Dain Dunston

Kevin Freiberg

Jackie Freiberg

Nanovation is a story of how a little car is teaching the world to think big. One dreary, rainy morning in India, Ratan Naval Tata, the Chairman of the Tata Group, was driving to work, right behind a family of four. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight, all four of them crammed onto a single scooter, trying to get to school and work. Then it happened—a busy intersection, a slick road, and down they went, scooter one direction, family members the other. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt because the congested traffic had been moving so slowly. But it gave new impetus to an idea Tata had been working on: as the chairman of a car company, how could he get Indian families off scooters and into something safer that they could afford? Today we have the answer, and it’s called the Nano, the least expensive—and arguably most significant—car in the world. Nanovation is not only the story of one car; it represents the leading edge of a revolution in business thinking and design that will have a profound effect on everything that comes after it, not just in the automotive industry, not just in India, but in every industry around the world.

How a Little Car Can Teach the World to Think Big and Act Bold

Nanovation

Being Essential presents the seven questions that will help any leader discover an authentic path to the true self and master a virtuous cycle of self-awareness that fosters purpose, value, and joy at work and in life. Leaders often know what they need to do, but don't have a clue who they need to be. Without a true essence of self, their leadership can feel void of purpose and confidence, affecting both teams and stakeholders. But when leaders discover their essential selves--who they are at their cores and why they show up--it enables them to reach a state of "radical self-awareness," a game-changing skill that unlocks a more effective, commanding, agile approach to leadership. For more than thirty years Dain Dunston has been coaching top executives to find the essence of their personal and professional journeys. Now readers can learn the holistic method he uses to calibrate leaders' minds for radical self-awareness and help them achieve more satisfying professional experiences. The seven questions are taught through examples from neuroscience, psychology, real-world events, pop culture, and foundational stories from the world's great philosophical and religious traditions, from Buddha to the Bible. Leaders will learn how to use these crucial questions in an active, dynamic practice for themselves and for the people they lead. In an age of massive disruption, where our work and our senses of self are challenged by forces both external and existential, it is more important than ever to master the skill of self-awareness. Being Essential provides a personalized, proven framework to develop radical self-awareness and lead with the true self.

Seven Questions for Leading with Radical Self-Awareness

Being Essential

When Paul Lavallier makes a joke at a cocktail party in Hong Kong, he doesn't expect it to change his whole life. But he's been a little down on his luck. His wife has left him with nothing but a pile of bills he can't afford to pay. And every day he helps millionaire CEOs make more and more money for themselves while every year, there seems to be less and less for him. So when he's offered a chance to make big bucks by being a stand-in CEO, he jumps at the chance. All he has to do is go down with the ship and collect his big payoff. But he can't help himself: he starts trying to fix things. To his (and everyone else's) surprise, it turns out he's pretty good at it. But fixing things might kill the deal and powerful people can't let that happen. From Hong Kong to Dallas, from Albuquerque to Singapore and Geneva, Paul is on a quest to make things right. It's a classic fish out of water story and Paul's journey is hilarious, touching and timely. A comic novel of outrageous fortune, The Downside of Up entertains with an unforgettable case study of bad management, with hints of Tom Wolfe, Christopher Buckley and Stanley Bing. Every leader in every company should read this book. When you finish laughing, you'll also be a better leader. Praise for The Downside of Up "The Downside of Up is classic Dunston. It unleashes the creativity of a novelist, the provocative insights of a thought leader who has coached many of the top executives in the world, and the compassion of a sensei who deeply cares about the human condition, for Dunston is all three. This riveting story is loaded with all the lessons of a Harvard case study, but delivered with the kind of humor that will entertain you throughout. The business literature is ripe with short fables, but here, Dunston has broken new ground-read it and laugh." Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success "Surprising, inventive, The Downside of Up, the story of a wide-eyed innocent thrust into the world of high-stakes business had me laughing out loud." Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Someone's Daughter, Necessary Roughness "Alternately hilarious and heartwarming, The Downside of Up thrusts its hero into the inner workings of private equity firms, pulling back the veil on a hidden world of billion dollar deals and morally ambiguous corporate decisions. A perfect novel for the times we live in." G.L. Breedon, The Wizard of Time, The Dark Shadow of Spring "Writing about subjects that in the hands of a lesser writer would put them to sleep, Dain's prose commands attention. Whether he's writing about a "nanobite" or a corporate chieftan, Dain takes readers below the surface of things, allowing us to see what we otherwise wouldn't see, feel what we otherwise wouldn't feel, understand what we otherwise wouldn't understand." George Getschow, Writer-in-residence and director, The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference "If you could push a button and make yourself rich, you'd do it. But what if you knew the button would also make 11,000 families poor? Would you still push it? That's the question Dain Dunston asks in this page-turner of a comic novel. The Downside of Up deals with some of the toughest questions facing Americans today and proves you can do well in business by doing good." Vince Poscente, The Ant and the Elephant, The Age of Speed

A Comic Novel of Outrageous Fortune

The Downside of Up

Do you have the eyes, the ears, and the hands to be a Nanovator? You're about to find out. In India, entire families?too poor to afford a car?crowd onto a single motor scooter every day to brave the tangled traffic lurching through the streets. One evening Tata Motor's venerable chairman Ratan Tata witnessed something on those rain-soaked streets that both horrified him and birthed a dream: an overloaded scooter lost traction in a busy intersection and sent several members of the family tumbling across the pavement. In that moment Nanovation took root in Tata's imagination. The very idea was supposed to be impossible. A safe and appealing family car for the price of a motor scooter? The experts dismissed it. But Ratan Tata was undeterred. When budget constraints, design restrictions, the rising costs of materials, and political agitation threatened to derail the project, Team Nano pressed on. This is the story of how, in the face of insurmountable odds, Tata Motors created one of the greatest innovations in the auto industry since Model-T. Nanovation has disrupted an entire industry and changed the game for India forever. Imagine what it can do for your business. Is your company changing the way society functions? What's your Nanovative idea? It's time to get moving! Warning! Don't read this book unless you are ready to challenge management dogma, taken-for-granted assumptions, and outdated systems by asking "what if?" and "why not?" to some of your industry's toughest questions. But, if you're ready to revolutionize the products you make, the processes you use, and the companies you build, pull up a seat at the drafting table with the creators of the Nano, the most important car to roll off the assembly line in decades. Discover the thinking that bred their ingenuity and the leadership that encouraged them to overcome adversity, to take risks despite their fear of failure, and to innovate beyond their customer's wildest expectations. Endorsements: "If you're interested in stoking the fires of innovation and making a profit while making a difference, Nanovation is a must read." ?Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo "The Freiberg's deep dive into a company that transformed an entire industry is loaded with hands-on-advice- and a warning not to downsize your dreams!"- Gary Kelly, chairman, president and CEO, Southwest Airlines "Nanovation is for leaders who want to leave a lasting legacy in the world." ?Chris Connor, chairman and CEO, Shermin-Williams Company "Read Nanovation and learn what you can do to create an innovative culture in your organization." ?Ken Blanchard, co-author One Minute Manager, Full Steam Ahead, and Lead with LUV "Nanovation is a must read for any leader." ?Eric Danziger, CEO, Wyndham Hotel Group "Nanovation is for leaders who want to shake it up." ?Bruce Bochy, manager, 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants "Vibrant and energetic, the passion of the authors reflects that of the innovators it chronicles...A practical guide for creating a radical culture of innovation." ?N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder-chairman and chief mentor, Infosys Ltd.

Dain Dunston

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