Brian Ardinger - Accelerated: A Guide to Innovating at the Speed of Change

In 1955, Fortune magazine published its first Fortune 500 list ranking the largest companies in America. The list has become synonymous with business success. Yet only 10 percent of the companies on the original list remain on it today. It only took a few decades for 90 percent of the best companies in the world to become displacedbankrupted, merged, contracted, or reorgani zed.

Fast forward to today. The rise of new technologies, a changing workforce, dynamic market models, geopolitical conflicts, and a global pandemic are colliding. The current climate of displacement is even more accelerated. Access to information is doubling, while the half - life of marketable skills is shrinking. The consulting firm Innosight estimates that the current pace of disruption will replace half of todays S&P 500 firms over the next ten ye ars.

We live in a world of accelerated change, and every individual and organization that cant keep up is at risk. If youre a business executive, team leader, or startup founder, youre probably asking, How do we create and grow value in an environment of constant uncertainty? How do we do so at ever - increasing speeds? This book will help answer these questions and better prepare you to adapt to and act on whatever comes n ext.

Thriving amidst accelerated change requires quickly transforming new ideas into impactful outcomes. It requires letting go of the business - as - usual , slow - and - steady pace of the past. It requires innovating at the speed of cha nge.

Most people associate innovation with the invention or creation of something brand new, like the airplane or the light bulb. That is only one kind of innovation. Innovation in its simplest form is the process of transforming an idea into something of value. In this regard, you dont need to be a mad genius to innovate. Anyone can do it. Find a problem, solve the problem, and create value along the way.

Innovation starts with ideas. Ideas are everywhere, but ideas arent enough. To innovate, we need to explore, refine, and turn our ideas into valuable outcomes. And in todays environment, its imperative to do this quickly and effectively. We need to become great at accelerating innovat ion.

This book outlines the transformation process from idea to innovation. Its for anyone who needs to adapt, change, and deliver new products, new value, and new initiatives. Its a quick start guide for growth and a handbook for accelerating innovation in an accelerated wo rld.

Over the last twenty - five years, Ive helped startups and corporate innovators develop better ways to launch new ideas and compete. Ive seen firsthand how people grow and adapt to an ever - increasing array of change and disruption. Ive learned from investing in startups, training corporate innovators, and working with C - suite executives on the changing role of technology, startups, innovation, and the future of work. My work inside and alongside prominent corporations and the latest startups has given me a front - row seat to the process of turning new ideas into innovat ion.

I began my career in AsiaPacific and Silicon Valley with Gartner, working with legendary technology clients like IBM, HP, and Microsoft. During the early days of the dot - com era, I led the research group at a high - growth startup that created Asias first dedicated usability labwhere we developed the Webs early infrastructure for companies like HSBC Bank and Cathay Pacific Airlines. I returned to the US to work with a startup that was building software solutions for notable brands like Nike, Pepsi, Apple, Target, Royal Caribbean, and Harley - David son .