Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future (Paperback)

~ (Author) "LET ME share with you a true story that began in 1968..." (more)
Key Phrases: paradigm pliancy, paradigm shifters, paradigm pioneers, United States, Total Quality, Paradigm Principles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future" is a secret weapon. I'm buying a copy for each of my customers and suppliers . . . but none for my competitors!"-- Harvey Mackay, author of "Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive "and "Sharkproof""All about change and what it does for your business . . . Should have a prominent place on the desk of every business owner who intends to stay competitive.""--Entrepreneur""If you can figure out what changes are in store for the marketplace, you gain extradordinary leverage against your competition. How do you do it? Joel Barker advises.""-- Success""With Paradigms, Joel Barker continues his role as master teacher and advisor to society's leaders. His insight can help people prepare for the future in these turbulent times."-- Larry Osterwise, Vice Preident, U.S. Market-Driven Quality Assessment, IBM --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

How would like to spot future trends before the competition?

We all know the rules for success in our business or professions, yet we also know that these rules--paradigms--can change at any time. What Joel Barker does in Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future is explain how to spot paradigm shifts, how they unfold, and how to profit from them. Through the power of this method--paradigm spotting--you can:

find the people in your organization most likely to spot a new trend

help your key people adept when a massive change is occurring

learn to effectively grapple with your "intractable problems" and improve your results incalculably.

In addition, Paradigms is full of concrete examples of paradigm shifts and predictions for the future, and contains a new introduction detailing recent developments and pointing out areas to watch tor paradigm shifts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness (May 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306470
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306471
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #352,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quo Vadis?, May 16, 2000

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Since it was first published, this book has become a "must read" for those who are struggling to understand what is happening and, more to the point, what will probably be happening in the global marketplace. Drucker has suggested that one of the greatest challenges for any organization is to manage the consequences and implications of a future which has already occurred. I agree. However, I also agree with Barker that it is possible to recognize what he calls a "paradigm shift": a major change of the rules and regulations that establish or define boundaries, a change which suggests that new behavior will be required within those redefined boundaries.

One of the most important concepts in the book is what Barker calls "paradigm pliancy": "the purposeful seeking out of new ways of doing things. It is an active behavior in which you challenge your paradigms [ie the status quo, assumptions and premises] by asking the Paradigm Shift Question: What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business?" Have you asked this question? Do you realize that one or more of your competitors may have already asked that question?

Although the book's subtitle is "The Business of Discovering the Future", the fact remains that (back to Drucker) the challenge is to identity and then measure the degree of probability of various contingencies...many of which may have already occurred or are now in process.

Barker asserts that every organization must anticipate and then innovate to achieve excellence in an age during which change is the only constant. He suggests that there are five components to "strategic exploration": Understanding influences which shape our perceptions, divergent thinking which enables us to consider more than "one right answer", convergent thinking which enables us to integrate data while prioritizing choices, mapping which reveals pathways from the present to the future, and finally, imaging which (with words or drawings or models) documents what is learned during the process of exploration.

This is a business "classic" which will continue to be relevant so long as leaders of organizations remain hostage to assumptions and premises which are either already obsolete now or will soon become so. What about yours?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Early Look at Stalls, Their Causes, and Stallbusting, June 17, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Barker did a major service when he took Kuhn's work (about stalled thinking in science) and extended it into general social situations, across the disciplines. Think of this book as the popularized version of Kuhn. Without popularizers, most important concepts would never have achieved wide appreciation. Darwin is a prime example of someone whose name we might not know today except for popularizers.

If you have never heard of a paradigm, this book is a good introduction to the subject. Basically, a paradigm is a thought process that simplifies our thinking incorrectly. After we become familiar with the paradigm, we have to develop a new and better paradigm to deal with the issues that the paradigm does not sufficiently address.

The book focuses on how to anticipate changes in paradigms, who to look to for such new paradigms, and how to take advantage of this anticipation.

Of particular value is the section where Barker shares many examples of stalled thinking. These are brilliantly conceived, and make it easier for you to appreciate what a stall is.

My hat is off to Barker, and I am honored to have referenced his excellent contributions in The 2,000 Percent Solution.

If you are committed to overcoming stalled thinking to achieve exponential success, this book is a prerequisite.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book., October 3, 2000

By	D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For years I wondered why it is often very difficult to convince even highly-intelligent of a new fact or idea, no matter how much evidence there may be supporting the new concept. Then I read this book and learned that even intelligent people often find it difficult to even hear or see evidence for anything which lies outside their current mindset -- or "paradigm." Even great scientists and astute business men time and again fail to see or hear compelling evidence for new concepts that lie outside their current paradigm -- and, thus, significant ideas and opportunities are lost to them. However, in the present time of rapid change, we simply cannot continue to be held back by our old paradigms. This book is essential reading for those who wish to be able to cope with the rapidly-changing present and future.