Gamechangers

Contrary to popular belief, there is no record of any Turkey ever casting a ballot in a free and fair democratic election. And even if they had, it's unlikely that they would have voted for a third-party to end their lives, remove their plumage and innards, and serve them up as a seasonal treat.

And yet, ex-CIM CEO Peter Fisk has found enough material to write 'Gamechangers', a book about businesses who want to put themselves and their competitors out of business; by changing how game works today, they hope to improve the world of tomorrow. Lofty stuff - but is the game the author describes open for all, or by invitation only? Let's find out.

Game changing businesses are, according to the author, “more ambitious, with stretching vision and enlightened purpose”. The same could be said of this book. Rather than manufacture a new approach to business, untested and plucked from the ether, the author draws from current and emerging practice from existing companies in the retail, financial, health, tech, media, apparel, travel, and food industries. Although the ideas offered in this book might be relatively new, they have already been battle-hardened on the back of someone else's balance sheet. That alone marks'Gamechangers' out for further attention.

Whereas some business books are decidedly light on proof, it's clear that Fisk undertook considerable research in the production of this book. As a result, in addition to name-checks for the usual crowd of disrupters (Apple, Netflix, Tesla, Alibaba, Dyson, Airbnb) you'll find plenty of equally inspiring case studies from companies and initiatives you may not have heard of - a cornucopia of new ways to create, harness, and fulfil demand from some of the most exciting businesses on the planet.

But that's all well and good for billion-dollar businesses - how can this book help you change the game you're in?

Well, for one the author has distilled the lessons from the case studies provided into ten key ways that companies can change the game of business; from out-thinking the competition and developing to markets, to developing brands with more purpose and new ways of getting paid for what you do. Central to all this is the quality of the commentary explaining each game-changing concept, and the close integration with the tools provided towards the back of the book.

These tools (or 'canvas') are designed to help stimulate ideation; the Vision canvas (what change do we want to see in the world); the Disruption canvas (how can we become that change); the Strategy canvas (what steps will we take to deliver that change). There are also canvas' to help business owners navigate growth, consumer insight, stakeholder engagement, innovation, business planning, brand architecture, value proposition development, engagement and consumer relationships, leadership, culture, sustainability and performance management.

Few business books offer so many practical suggestions as to how to apply the lessons they contain, and fewer still do it so accessibly. Nevertheless, given that some of John Wiley & Sons other recent releases (namely 'Business Model Generation' and 'Value Proposition Design') built their reputations by focussing on a single 'canvas' per book, the decision to include so many here may could risk the ability of 'Gamechangers' to cut-through, even if it is an accurate reflection of the number of problems today's businesses have to solve.

So, when trying to decide whether to buy this book, ask yourself - would you prefer your business to be the one doing the stuffing, or the one receiving it? Thought so.