Surrounded By Geniuses: Unlocking the Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues and Your Organization [Hardcover]

Alan Gregerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

How many times have you arrived at work, exchanged greetings with your colleagues, attended a meeting or two, and then sat down at your desk overcome by the incredible feeling that you were surrounded by geniuses? And how many times have you headed home from work, looked around, and been struck with an awesome sense that you were surrounded by a world of geniuses and brilliant ideas?

If you're like most people, caught up in the stress of work and everyday life, the answer is a resounding "never!" But that's all about to change.

In Surrounded by Geniuses Alan Gregerman presents a revolutionary guide to personal, professional and organizational success based on two powerfully simple ideas:

First, that there is genius hidden in all of us. And second, that we are surrounded by a world filled with genius that can be used to transform any company or organization in order to deliver compelling customer value.

He then shows us in clear and practical ways how to unlock the genius in ourselves and our organizations by discovering and applying insight from the worlds of business, history, popular culture, nature, science and even science fiction. He does this by taking us on ten remarkable journeys to learn essential lessons from a world-class shock trauma unit, eight-year-old "salespeople," rocket scientists, aerobics instructors, cheetahs, Seinfeld re-runs, and more. By the end, you will be astounded to find yourself surrounded by so many brilliant people and ideas.

So grab your curiosity and your most comfortable shoes. It's time for a remarkable trip to your future success!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In business today, it's the soft stuff that leaders discover to be the most difficult, which is one reason behind the onslaught of change-management books. Here's another to add to that shelf, with a slightly different spin from a slightly different type of expert-consultant. The angle is that it is possible to nurture an internal culture of innovation and creativity by looking carefully at 10 companies and products, ranging from L. L. Bean to Spider-Man. The author is a Washington, D.C., consultant-writer (Lessons from the Sandbox, 2000) whose career includes mapmaker and subway mechanic. Gregerman's point of view—that we all have the potential to be geniuses—is introduced via examples; the Ritz-Carlton chain, for instance, underscores the importance of paying careful attention to customer requests. Seinfeld's old TV show, on the other hand, talks about the criticality of getting all the little things right. These stories are followed by the practical applications for corporate America—in terms of individuals, managers, and organizations. Jacobs, Barbara

Review

Dr. Gregerman has made an important contribution to our understanding of the power of each of us and our organizations to innovate, create, and do so much more.  His ideas are clear, concrete, and surprising in their originality.  Surrounded by Geniuses is a book for anyone struggling to get beyond incremental thinking. 

Dan Scheinman
General Manager
Cisco Media Solutions Group
Cisco Systems

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; 1 edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140220910X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402209109
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #708,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Gregerman is the President and Chief Innovation Officer of VENTURE WORKS Inc. and an award-winning and best-selling author, consultant, and keynote speaker who has been called "one of the most original thinkers in business today" and "the Robin Williams of business consulting." An internationally-renowned authority on business strategy, innovation, and the hidden potential of adults, his work focuses on helping companies and organizations to unlock the genius in all of their people in order to deliver the most compelling value to their customers. His two books--"Surrounded by Geniuses" and "Lessons from the Sandbox"--break the mold by challenging our thinking about people, the world around us, what it means to be remarkable, and where brilliant ideas actually come from. He's also the author of the critically-acclaimed "Surrounded by Geniuses" blog.

Fun Facts: Trained as a geographer, Alan has also worked as a mapmaker, subway mechanic, hotel housekeeper, and as the first Visiting Scholar in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Library of Congress. And he still dreams of someday playing professional basketball even though he's relatively short and slow.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chief Information Officer, IFC, October 9, 2007

By 

W. Piatt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surrounded By Geniuses: Unlocking the Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues and Your Organization (Hardcover)

Dr. Gregerman takes us well beyond the box by getting his readers to think well beyond their current worlds. By focusing on what makes great organizations truly exceptional, without regard to industry, he challenges us to think in truly creative ways about our own. Surrounded by Geniuses is an unusual combination of being both an easy read and quite intellectually stimulating.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surrounded by Geniuses, October 19, 2007

By 

Barbara Bode (Xaghra, Gozo, Malta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surrounded By Geniuses: Unlocking the Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues and Your Organization (Hardcover)

Surrounded By GeniusesDr. Alan Greerman has done it again. He has slashed through the usual heavy rhetoric of management theory with insightful, exciting suggestions for making business management work better. Buy it, read it,learn from it...this book is a quick and stimulating way to inspire you to be a more productive and organized manager.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Meaning to "Glass Half Full", October 22, 2007

By 

Virginia Mayer (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrounded By Geniuses: Unlocking the Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues and Your Organization (Hardcover)

In his new book, Surrounded By Geniuses, Dr. Gregerman provides us all with an innovative, strategic and healthy way to approach work and life! Just imagine if when discussing our place of work we were to say "it's a place filled with brilliant ideas, unlimited sources of inspiration and endless possibilities." That would be amazing! Dr. Gregerman shows us how to unlock this genius and make it a reality. This is an excellent book for public and private sector executives - illustrating what it takes for organizations to innovate, grow and succeed in difficult times. And it's perfect for those who don't want to settle for the ordinary in life - but rather pursue the extraordinary!