-century traveler might be the most important business thinker of the twenty-first century.

Part II: Ten Journeys -

Chapter Five: The Power of a Promise -
What if we could make and deliver on a promise that really mattered?
A journey back in time to meet Leon Leonwood Bean, a man with bad feet, a reasonable idea, and a powerful promise.

Chapter Six: The Magic of a Conversation -
What if we could create more meaningful conversations?
A journey through the neighborhood with a nine-year-old Girl Scout, a box of cookies, and the magic of a recurring conversation.

Chapter Seven: The Wonder of a Performance -
What if we could create a performance filled with wonder and possibilities?
A journey under a tent where the concept of a circus has been reinvented by Cirque du Soleil.

Chapter Eight: Your Wish Is My Command -
What if we could solve practically any request no matter how difficult?
A journey to the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton on Central Park, one of the world’s finest hotels, and a day in the life of a world-class concierge.

Chapter Nine: When Every Second Counts -
What if we could really deliver compelling value 24/7?
A journey to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, one of the world’s best, where crucial lifesaving decisions are all part of a day’s work.
Chapter Ten: Fastest -
What if we could be the fastest at the times when it really mattered?
A journey to the harsh savanna of Africa to visit the cheetah, for whom speed is everything when you’re not the biggest or baddest cat around.

Chapter Eleven: When Nothing Is Everything -
What if the little things really mattered and we could do all of them right all the time?
A journey onto the set of Seinfeld, one of the most successful shows in television history, where life’s everyday problems are a cause for celebration.

Chapter Twelve: It Is Rocket Science -
What if we believed that failure was not an option?
A journey to the world of Lockheed Martin rocket scientists where each NASA mission demands perfection.

Chapter Thirteen: No Smile, No Gain -
What if we could make customers healthier?
A journey to a Friskis & Svettis exercise class on the North Sea, where the focus is on having fun mentally and physically.

Chapter Fourteen: Spider Sense -
What if we could anticipate customers’ needs?
A journey into the life of one of the most human superheroes, Spider-Man, to rediscover the amazing power that we all possess.

Part III: Building a New Model of Success -

Chapter Fifteen: Unlocking the Genius Within -
How to find the brilliance in ourselves.

Chapter Sixteen: Bringing Genius to Scale -
How to create an organization that nurtures the genius in all of its people.

Chapter Seventeen: The Essential Work of Leaders -
How to become a compelling leader in the brave new world of customer and business success.

Concluding Note -
Map of the Known World -
About the Author -

Excerpt

Preface
Greetings and welcome to Surrounded by Geniuses, a book about the real potential that each of us, and the companies and organizations we work in, has to accomplish new and brilliant things . . .even if we haven’t ever done them before.

To set the stage, let me start with a couple of essential questions. Asking questions is at the heart of this book and the key to unlocking new ideas and delivering greater value to customers.

First:
How many times have you arrived at work, exchanged greetings with your colleagues, conversed at the coffeepot or water cooler, attended a meeting or two, and then sat down at your desk overcome by the incredible feeling that you were surrounded by geniuses? If you’re like most people, the answer is “never.” In fact, when asked in a large group, this simple question causes most people in companies and organizations to laugh hysterically.

Second:
How many times have you left work, climbed into your car or boarded a bus or train, then looked around and been struck with an awesome sense that you were surrounded by a world of geniuses and brilliant ideas? If you’re like most people and companies caught up in the pressures and routines of day-to-day life, the answer is also “never.” In fact, as you take the journey home, you’re more likely to see a world filled with aggressive drivers, total (or partial) idiots, and mindless advertisements than to see sources of great inspiration.
Yet as funny as these two questions might sound, they are at the heart of what it takes for companies and organizations of all kinds to innovate, grow, and succeed in difficult times. In a world that constantly rewards new and better ideas, we must all find ways to consistently deliver greater value to the customers and stakeholders we choose to serve. We can only do this by unlocking the everyday genius in ourselves, our coworkers, and our partners. It sounds like a tall order, but it’s hardly impossible. In fact, our work with leading organizations in many industries over the past twenty years has shown that all of us have the ability, under the right circumstances, to make a real difference in small and large ways—not by doing business as usual or by sitting around a conference table brainstorming until a breakthrough occurs or our brains explode, but by working together to tackle the world around us head on and seeing it as a place already filled with brilliant ideas, unlimited sources of inspiration, and endless possibilities that can be used to transform our companies, organizations, the lives of our customers, and even ourselves.

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