A Course in Paradoxical Thinking

Transformation is a key term these days, whether in politics or in business. All the more so because the vast majority of transformation initiatives fail to achieve their stated goals. And yet, this is rarely due to a lack of understanding. We usually know that something needs to change, and what that something is. Nevertheless, in the end, we rarely achieve what we set out to accomplish, despite the best intentions and the considerable efforts of those involved. This book is an attempt to take this curious phenomenon seriously and, from there, to rethink our understanding of what makes transformation successful. The subtitle poses the question and provides the answer to the book's central insight: why transformations cannot be managed, and why that is precisely why they must be pursued, just not in the way you might expect.

Transformation is a key term these days, whether in politics or in business. All the more so because the vast majority of transformation initiatives fail to achieve their stated goals. And yet, this is rarely due to a lack of understanding. We usually know that something needs to change, and what that something is. Nevertheless, in the end, we rarely achieve what we set out to accomplish, despite the best intentions and the considerable efforts of those involved. This book is an attempt to take this curious phenomenon seriously and, from there, to rethink our understanding of what makes transformation successful. The subtitle poses the question and provides the answer to the book's central insight: why transformations cannot be managed, and why that is precisely why they must be pursued, just not in the way you might expect.