What future forces will affect a leaders ability to lead in the next year, 5 years, 10 years?
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More About the Author
Bob Johansen was president and CEO of the Institute for the Future from 1996 to 2004 and is now the IFTF Distinguished Fellow, as well as serving on its board. Bob has worked for more than 30 years as a forecaster, exploring the human side of new technologies. He has a deep interest in the future of religion and its impact on business, society, and individuals. Bob works mainly with senior corporate executives across a wide range of industries. Bob is a frequent keynote speaker. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses. He is the author of six books, including Upsizing the Individual in the Downsized Organization with novelist Rob Swigart, a guide for organizations undergoing technological change and reengineering, and GlobalWork with Mary O'Hara-Devereaux, a guide to managing global, cross-cultural teams. A social scientist with an interdisciplinary background, Bob holds a BS degree from the University of Illinois, where he also played varsity basketball, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Bob also has a divinity school degree from what is now called Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, where he studied comparative religions.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Bob Johansen is the former President and a current Board member of the Institute for the Future (IFTF) - an independent nonprofit think tank that has produced an annual ten-year forecast for over 40 years. Johansen explains that in a world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), leaders must learn new skills in order to make a better future including:
1) Maker instinct (leaders approach their leadership with commitment of a job and energy of a passionate hobby)
2) Clarity (leaders being clear about what they are making but flexible about how it gets made)
3) Dilemma Flipping (turning problems that can't be solved into opportunities)
4) Immersive Learning (learning by doing)
5) Bio-empathy (understand, respect and learn from nature)
6) Constructive depolarization (calming tense situations and bringing people from divergent cultures towards constructive engagement)
7) Quiet transparency (ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you without self-promotion)
8) Rapid Prototyping (ability to create early versions of innovations)
9) Smart mob organizing (creating, engaging and nurturing social networks)
10)Commons creating (stimulate, grow and nurture shared assets that can benefit other players)
While the preface and introduction had me looking forward to reading on, I found getting through the book challenging. The author does an effective job in explaining the "what" and the "why" but not the "how." He uses a patch work of lightly connected examples throughout the book...rather than bringing color to the leadership skill, the examples often tended to be a distraction.... Read more ›
1) Maker instinct (leaders approach their leadership with commitment of a job and energy of a passionate hobby)
2) Clarity (leaders being clear about what they are making but flexible about how it gets made)
3) Dilemma Flipping (turning problems that can't be solved into opportunities)
4) Immersive Learning (learning by doing)
5) Bio-empathy (understand, respect and learn from nature)
6) Constructive depolarization (calming tense situations and bringing people from divergent cultures towards constructive engagement)
7) Quiet transparency (ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you without self-promotion)
8) Rapid Prototyping (ability to create early versions of innovations)
9) Smart mob organizing (creating, engaging and nurturing social networks)
10)Commons creating (stimulate, grow and nurture shared assets that can benefit other players)
While the preface and introduction had me looking forward to reading on, I found getting through the book challenging. The author does an effective job in explaining the "what" and the "why" but not the "how." He uses a patch work of lightly connected examples throughout the book...rather than bringing color to the leadership skill, the examples often tended to be a distraction.... Read more ›
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book was a little different from what I expected. Assuming it just another leader/management type book, I went in with certain expectations. WHat I found was a very interesting and unique book with a lot of what makes a good leader not by bullet points, but more by philosophy. The skills presented are a step forward in seeing ahead, and definitely are a departure from the normal things you see in these types of books. I wonder if many people will accept what the author is trying to say, as this book touches on what is to come, instead of what is in the now. Many people don't or can't see past the present, or if they do, only look ahead a short while. This is a very good book, if you can put aside pre-conceived notions and ideas.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
When I started reading this book, I thought it will be just like another leadership book with the same skills as available in plenty of other texts, repackaged with new definitions and different examples. However, it turned out to be a really useful book with an apt focus on the leadership skills required for our uncertain and improbable world. (As appropriately mentioned in the title).
Author provides the following three basic assumptions about our world and bases the new skills around them:
1. The VUCA world of volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity will get worse in future.
2. The VUCA world wlll have both danger and opportunity.
3. Leaders must learn new skills in order to make a new future.
In his Introduction, he tells us about the forces of future which will shape the future. There is also a "forecast Map" in the inside flap whic links the new leadership skills with these forces of future. It is a nice visual to learn & understand these new dynamics.
Each chapter then is devoted to these new skills with everyday examples, definitions, and examples from companies. I won't delineate these skills separately, as other reviews here have covered them.
Overall, it is a recommended read.
Author provides the following three basic assumptions about our world and bases the new skills around them:
1. The VUCA world of volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity will get worse in future.
2. The VUCA world wlll have both danger and opportunity.
3. Leaders must learn new skills in order to make a new future.
In his Introduction, he tells us about the forces of future which will shape the future. There is also a "forecast Map" in the inside flap whic links the new leadership skills with these forces of future. It is a nice visual to learn & understand these new dynamics.
Each chapter then is devoted to these new skills with everyday examples, definitions, and examples from companies. I won't delineate these skills separately, as other reviews here have covered them.
Overall, it is a recommended read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's still hard to turn some of these into concrete, measurable skills...
September 7, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I received an advanced readers copy of the book Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World by Bob Johansen. I always find it interesting to see how people interpret the future in regards to the skills it will take to lead people. Of course, time will tell as to how accurate Johansen will be, but I did find his VUCA acronym quite useful in describing the future: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
Contents:
Making The Future Will Require New Leadership Skills; Maker Instinct; Clarity; Dilemma Flipping; Immersive Learning Ability; Bio-empathy; Constructive Depolarizing; Quiet Transparency; Rapid Prototyping; Smart Mob Organizing; Commons Creating; Readying Yourself For The Future; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Acknowledgments; Index; About the Author; About IFTF
Overall, there was material for thought here, but it seemed to lack a cohesive thread to tie it all together. In addition, some of the items can not have a known outcome when you make your move. Therefore you can only judge after the fact, and then you add the element of hindsight to make it appear obvious. For instance, "urgent patience" is the ability to judge when to add new challenges and when to counsel steady persistence. Sounds great, but everyone will draw that line differently. Some will fail and some will succeed, even with the same level of (or lack of) information going into the situation. Even the same person might both fail and succeed in various instances. I find it unlikely that it's possible to have an excellent track record on that front given the increasing levels of VUCA in today's world.... Read more ›
Contents:
Making The Future Will Require New Leadership Skills; Maker Instinct; Clarity; Dilemma Flipping; Immersive Learning Ability; Bio-empathy; Constructive Depolarizing; Quiet Transparency; Rapid Prototyping; Smart Mob Organizing; Commons Creating; Readying Yourself For The Future; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Acknowledgments; Index; About the Author; About IFTF
Overall, there was material for thought here, but it seemed to lack a cohesive thread to tie it all together. In addition, some of the items can not have a known outcome when you make your move. Therefore you can only judge after the fact, and then you add the element of hindsight to make it appear obvious. For instance, "urgent patience" is the ability to judge when to add new challenges and when to counsel steady persistence. Sounds great, but everyone will draw that line differently. Some will fail and some will succeed, even with the same level of (or lack of) information going into the situation. Even the same person might both fail and succeed in various instances. I find it unlikely that it's possible to have an excellent track record on that front given the increasing levels of VUCA in today's world.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Read a lot of business books but this one is hard to start and...
I am always interested in reading business books but this one is hard to read. Wish it weren't. Although the author has great subject matter, it needs to be a faster read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Debra Chong
1.0 out of 5 stars
I couldn't get a handle on it
I work 11 hours a day, so when I seek out business advice, I look for concise, intelligent ideas. This book read like a doctoral thesis and had few applicable points. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Al
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Basics but Vague Implementation
I've read probably hundreds of books on leadership and management now and you come to expect that many of them will cover common ground. That's OK. Read more
Published on March 19, 2011 by Lisa Shea
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Helpful
I really enjoyed this book. The author has brought together a lot of useful concepts and some great thoughts. Read more
Published on December 16, 2010 by Steve Dietrich
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leadership skills for the future
What do you do when, metaphorically, the ground starts to shift beneath your feet, placing you and your organization in possible jeopardy? Read more
Published on August 23, 2010 by Rolf Dobelli
3.0 out of 5 stars
Future? Not really.
Not really anything ground breaking and a fairly hard book to slog through for me.
Specifically, I found the attempt to frame the book as a 'future' book a bit silly and... Read more
Specifically, I found the attempt to frame the book as a 'future' book a bit silly and... Read more
Published on April 22, 2010 by D. Wortham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good leadership book for our times
While there is not really much new in this book as far as leadership goes, Johansen does put the material in terms which may be more accessible to many. Read more
Published on November 16, 2009 by Jon Norris
3.0 out of 5 stars
Leadership for uncertain times, some good food for thought.
There are multitudes of books written on leadership and many of those recent books have focused on charting the uncertain territory of present times when the stocks have dipped and... Read more
Published on October 15, 2009 by AmazonDiva
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tools to help you build your own future
While not groundbreaking, Johansen's focus on core philosophies as opposed to activities offers true value for the reader if they can turn theory into reality. Read more
Published on September 26, 2009 by Shane O. Laake
3.0 out of 5 stars
A challenging, forward-thinking leadership guide
Bob Johansen's "Leaders Make the Future" is a different kind of leadership book; readers looking for a Dale Carnegie or John Maxwell-type tome likely will be disappointed. Read more
Published on September 17, 2009 by J. Kim
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