Leading the Revolution

Leading the Revolution: An Action Plan for Transforming Companies into Industry Revolutionaries

About the Author

Gary Hamel is a pioneering business thinker and strategist, known for his innovative ideas and practical approaches to transforming businesses. He is a founder and chairman of Strategos, a company dedicated to helping organizations develop and implement revolutionary strategies. Hamel is also a Visiting Professor of Strategic and International Management at the London Business School and the Thomas S. Murphy Distinguished Research Fellow at Harvard Business School. His work has profoundly influenced the way companies approach innovation and competitive strategy.

Main Idea

"Leading the Revolution" by Gary Hamel provides a comprehensive action plan for companies aiming to transform into industry revolutionaries. Hamel argues that in the age of rapid and radical innovation, traditional incremental changes are no longer sufficient. Instead, businesses must engage in continuous reinvention, focusing on business concept innovation to create new value for customers, disrupt competitors, and generate wealth for investors.

Table of Contents

1. The Age of Progress is Over
2. How to Innovate Your Business Model
3. The Diminishing Returns of Traditional Strategies
4. How to Start an Insurrection
5. Novelty Addicts and Heretics
6. The "Gray-Haired Revolutionary"
7. Playing the Target Game at Sony
8. Ten Design Rules for Innovation
9. The New Innovation Solution
10. The Wheel of Innovation

The Age of Progress is Over

For many years, businesses operated under the assumption that progress was both possible and inevitable. This mindset led to a focus on continuous improvement, with employees striving to achieve faster, better, and cheaper outcomes. However, this version of progress has led to cynicism and dissatisfaction among employees, who often find themselves working harder for diminishing returns. Hamel argues that we are now entering an age of revolution, where incremental change is no longer sufficient. Companies must embrace radical innovation and transformation to survive and thrive.

"In the age of revolution, a company that evolves slowly is already on its way to extinction." - Gary Hamel

companies that failed to adapt quickly enough include Motorola, which lost its leading position in the cellular phone market to Nokia due to its slow adoption of digital wireless technology, and SAP, which missed opportunities in the web-based integration market, allowing competitors like Siebel Systems and Ariba to take the lead.

How to Innovate Your Business Model

In the new economy, innovation must go beyond products or technologies and encompass entire business concepts. Business concept innovation involves rethinking the way a company competes, delivers value, and interacts with customers. Hamel outlines a framework for developing innovative business models, focusing on four major components: