Barry O’Reilly - Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results

Praise for

UN LEARN

To succeed, its critical for everyone, from executives to entrepreneurs, to know how to let go of behavior and methods that have helped them achieve in the past but are now limiting. Unlearn explains how to enter into a continuous cycle of replacing old ideas and models with new ones in order to adapt in an ever-changing world. Founded on clear principles and filled with stories from the field, it advocates for courage over comfort not just now, but in whatever circumstances the future offers up.

ERIC RIES, Founder, Long-Term Stock Exchange, and author of The Startup Way and The Lean Startup

Surprisingly, many of the attributes that enabled small companies to scale into large ones are now the very things that impede their future prospects. Some telltale signs of trouble include administration replacing true leadership, process morphing into bureaucracy and red tape, and past successes inhibiting the ability to drive needed change. All this leads to a culture that sacrifices speed, client centricity, and innovation. Successful companies are mission driven and customer and employee obsessed, and they passionately preserve the founding mission of the organization while having the humility to unlearn the tried-and-true ways of the past. This book is an essential reminder that the ability to unlearn is an enduring core competency of extraordinary individualsand the winning organizations they lead.

JOHN MARCANTE, CIO, Vanguard

Many executives and entrepreneurs hang on to thinking and methods that were once useful, but may limit their future success. Apply the lessons in Unlearn and unlock the full potential in yourself, your teams, and your organization.

NOELLE EDER, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Hilton

The only thing that is constant is change. And its happening faster and faster. Disruption is ongoing, yet leaders tend to think incrementally about the future. Barry shows us a better way: the only way to disrupt yourself before someone does it for you is to unlearn, separate yourself from what has worked in the past in order to create an open space to shape the future. A great read for any leader in fast-moving environments faced with the realization that what worked in the past wont work in the future.

STEPHANE KASRIEL, CEO, Upwork, and Co-Chair, Future Council in Education, Gender and Work, Global World Economic Forum

We work in a world of complexity, revolutionary technologies, and dynamic change. The only advantage is peoplepeople who are engaged and can rapidly learn and unlearn. Thats why I love Barry OReillys new book, Unlearn. It correctly magnifies a vital and often overlooked concept, the importance of unlearning for organizational success. Typically, organizations lose capability and innovation by their inability to unlearn ideas that are no longer relevant. This book provides guidance on the steps to take to form a culture of learning and unlearning.

EDWARD J. HOFFMAN, PhD, former Chief Knowledge Officer, NASA, and Academic Director, Information and Knowledge Strategy, Columbia University

Unlearn lays out an easy-to-use system to constantly challenge what we think we know. Barry draws from a wealth of relevant and relatable examples to help us better understand how we can apply the powerful principles in our own lives. Reading Unlearn inspired me to challenge many of my own old mindsets and ideals, and Ive seen a considerable improvement in my own results and outcomes. Inspiring work!

STEPHEN ORBAN, General Manager, New Initiative, Amazon Web Services, and author of Ahead in the Cloud

The only way to thrive in a world of accelerating change driven by exponential technologies is through adaptability and continuous learning. Barry OReilly has identified the critical first step: unlearning the past. Unlearn is a methodical playbook for breaking ourselves away from the anchors of the past and accelerating into the future.

ROB NAIL, Associate Founder and CEO, Singularity University

When you work at the intersection of technology, design, and people, change is constant, and unlearning what brought individuals and teams success in the past is of critical importance for future success. Today, every industry is changing rapidly, and the ability to learn and unlearn is a major factor differentiating the highest-performing companies and individuals from those that are falling behind. Barry OReillys book, Unlearn, with its experience-based framework, is inspiring and essential reading for all of us in leadership positions, especially within traditional industries.

KATRI HARRA-SALONEN, Chief Digital Officer, Finnair

Part of unlearning is not getting stuck doing only what worked in the past. When 97 percent of people think you should just go back to doing what youve been doing, or resist the change that you are trying to make, you know youre on to something, and thats where the breakthrough journey begins.

STEPHEN SCOTT, Chief Digital Officer, Avios Group Limited

The best way to master our ever-changing business environment is by designingand redesigningour deep-seated habits and routines. In Unlearn, Barry OReilly explains in an easy-to-understand way how to introduce new habits into your workplace intentionally and systematically. By unlearning old habits and welcoming new routines, you have the unique opportunity to create a fast path to extraordinary results. The process Barry outlines draws on key methods from my work in behavior design, as well as techniques from my Tiny Habits method. In writing this book for business leaders in every industry, Barry offers a step-by-step framework for unlocking untapped potential in your companyand in yourself.

BJ FOGG, PhD, behavior scientist and creator of Tiny Habits method

Barry has done it again! Leveraging his work with some of todays most innovative and successful companies, Barry has delivered the primer on digital transformation. Unlearn focuses on the trickiest and least-obvious starting point: unlearning the habits that trap leaders and companies in past successes that no longer deliver results today. This step-by-step guide to gaining fresh perspectives provides clear and highly actionable advice on how to stimulate and incubate successful innovation throughout the enterprise, enabling breakthrough performance.

JODY MULKEY, CTO, Ticketmaster

In a world where the pace of change is so fast, it is difficult to keep up, leaders often unknowingly get in their own way. To stay competitive, they must build the skills to continuously evolve and embrace the unknown. Unlearn provides a structured framework to help individuals and the organizations they lead adapt to the changing times by unlearning and then relearning the skills to help themselves break through and stay competitive. It will get everyone on the road to lifelong learning in a safe and systematic way.

RESHMA SHAIKH, VP Strategy and Operations, Office of the COO, Springer Nature

Barrys book plays a key role in my assignmentleading a large enterprise through digital transformationnot only on a personal level but especially on an entrepreneurial level. Unlearn is a universally applicable principle for successful transformation. A must-read for business leaders.