Practically Radical

About the Author

William C. Taylor is an agenda-setting writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. As the co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company, he launched a magazine that won countless awards, earned a passionate following among executives and entrepreneurs around the world, and became a legendary business success. Taylor is also the co-author of several influential books, including Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win. With Practically Radical, Taylor continues to inspire and challenge business leaders to rethink their strategies and embrace innovative approaches to transformation.

Main Idea

Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself by William C. Taylor is a manifesto for change and a manual for making it happen. The book emphasizes the necessity of radical thinking in an era where the status quo is no longer sufficient. Taylor provides practical advice for leaders who aim to transform their organizations, shake up their industries, and challenge themselves to think differently. He draws on numerous examples from both for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations to illustrate how bold ideas and innovative practices can lead to remarkable success even in tough circumstances.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: A Game Plan for Game Changers
• Part One: Transforming Your Company
• Part Two: Shaking Up Your Industry
• Part Three: Challenging Yourself

Introduction: A Game Plan for Game Changers

The introduction sets the stage for the book by highlighting the urgent need for change in today's business environment. Taylor argues that most executives are more worried about sinking the boat than missing the boat, which leads to cautious and conservative strategies. Instead, he encourages leaders to "rock the boat" by embracing radical ideas and challenging the status quo. The goal is to emerge from turbulent times with closer connections to customers, more energy and creativity from employees, and a greater competitive edge.

"Don't use the long shadow of economic crisis and slow recovery as an excuse to downsize your dreams or stop taking chances." - William C. Taylor

Part One: Transforming Your Company

What You See Shapes How You Change

Taylor introduces the concept of "vuja dé," the opposite of déjà vu. Instead of looking at a familiar situation and feeling like you've seen it before, vuja dé involves looking at a familiar situation as if you're seeing it for the first time. This fresh perspective can help leaders develop distinctive points of view and innovative strategies. Taylor provides the example of Virginia Mason Medical Center, which transformed its operations by adopting principles from the Toyota Production System.

"The most effective executives strive to redefine the terms of competition by embracing one-of-a-kind ideas in a world filled with me-too thinking." - William C. Taylor

Virginia Mason Medical Center, a 90-year-old hospital in Seattle, transformed its operations by adopting principles from the Toyota Production System. CEO Dr. Gary Kaplan led an intensive program of learning about Japanese quality management, and hundreds of staff members made trips to Japan to see these principles in action. The results were significant: the hospital eliminated millions of dollars of needless inventory, cut the time required to deliver lab results by 85 percent, and reduced staff walking distances by 60 miles per day. Nurses were able to spend 90 percent of their time at the bedside, up from 35 percent before.