By Mark Shayler
“If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you always got”, this quote by Henry Ford has been used time and time again and is one we can all relate to. This famous quote is the opening gambit to this challenging (and as its front cover indicates) ‘disruptive’ book which questions your perception of normal and everyday activities challenging you at every step. Why do we do things a certain way? Because we always have…. But does that make it the most efficient, cost effective and the best way of doing it?
Do Disrupt is the type of book that is very much an interactive read, it’s a workbook and encourages scribbling and scrawling on all its pages as I have myself found myself doing throughout. So why have we chosen this book as our first book review of the decade? Well innovation and challenging the norm is at its heart. So in a time when we hear on such a regular basis ‘New Year New Me’, this small accessible and very interactive book allows the reader and scribbler to immerse themselves head first into thinking differently by disrupting their own thought pattern. Scary right?!
So as we embark on 2020 how are you going to do things differently when we all have the same amount of time? Do Disrupt suggests this starts with giving yourself permission as asking for forgiveness over permission is far easier. Thinking differently and being deliberately different after all is the key thing that enables us as individuals and companies to stand out, but change is hard right? I once saw a jar with coins in it on a desk with the label ‘if you fear change, leave it here’. This illustrates the point perfectly. In this age change is inevitable and so Do Disrupt gives you the opportunity to lead it rather than follow others need for change. Change, Disrupt and Implement. It may be your role, pursuing your dream job or setting up on your own, implementing a full new strategy for your team or business or increasing your sales. Whatever it is, this book will make you think. It will also make you uncomfortable as from front cover to back page, it will make you think about your own life and how disruption can indeed be for the Good.
So, again, why have we chosen this book at Just Williams as our book of the month? Well its about doing what you love, disrupting a traditional model without fear and all whilst being deliberately different. All things we endorse and support whole-heartedly here. As we start 2020 all our team members have an hour a day ‘Goal Time’ to do exactly this. Work towards their own personal and professional goals as well as time to think, reflect, innovate and of course Disrupt.
The best innovators are the ones solving problems that we didn’t even know existed and the ones who challenge the norm. So if you want to start 2020 differently whether it be achieving your sales targets, embracing a new market, a new career or dare I say it, being a new you… read this book. In fact don’t just read it, scribble on it, highlight it and cover it in stick it notes. Carry it round with you and start by thinking in ink, giving yourself permission and time to challenge your own thought processes.
Got a book you think we should read and review? Let us know!