How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything, Expanded Edition

Preface

This is a HOW book, not a how-to book. What's the difference between how-to and HOW? Everything.

In the twenty-first century, it is no longer what you do or what you know that matters most.

This is not just true of businesses but of any organization, be it a for-profit, a nonprofit, a government, or even a nation. The same holds true for the way individuals get ahead and accomplish their goals.

In this networked global economy, it is getting harder for organizations and individuals to succeed just on the basis of what they produce or the services they provide. In fact, if you line up all the winners today, you will notice that few win anymore solely by what they make or do. If you make something new (or better, faster, and/or cheaper), the competition quickly comes up with a way to make it still better and deliver it at the same or an even lower price. Customers instantly compare price, features, quality, and service, effectively rendering almost every “what” a commodity.

At the same time, in our hyperconnected, hypertransparent world, there is no longer such a thing as private behavior. For better or worse, everything that happens can now be forwarded, tweeted, and blogged about. We all now have unprecedented power to see over the fences and through the walls past public relations (PR) departments and right into the innermost workings of organizations, even into boardrooms and into the characters of the individuals who comprise and lead organizations. We can evaluate not ...