Rosabeth Moss Kanter - Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time

Drawing on fifty detailed case studies and hundreds of interviews, Rosabeth Moss Kanter distills her experiences with Harvards Advanced Leadership Initiative in this informative and fascinating volume. Both an inspiration and a guide to action, this book challenges the reader with narratives describing extraordinary new approaches to old institutional and societal problems; Kanter has penned essential reading for twenty-first-century leaders.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University

Its clear our world needs innovative thinking and a new mind-set for changemakers to tackle intractable problems. In Think Outside the Building, Rosabeth Moss Kanter cuts through the noise and delivers a primer for meaningful change. Heres how we can rethink the status quo, overcome barriers of bureaucracy, and turn good intentions into great actions.

Alberto Ibargen, president and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Kanter will literally change the world with Think Outside The Building. The book provides clear views and experiences on how (and how not) to apply experienced corporate leadership to the biggest challenges facing our society. Lets hope many are inspired by this great book.

David W. Kenny, CEO, Nielsen

[Rosabeth Moss Kanter illustrates] how experienced leaders in business and other professions can act on their youthful idealism and make a difference in addressing complex societal problems [by gaining] the outside-the-building, silo-busting skills needed to take on messy, complex systems problems ranging from income inequality to human trafficking. In this striking book Kanter tells riveting stories of bold, imaginative leadership. In each case, the societal issue is rife with ambiguity and conflict, with no single organization in charge, and the challenge is to find fresh, convention-defying approaches engaging many stakeholders.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Think Outside the Building is an excellent and inspiring guide for anybody who is trying to make change in the world. Drawing on the stories of dozens of effective efforts, Rosabeth Moss Kanter has created a guidebook that, with wisdom and optimism, extracts the essential techniques for successespecially for new initiatives with a mission to improve society.

Nicholas Lemann, Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism and dean emeritus, Columbia University School of Journalism

As our world moves from complicated to complex, those who strive to be great leaders cannot limit themselves to thinking inside the building. We must instead become advanced leaders who can think outside the buildingstepping outside, knocking on other doors, creating new teams who can deliver the innovative solutions the world needs, and providing promising entryways for the people of tomorrow to enter.

General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal, author of Leaders: Myth and Reality

I feel so strongly about this book and its message that I want everyone who aspires to make a difference to read it. It is the quintessential guide for answering the question we all eventually ask: Have I accomplished my purpose in life? As a graduate of West Point and an airborne ranger infantry officer, I learned to ask, If not me, who? Here are the personal tools for getting it done, showing us how small pebbles can make big waves.

Robert A. McDonald, eighth US secretary of veterans affairs; retired chairman, president, and CEO, Procter & Gamble

Kanters book lays out the next big step in innovation: the bold leadership to imagine new solutions to big problems of communities and the world. Her brilliant new book is a compelling read, full of fascinating stories and breakthrough ideas.

Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO, Pepsico

In this season of public appetite for big solutions to big problems, Kanters Think Outside the Building is both a clarion call and a map for new leaders to step up.

Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts

Buoyed by strong writing and an encouraging tone, Kanters thorough and thought-provoking guide will be a boon for veteran leaders who want to put their well-tested skills to newand socially constructiveuse.

Publishers Weekly

Brimming with compelling stories of action focused on measurable impact and transformation, this book by distinguished scholar and practitioner Rosabeth Moss Kanter lays out the argument for a new kind of leadershipadvanced leadership. In this moment where vivid instances of failed leadership around the world are evident in every sector, and when the complexity of problems and the frequency of crises are growing at an accelerated pace, adopting the strategies and methods presented in this terrific book has never seemed more urgent.