Nanovation: How a Little Car Can Teach the World to Think Big and Act Bold [Hardcover]

Dr. Kevin Freiberg (Author), Jackie Freiberg (Author), Dain Dunston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2011

Do you have the eyes, the ears, and the hands to be a Nanovator? You're about to find out.

In India, entire families―too poor to afford a car―crowd onto a single motor scooter every day to brave the tangled traffic lurching through the streets. One evening Tata Motor's venerable chairman Ratan Tata witnessed something on those rain-soaked streets that both horrified him and birthed a dream: an overloaded scooter lost traction in a busy intersection and sent several members of the family tumbling across the pavement. In that moment Nanovation took root in Tata's imagination.

The very idea was supposed to be impossible. A safe and appealing family car for the price of a motor scooter? The experts dismissed it. But Ratan Tata was undeterred. When budget constraints, design restrictions, the rising costs of materials, and political agitation threatened to derail the project, Team Nano pressed on. This is the story of how, in the face of insurmountable odds, Tata Motors created one of the greatest innovations in the auto industry since Model-T.

Nanovation has disrupted an entire industry and changed the game for India forever. Imagine what it can do for your business. Is your company changing the way society functions?

What's your Nanovative idea? It's time to get moving!

Warning! Don't read this book unless you are ready to challenge management dogma, taken-for-granted assumptions, and outdated systems by asking "what if?" and "why not?" to some of your industry's toughest questions.

But, if you're ready to revolutionize the products you make, the processes you use, and the companies you build, pull up a seat at the drafting table with the creators of the Nano, the most important car to roll off the assembly line in decades. Discover the thinking that bred their ingenuity and the leadership that encouraged them to overcome adversity, to take risks despite their fear of failure, and to innovate beyond their customer's wildest expectations.

Endorsements:

"If you're interested in stoking the fires of innovation and making a profit while making a difference, Nanovation is a must read." ―Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

"The Freiberg's deep dive into a company that transformed an entire industry is loaded with hands-on-advice- and a warning not to downsize your dreams!"- Gary Kelly, chairman, president and CEO, Southwest Airlines

"Nanovation is for leaders who want to leave a lasting legacy in the world." ―Chris Connor, chairman and CEO, Shermin-Williams Company

"Read Nanovation and learn what you can do to create an innovative culture in your organization." ―Ken Blanchard, co-author One Minute Manager, Full Steam Ahead, and Lead with LUV

"Nanovation is a must read for any leader." ―Eric Danziger, CEO, Wyndham Hotel Group

"Nanovation is for leaders who want to shake it up." ―Bruce Bochy, manager, 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants

"Vibrant and energetic, the passion of the authors reflects that of the innovators it chronicles...A practical guide for creating a radical culture of innovation." ―N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder-chairman and chief mentor, Infosys Ltd.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Kevin Freiberg, one of the nation's top organizational performance consultants and speakers, is the coauthor, with his wife, Dr. Jackie Freiberg, of NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, an international bestseller. The Freibergs have a thriving global practice and have been interviewed by CBS's 60 Minutes and appeared on CNBC and the CBS Morning News.

Dr. Jackie Freiberg, with her husband, Dr. Kevin Freiberg, is a best-selling author and speaker, whose clients include American Express, Caterpillar, Frito Lay, and General Motors. The Freibergs have also published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 23, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595554424
• ISBN-13: 978-1595554420
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Drs. Kevin and Jackie Freiberg are two of the most influential voices on the professional-speaking circuit today. Their mission: to create corporate cultures where impassioned people exercise the freedom to make a difference and change the world! The Freibergs have coauthored the international bestseller NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success and GUTS! Companies that Blow the Doors off Business-As-Usual. They have been interviewed by CBS's 60 Minutes and appeared on CNBC and the CBS Morning News for their insights on the links between gutsy leaders, passionate employees, cultures of accountability, and loyal customers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Think Big & Act Bold December 27, 2011

By DerryC

Format:Hardcover

Thinking big and acting bold are rarely descriptors of big company innovation. This book beautifully tells the story of how the leader of a major Indian company responds thru' innovation to an accident involving a family on a scooter. His solution - the Nano, is more typically of a start-up and is what makes this book and its story all the more interesting.

Beyond the interesting story, the value in the book is how the authors highlight the take-away principles that are valid in any organizational environment that is trying to solve a "huge" problem. The "nanobites" at the end of each chapter are valuable all readers (I have no particular interest in the automobile industry).

Extrapolating from the Nano story, as to how innovators come up with new ideas at the intersection of trends is worthwhile. The last chapter on Nanovation applied across a spectrum of industry clusters closes the loop on the application of principles.

The writing is superb - you are drawn in and you are brought along on this impossible journey from idea to market, much like the Friebergs have done in their other books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ...a gritty, business love story! October 7, 2011

By Trish

Format:Hardcover

From start to finish, Nanovation is a gritty, business love story! It reads like a novel while delivering profound business best practices. It's a great behind the scenes, play by play of a big dream, an unlikely team facing insurmountable challenges, to the final roll out of one of the biggest, life changing innovations of our day. This heroic story is sure to juice up inspiration in any organization floundering under a pall of fear or naval gazing.

Nanovation is a daring and hopeful business paradigm where ingenuity; innovation; relentless engagement and dare I say "love" (at all levels of an organization) step up to serve a worthy cause--and still make money. Get ready to dream big, expect more of yourself and others and rethink everything about how you do business and life!

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, but would have benefitted from more aggressive editing February 3, 2013

By B. Makepeace

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book looks at the motivation, culture, and ingenuity behind bringing the Nano to market in India. The design, manufacturing, and sales processes are all discussed in enough detail to be interesting, but not so much as to require the reader to be an expert in any of the above in order to be able to understand the struggles and glean lessons.

I suspect that the authors paint an overly rosy picture of Tata and his company, but this appears to be out of a desire to emphasize the good rather than an intent to mislead. I don't think that this bias hurts their conclusions. I work for a company that requires constant innovation in order to survive, and I saw much value in the argument that creativity is encouraged in an environment where allowing employees have the freedom to fail.

Its accessible writing style and many pictures make it a quick read, despite being a hefty 500 pages. The book's biggest fault is that it tries to turn every chapter of the Nano saga into a nice, neat moral lesson. By the end of the book, these lessons seem predictable and lengthy. Had they been more concise, the book could have been slimmed down by 100 pages or more without losing any discussion.

Overall, the story is interesting. The book is worth the read, especially for anyone interested in fostering creative thinking in a corporate environment.