Author:Beth Comstock
Change is the only constant. Learn to be a change-maker.
In Imagine It Forward, Beth Comstock, the former vice chair of GE, describes her twenty-five year efforts to be an instigator of change at every level of business. When she first moved from NBC to parent company GE in 1998, she was ignored as a woman in a man's world, treated as an outsider because she didn't have a business background, and ignored as a mere PR person. But CEO Jeff Immelt realized even then that the industrial giant, like so many businesses, had to change fast in order to stay relevant in a world where Google, Facebook, and an explosion of internet companies were transforming how goods and services were marketed, made, and sold.
In a deeply personal journey filled with practical takeaways from two plus decades of initiating change at the top levels of one of the largest corporations in the world, Comstock lays out the challenges, opportunities, tools, and practices needed to embrace change, whatever industry you are in, and make it part of every management decision.
If there is one skill that more individuals and companies need to hone it's imagination. And if there is one person who can teach us how to do it, it’s Beth Comstock. Woven together through own journey, Comstock offers us simple and practical steps on things we can all do to prepare ourselves for the future…or even invent it.
—— Simon Sinek, New York Times Bestselling Author of START WITH WHY and LEADERS EAT LASTFull of wisdom about how to thrive in a bureaucracy—and then transform it into an innovation machine. Beth Comstock is one of the most effective and admired executives of our time, and she tells the engrossing inside story of how she rose to the upper echelons of GE and spearheaded a sea of change
—— Adam GrantBeth Comstock has written a wonderful book, full of excellent insights and lessons from her hugely successful career. She has recently been elected to the advertising all of fame, and after reading this you will know why. This book is of great value to almost virtually any leader and her stories and examples are told in a breezy way that makes it a joy to read.
—— Phil Knight, founder of Nike and New York Times Bestselling Author, SHOE DOGBeth Comstock is just as creative and bold in her approach to writing a business book as she is in running a business. Unafraid to get candid and personal, unusually generous in sharing her insights, this is a book for anyone who wants to see around corners — and to vanquish the fear that holds them back from acting on what they see
—— Susan Cain , Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of QUIETThis book is a rare gift... an honest, behind-the-scenes look at power, success and influence, combined with vulnerability and practical advice. A book you won't soon forget
—— Seth GodinBeth is a true force of smart, practical, and most of all, inspiring executions in the new business world. There are few people who I think 'get it,' and she’s at the top of that list
—— Gary Vaynerchuck, Entrepreneur & Author, CRUSHING ITImagine It Forward is like having a coach on your shelf to help you lead forward. Beth shares her lessons on summoning candor, courage and action to make meaningful change happen in any organization.
—— Kim Scott, New York Times Bestselling Author, RADICAL CANDORImagine It Forward offers an experienced look at how nonlinear, ever evolving change saved one of America’s oldest, most traditional companies and brought it into the digital, socially conscious, irreverent era we now live in. Beth Comstock’s account of her unconventional career at a very conventional corporation, General Electric, is frank, funny and spot on about the need to abandon the top-down methods of the past in favour of greater collaboration, disruption and prioritizing the needs and wants of customers and consumers over profit
—— -Joichi Ito, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and director of the MIT Media LabBeth Comstock has a track record of innovating, leading, and being an agent of change. In Imagine It Forward, she proposes thought provoking ways to envision your future and build strategy around it
—— Sophia Amoruso, founder and New York Times bestselling author of #GIRLBOSSImagine It Forward offers good examples of teaching bravery not perfection -- in education and work. Beth offers valuable lessons that should help readers challenge themselves to risk more in pursuit of a better future for themselves and their organizations
—— Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO, Girls Who CodeUltra-timely...perfect for our fake news era
—— Inc.With the phrase ‘fake news' dominating the conversation in 2017, Hector Macdonald's Truth feels like timely reading. Drawing from examples including the infamous Brexit bus and the way the Texas Department of State Health Services spread misinformation to pregnant women, the author asks whether it is ever morally acceptable for marketers to lie? It also looks at how consumers can protect themselves from misleading truths.
Illuminating, judicious and lucid ... It will surely change the way you read the news and see the world.
—— Patrick West , Catholic HeraldAn essential read... incisive drilling into the culture of an ambitious, successful but also flawed company.
—— Car MagazineBe More Pirate is a call to our better natures, our more inventive, imaginative selves to rouse up and remake the world. It's time for the rebels in us all to re-emerge
—— Antony Mayfield , Founder and CEO of Brilliant NoiseA much needed call for more radical intention at the top. Be More Pirate is more useful, memorable and amusing than most leadership material I've seen, and I've pretty much seen the lot
—— Liam Black , CEO WavelengthBe More Pirate provides high-octane inspiration in the face of unprecedented disruption. Break open the rum and immerse yourself, because Be More Pirate is a holistic strategy for success in changing times
—— Sherilyn Shackell , Founder & CEO The Marketing Academy