Squirrels, Boats, and Thoroughbreds

Lessons for leading change in traditional businesses

Leading change is hard. Leading change in a traditional industry can seem impossible.

In this lively and irreverent book, Jamie Gerdsen presents hard-learned lessons for inspiring innovation in traditional industries, such as manufacturing or his own heating, cooling, and plumbing company. Through personal stories of trial and error and eventual triumph over the roadblocks to change, you’ll discover how to embrace and foster innovation in your own organization. Discussions include hiring, employee motivation, professional focus, coaching, the business cycle, and work-life balance.

In traditional industries, you might find more dogs than squirrels, more thor- oughbreds than quarter horses. A leader’s first instinct might be to work himself into a stupor trying to manage all of the tasks required to make change stick. But with Gerdsen’s guidance and relatable tales, you’ll see how to get everyone rowing in the same direction to pull the company forward together.