G. Shawn Hunter - Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes

Praise for Out Think

If you want to deliver exceptional outcomes as a leader, read this book! Shawn Hunter has been all over the world uncovering exciting new insights into innovation and leadership, and he shares them here. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about leading others.

Paul Hiltz, FACHE, President and Market Leader, Community Mercy Health Partners

Out Think is a book that brings the art of innovation near everyone, underlining the practical and making the quest within the reach of leadership.

Prof. Liisa Valikangas, author of The Resilient Organization

Out Think is a great source of concentrated innovation practices, the kind that leaders need in order to drive their businesses forward in these disruptive and challenging times.

Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre Hotels, author of Emotional Equations

Shawn Hunter presents actionable strategies for leaders to spark collaborative, innovative thinking within their organizations and tailor it to their needs just what we need in times like these.

Matthew E. May, author of The Laws of Subtraction and The Elegant Solution

A timely and important book. Out Think is a top-notch distillation of ideas to help you build and apply powerful new leadership skills in your organization.

Garry Ridge, President and CEO of WD-40 Company, and co-author of Helping People Win at Work

Out Think awakens the creative mind and lays out a clear roadmap for innovation. In today's competitive world, innovation has become the currency for success and Shawn Hunter helps you unleash it. A must-read for those looking to take their organizationsor careersto the next level.

Josh Linkner, Author, Disciplined Dreaming; CEO, Detroit Venture Partners; Founder, former CEO, ePrize

In this powerful book, Shawn provides us with well researched, tested and proven wisdom from diverse international thought leaders, and wonderfully adds his own personal perspective, providing us with a new lens to see the possibility and potential in us all.

David Penglase, author of Intentionomics

Shawn Hunter has the innate gift of being able to decipher conversations and link insights meaningfully to unveil profound wisdom. This book is a must-read for all those who want to create their own personal armoury of insights, ideas and stories for bringing innovation and purpose to their leadership.

Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Talent Officer & Sr. VP for Human Resources, Essar Investments Limited

I've been an entrepreneur for forty years and I can tell you Out Think shows you how to mix the key ingredients of successhow to find your dream, be persistent and honest, and the insight to work smarter than anyone else.

Harris Rosen, President & COO, Rosen Hotels & Resorts

Copyright 2013 G. Shawn Hunter

2002, 2004, 2011 Fierce, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

The Conversation Is the Relationship is a registered trademark of Fierce, Inc.

Published by John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data:

Hunter, G. Shawn, 1969, author

Out think : how innovative leaders drive exceptional outcomes/ G. Shawn Hunter.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-118-50522-9 (bound).ISBN 978-1-118-50528-1 (pdf).

ISBN 978-1-118-50529-8 (epub).ISBN 978-1-118-50527-4 (mobi)

1. Leadership. 2. Organizational change. I. Title.

HD57.7.H85 2013 658.4'092 C2013-903554-0

C2013-902894-3

Production Credits

Managing Editor: Alison Maclean

Executive Editor: Don Loney

Production Editor: Pauline Ricablanca

Cover Design: Adrian So

Cover Image: jpa1999 / iStockphoto

Composition: Thomson Digital

To my parents, Hal and Bev Hunter, two of
the greatest leaders and innovators I know.

Foreword

Innovation occurs when a creative solution makes its way to market. It runs the world, from business to society. We have problems that need engaged people willing to finish what they start. It's not about coming up with new ideas. That's a recipe for procrastination and nonexecution. To truly harness innovation, you need to leverage a culture that will stop at nothing to fix bad ideas and stomp out mediocrity. And that requires trust-based leadership.

And that's what this book is all about.

How do we get engaged and emerge as leaders and relentless problem solvers? We arrive at a psychological intersection: purpose and passion. We combine our emotions, mental faculty, and sense of spirit. Often, this happens because there is someone in our lives who challenges us or inspires us to dig deep and find energy. When we do, we detect something powerful that draws us in, and we innovate.

Let Shawn be your guiding force, and allow this book to be the device that helps you open your eyes for worthy problems to address; open your ears for feedback about your creative solutions; and open your heart to the importance of your task, and the suffering you are addressingbe it an inconvenience or true misery.

This book will take you on a journey, offering you helpful pieces of advice that will build up to a personal system of innovation mastery. Once you crack the code of self-engagement, finishing what you start will be a snap.

Along the way, Shawn will give you a well-researched glimpse into the future of business, resulting from what he cleverly calls a marketquake. It's likely your company is not fully prepared for the Creative Age, the next big wave since the Industrial Revolution.

And this final stop, the tendency and tenacity to execute, is what separates creativity from innovation. Without a result, your ideas are just happy talk. Speaking of talking, the best way to drive innovative thinking isn't by putting out more words. According to Shawn, it's quite the opposite. It's about asking the right questions, then giving others the breathing room to innovate.