First Be Nimble: A Story About How to Adapt, Innovate and Perform in a Volatile Business World

Imagine if you had the blueprint to create an agile and intelligent organisation that could handle anything that an unpredictable business world threw at it?

First Be Nimble is that blueprint, presented bybest–selling author Graham Winter in an enthralling business storypacked with easy–to–apply ideas and powerful tools linked to onlineresources.

The story: Fledgling international company McCrae′s FineChocolates has lost its innovative edge and become a reactivebureaucracy. Through a mix of courage, collaboration anddigital–age strategies, McCrae′s confronts its challenges, breaksthrough the inevitable resistance to change, and transforms itselfinto a nimble and adaptive market leader.

This is your personal guidebook to gearing up for fast andfrequent change. Learn how to:

move, learn and adapt fast! replace change resistance with change resilience thrive in ambiguity and uncertainty break through business bottlenecks build a network of nimble, connected teams.

First Be Nimble is a must read for everyone who wantstheir organisation to thrive in this constantly changing businessworld.

about the author ix

acknowledgements xi

introduction xv

part I: the story of ′even chocolate frogs adapt′ 1

1 turbulence: the imperative to adapt 3

2 complacency: the danger of success 13

3 change resistance: cracking the code 35

4 disruption: do it to yourself before someone does it to you51

5 five principles: the game changers 67

6 lessons learned: first be nimbleTM insights 111

7 sustaining: making nimble a way of life 133

part II: the first be nimble system 137

the first be nimble model 139

understanding the five principles 141

implementing the first be nimble system 149

summary 153

Graham Winter is the best–selling author of Think One Team, founder of consultancy Think One Team International and a three–time Australian Olympic team chief psychologist. Graham is passionate about developing leaders and teams with the resilience and skills to seize opportunities.