Customer Reviews

Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World (Bk Business)

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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.

Johansen concludes with a solid recap - questions you may ask yourself in evaluating your level of competence for the new leadership skills along with a self-assessment rating system. Unfortunately, getting from the introduction to chapter 10 takes some doing.

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.

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.

'Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World', by Bob Johansen

Having read sociologist-turned-futurist Bob Johansen's earlier book, entitled 'Get There Early: Sensing the Future to Compete in the Present', about two years ago, I am naturally attracted to read his latest book, entitled 'Leaders Make The Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World'.

Besides understanding the 'Foresight to Action' cycle as well as the proven anticipatory management methodology, originally developed by the Institute for Future (reportedly the only futures think-tank to outlive its forecasts), where he had served as President & CEO from 1996 to 2004, to deal with the challenges of a "volatile, uncertain, complex & ambiguous" (VUCA) world, I am cartainly impressed by his personal insights as well as professional wisdom on anticipating & making the future.

I certainly like the way he demystifies the forecasting process. On top of that, I also like his clear distinctions between problem solving & dilemma sense-making as well as flipping.

[Actually, his 'What's Different about Dilemmas?' & 'It Takes a Story to Understand a Dilemma' in the earlier book are marvellous pieces of original thought.

As a matter of fact, for me, the author's apt use of Frank Stockton's short story (1882), 'The Lady, or the Tiger', in the earlier book is a superb tale of dilemma & ambiguity.]

Although he continues to backtrack in his new book, i.e still touching on old grounds already covered in the earlier book, especially the VUCA perspectives, I nonetheless have enjoyed reading his artful exposition of the ten new leadership skills, which leaders need to create the future.

They certainly made my day.

Here is a quick summary:

1. Maker Instinct: The ability to exploit your inner drive to build and grow things, as well as connect with others in the making.

2. Clarity: The ability to see through messes and contradictions to a future that others cannot see. Leaders are very clear about what they are making, but very flexible about how it gets made.

3. Dilemma Flipping: The ability to turn dilemmas - which, unlike problems, cannot be solved - into advantages and opportunities.

4. Immersive Learning Ability: The ability to immerse yourself in unfamiliar environments; to learn from them in a first-person way.

5. Bio-Empathy: The ability to see things from nature's point of view; to understand, respect, and learn from nature's patterns.

6. Constructive Depolarizing: The ability to calm tense situations where differences dominate and communication has broken down - and bring people from divergent cultures toward constructive engagement.

7. Quiet Transparency: The ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you - without advertising yourself.

8. Rapid Prototyping: The ability to create quick early versions of innovations, with the expectation that later success will require early failures.

9. Smart Mob Organizing: The ability to create, engage with, and nurture purposeful business or social change networks through intelligent use of electronic and other media.

10. Commons Creating: The ability to seed, nurture, and grow shared assets that can benefit other players - and sometimes allow competition at a higher level.

Interestingly, the author repeats his earlier innovative way of using the inside or flipside of the jacket cover to give a visually-appealing global overview of all the important stuff from the book.

For me, the last chapter of the book aka 'Conclusion: Readying Yourself for the Future' is my personal favourite, because he has included a full spectrum of probing questions to help the reader to personalise the ten new leadership skills.

I have one suggestion for the interested reader, prior to reading this book:

Please go to the 'Appendix' first, & rate yourself on each of the future skills [or you can do it online at the publisher's website]; then proceed to turn the jacket inside out to read the global overview, before actually settling down to read the book in its entirety.

In conclusion, I must say that this is a masterclass on strategic anticipation. If you are looking for a myriad of strategic tools to enhance your anticipatory prowess, for both career & daily life, this is one good book to read.

From the reading standpoint, the author's writing style is very clear, succinct & easy-going.

For companion reading, at least from my perspective, this book will go very well with Prof Howard Gardner's 'Five Minds for the Future', as well as strategist Bill Welter's 'The Prepared Mind of a Leader: Eight Skills Leaders Use to Innovate, Make Decisions, & Solve Problems'.

[Reviewed by Lee Say Keng, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer, July 2009]

What do you do when, metaphorically, the ground starts to shift beneath your feet, placing you and your organization in possible jeopardy? Conventional leaders often cannot deal with such unnerving dislocation. Confused and flummoxed, they cower in the corner, afraid to move. However, savvy executives who have the skills needed to deal with volatile change see such upheaval as a special opportunity to advance their companies into the future. In this visionary book, Bob Johansen, former president of the Institute for the Future, outlines the top 10 new skills leaders will need to cope with a future characterized by volatility and uncertainty. getAbstract suggests that those who purchase this book might even want to read the conclusion first. That will allow you to begin with the author's series of pertinent questions you can use to assess your capabilities against the 10 new skills you will need in the 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. The flip side is that for those who cannot connect the theories with reality, this book offers far less value. This lack of detail has been addressed on other reviews, but deserves attention. In the end, I find that I prefer the author's approach, as reality is far more dynamic than any book can ever seem to cover. If you feel you're of the same philosophy, give this book a try.

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. On the other hand, "constructive depolarizing", or the ability to calm tense situations when sides are radically opposed to each other, *is* a skill that could be learned and measured in a much more concrete fashion. It's what diplomats and counselors have done for ages...

I agree that these "new" skills are ones that will make sense and play a greater role in the future. I just question how "new" they actually are, and whether we're putting fancy labels on things that we're already trying to do today.

I am a Trainer/facilitator by trade, working with educational leaders. Needless to say, helping people lead in uncertain times requires a new look at the dynamics of leadership. When I read books like this,I look for "nuggets" - little take-away things that will help me in my work. I got my share in this book. Bob Johansen adds some interesting spin to the idea of leadership. I'm not going to go into detail on his theories, but found them very thought provoking. For instance, we think of leaders as the people who have the answers to problems at hand, or at least the wherewithal to solve those problems. Johansen posits that some problems in today's society have no answer, and that leaders have to think differently to find resolutions to problems that might actually be unsolvable, and how to survive in that world.

The authoris is very convincing in conveying his "VUCA" (volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) model of issues facing leaders will only increase in the future. The leadership skills he lists may not be unique or new as such but to draw them together into one cohesive book makes this text worth reading. The book is lacking when it comes to specific guidance on implementing the skills - it struck me the descriptions given are more character "traits" than skills that can be learned and developed. Still, a useful book and a very interesting world view.

We are in a fast world. News tomorrow morning could change your life as you know it; many people's lives.
So we stick to the news ever so much compared to just 5 years ago.
We stick to the internet; can't live without it anymore.
I don't want to do what other reviewers have done by listing all of the chapters and what it says in general.
Let's do application.

Leaders are expected to lead people into greater success or out of great trouble--a better status quo.
With global economic melt down, I try to use the principles taught in the book,... I find it difficult.
With the Avian Flu, Swine Flu pandemic, I am thinking from the principles from the book, how can it be implemented and taught to the team of medical professional and carry through the chains of command to save the world from this ever mutating virus?

Yes, leaders make the future, but through challenges, large and small. When a leader come through lifelong small challenges, he learns to deal with large challenge at times and perhaps leads others through it--a new leader is born; maybe in a global scale.
In principle and general terms, it's easy to summarize and theorize. In real life perspective, it takes a lot more than 10 principles to make the future. It takes character and truly, divine intervention.