Book Review- Flip! by Peter Sheahan

With a focus on organizational change and how to prepare for it, Peter Sheahan encourages his readers to prepare to Flip!, in effect, to be on the front edge of change rather than adapting to it once it has occurred.

Sheahan is Australian so some of the corporate references he makes are unfamiliar and, originally published in 2007, some of the statistics and "cutting edge technology" he describes are amazingly already somewhat dated. Though not a great book (much of it reads like other "change" books), Sheahan nevertheless makes some very interesting points:

Mind-set flexibility, not proprietary expertise or resources, will define the successful businesses and leaders of the future. (pg. 3)

Your best work does not occur when you are planning. Your best work occurs when you are in the flow. It happens when you are taking action. Sure, you need planning time, but at some point you have to stop thinking, stop planning, and just do something. Anything! (pg. 31)

You can't let the presence of risk, or the absence of clarity, prevent you from taking action. (pg. 42)

Ambiguity and confusion may scare you as a business leader, but bright and talented employees- the ones you really want and need- love the high-paced, high-energy environment that an action-oriented company creates. (pg. 53)

The surest route to catastrophic failure is not to take any risks. (pg. 53)

Action must happen now- risks must be taken: calculated, intelligent, and high-payoff risks, but risks nonetheless. You can adapt and change. You must believe it is possible. (pg. 72)