THE ADAPTATION ADVANTAGE

The most deeply researched and actionable guide to the future of work, selected as one of the Top 30 Business Books for 2021

If we want to keep up with the impossible pace at which technology, the workplace, and the world are changing, we need to lead differently. We can no longer focus on straightforward skills or metrics like productivity. We need to focus on culture, collaboration, collaborative intelligence, and the most elusive yet essential skill of all— adaptability.

 

The Adaptation Advantage, written in collaboration with fellow future-of-work thought leader Chris Shipley, offers transformative insight into what a fast-changing world means for work and workers, and lights a path forward for anyone who works and leads others in their work. 

With over 75 graphics that make tough concepts easily visible in Heather’s distinct style, The Adaptation Advantage is a guidebook for individuals and organizations as they reimagine their future of work and become the leaders they’ve dreamed of becoming. 

 
 
 

THE BOOK IS SEPARATED INTO THREE PARTS,
EACH ONE BUILDING ON THE LAST.

Part 1:

Understanding the dynamics and impact of technology and social change

Part 2:

Understanding what this change means to individuals and their identity

Part 3:

Understanding how to lead in this learning-centric future of accelerated and continuous change and seize the Adaptation Advantage for your organization

 
 
 

Combining and synthesizing wisdom from interviews with hundreds of executives, The Adaptation Advantage explains the profound changes happening in the world of work and suggests a powerful solution: a new way of thinking about careers that detaches our sense of pride and personal identity from our job title, connecting it instead to our sense of purpose.

 

PRAISE FOR THE ADAPTATION ADVANTAGE

  • "Adaptive Advantage brings sense to the sometimes confusing and scary world of change. McGowan and Shipley give us permission to be entrepreneurial by exploring the nature of opportunity and a natural pathway to engagement. Ambiguity is our friend in a world that understands change as a chance to improve lives. The authors beautifully weave macroeconomic phenomenon with a prod for introspection."

    Dr. Stephen Spinelli Jr.,
    President of Babson College, co-founder of Jiffy Lube, Chairman of the Board Planet Fitness

  • "Your next job starts where the robots stop. Learn to embrace that handoff. The best way to do that for both individuals and organizations is through rapid learning, unlearning and adaptation. Heather and Chris’ book is an indispensable guide to how navigate this new era in the workplace."

    Thomas L. Friedman,
    Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times

  • "Adaptive Advantage is fueled by the power of an elegant idea: our ability to learn and adapt is inseparable from our sense of identity. And as automation driven by machine intelligence remakes our world the need to continually transform our identities becomes the very foundation of human growth—and how we thrive."

    Randy Swearer, PhD.,
    Vice President of Learning Futures, Autodesk

  • "McGowan and Shipley's "The Adaptation Advantage" nails it. Adaptive identity requires letting go - letting go of a job or skill set identity in order to thrive in a world of rapidly changing societal norms and technologies."

    Dr. Jim Spohrer,
    IBM Director, Cognitive Open Technologies