Author:Alan Siegel,Irene Etzkorn
Leading brand consultants Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn show you how to conquer complexity and bring clarity to business and daily life. Fans of Intuition Pumps or The Art of Thinking Clearly will find this book indispensable to clearing clutter from their minds and their working lives.
For four decades, Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn have been on the frontlines of the battle to make things simple. They have consulted with Xerox, American Express, 3M, the U.S. Air Force, the IRS, and many others to simplify their processes, their offerings, everything they do - with dramatic results for these businesses and the customers they serve.
Siegel and Etzkorn believe in simplicity as a philosophy, a guiding principle, and a way of life, but they have learned firsthand that it's not so simple to make things simple - it demands a commitment to clarity, honesty, discipline, and intelligence. Three things, the authors believe, can be said with certainty: 1) simplicity works; 2) it is accessible to all of us; and 3) we've never needed it more than we do today.
These three principles are at the core of SIMPLE, a book that will expose the overly complex things you do, reveal the reasons why you do them, and make it harder for you to keep on doing them.
Displays a lot of common sense...a straightforward brief on simplicity.
—— The New York TimesFor any mum thinking about starting a business, Annabel’s book is a refreshing read which will help spark passion, focus and action.
—— Chrissie Rucker, MBE, Founder of The White CompanyThe writing is humorous and often surprising . . . coupled with their insightful analyses, the book proves particularly insightful.
—— Publishers WeeklyThis book contains immense practical value that could be transformative for your company. If you have a project that requires people to accomplish, your first act should be to read and be guided by Scrum.
—— Stephen Lundin, New York Times bestselling author of Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve PerformanceScrum is mandatory reading for any leader, whether they’re leading troops on the battlefield or in the marketplace. The challenges of today’s world don’t permit the luxury of slow, inefficient work. Success requires tremendous speed, enormous productivity, and an unwavering commitment to achieving results. In other words success requires Scrum.
—— General Barry McCaffreyJeff Sutherland has written the essence of Scrum for the masses. In this easy-to-read book, which is filled with lively stories, apt metaphors, and illuminating quotes, Jeff has converted all the ‘tacit knowledge’ he has gained -- as a West Point cadet, fighter pilot in Vietnam, Aikido enthusiast, academic, technology expert, and father of Scrum -- into wisdom. This book elevates Scrum from a fix-it tool to a way of life.
—— Hirotaka Takeuchi, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business SchoolJeff Sutherland's book masterfully speaks truth to the political complexities that easily stand in the way of getting a lot of work done in the least amount of time. He lays out a doctrine of simplicity, showing -- with surprising insight -- how to categorize roadblocks, systematize solutions, choose action over prolonged study, and retain the important emotional aspects of work that ground meaningful interactions. The busy professionals who’ll likely be drawn to this book will find not only an effective manual for getting things done but, also, a how-to guide for living a meaningful life.
—— John Maeda, Design Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & ByersThis extraordinary book shows a new way to simplify your life and work, increase your focus, and get more done in less time than you ever thought possible.
—— Brian Tracy, bestselling author of Eat that Frog and Time PowerEngaging…Sutherland tackles the problem of the perennially late, over-budget project—and actually shows how to solve it. His fascinating examples of rescued projects will change the way you think and act.
—— Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap, authors of Deep Smarts: How to Cultivate and Transfer Enduring Business WisdomJeff Sutherland is the master of creating high-performing teams. The subtitle of this book understates Scrum’s impact. If you don’t get three times the results in one-third the time, you aren’t doing it right!
—— Scott Maxwell, Founder & Senior Managing Director, OpenView Venture PartnersJeff Sutherland used the common-sense but seldom-applied principles of the quality movement, user-centered design, and lean development to come up with a process that dramatically increases productivity while reducing employees’ frustrations with the typical corporate nonsense. This book is the best description I’ve seen of how this process can work across many industries. Senior leaders should not just read the book—they should do what Sutherland recommends.
—— Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Business School and c-author of The Knowing-Doing GapGroundbreaking…Will upend people’s assumptions about how productive they can actually be…Here Jeff Sutherland discloses to the non-tech world the elegantly simple process that programmers and Web developers have been using since he invented Scrum, showing how a small, empowered, and dedicated team can deliver significantly higher quality work at a faster pace through introspection, iteration, and adaptation.
—— Michael Mangi, Senior V.P. of Interactive Technology, Social@OgilvyThis book will change the way you do everything. Even better, it will help you feel good in the process. Just read it, and get more done.
—— Arnold V. Strong, CEO of BrightNeighbor.com, and Colonel, US Army ReserveThis deceptively simple system is the most powerful way I've seen to improve the effectiveness of any team. I started using it with my business and family halfway through reading the book.
—— Leo Babauta, creator of Zen HabitsA rip-roaring read.
—— People ManagementEvery manager should read it.
—— Scottish Business InsiderMakes you rethink the fundamentals of successful management.
—— Flight TimeWhether you’re building schools in a third world country, teaching a classroom full of elementary students, or building websites, Scrum is highly effective because it matches many of the instincts that drive human nature; as Sutherland put it in his book, “Happiness is not complacent. It is a process, not a result.”
—— SpeckyboyIf there was a Nobel Prize for management, and if there was any justice in the world, I believe that the prize would be awarded, among others, to Jeff Sutherland, Ken Schwaber and Mike Cohn for their contributions to the invention of Scrum.
—— Forbes magazine