How organizations can anticipate threats, spot opportunities, and act faster when the time is right; with rich examples including Adobe, MasterCard, and Amazon.

When turbulence is the new normal, an organization's survival depends on vigilant leadership that can anticipate threats, spot opportunities, and act quickly when the time is right. In See Sooner, Act Faster, strategy experts George Day and Paul Schoemaker offer tools for thriving when digital advances intensify turbulence.

Vigilant firms have greater foresight than their rivals, while vulnerable firms often miss early signals of external threats and organizational challenges. Charles Schwab, for example, was early to see and act on the promise of “robo-advisors”; Honeywell, on the other hand, stumbled when Nest Labs came out first with a “smart” thermostat. Day and Schoemaker show leaders how to assess their vigilance capabilities and cultivate insight and foresight throughout their organizations. They draw on a range of cases, including Adobe and Intuit's move to the cloud, Shell's investment in clean energy, and MasterCard's early recognition of digital challenges.

Day and Schoemaker describe how to allocate the scarce resource of attention, how to detect weak signals and separate them from background noise, and how to respond strategically before competitors do. The challenge is not just to act faster but to act wisely, and the authors suggest ways to create dynamic portfolios of options. Finally, they offer an action agenda, with tips for fostering vigilance and agility throughout an organization. The rewards are stronger market positions, higher profits and growth, more motivated employees, and organization longevity.

“…delivers what Day and Schoemaker are known for—compelling case studies, diagnostic tools, and a frame for spotting options—developed to help leaders manage innovation.”—Kirsten D Sandberg, Blockchain Research Institute—

In an age when any company can be disrupted, vigilance is a coveted trait. The authors of this book point to examples from Adobe, MasterCard, Charles Schwab, Honeywell, and Amazon to show how vigilant leaders not only act faster but also act wisely to achieve stronger market positions, growth, and organization longevity.

—The Enterprisers Project—

Listed as one of the "10 leadership books to strengthen your skills in 2020."

—The Enterprisers Project—

Alex Camlin always does such an amazing job of creating dynamic all-type covers that somehow feel like they're moving off the page and this is a perfect example of that! Between the subtle manipulation of the typography and the choice of yellow, this color vibrates with electricity.

—Spine—

Day and Schoemaker stress throughout their new book that vigilance can be systematically developed and strengthened by a motivated leadership team. Establishing new capabilities and adjusting current strategic practices require time and commitment. But the rewards — stronger market positions, higher profits and growth, and more motivated employees — make that effort key to organization longevity and even survival.

—Wharton @ Work—