Praise for Rebuilding the Corporate Genome

"Whether you talk about capability-driven organizations, modular approaches, or networked economies, the implications of very low costs for transactions, information exchanges, and communications are clear: Business boundaries are dissolving and re-forming. Aurik, Jonk, and Willen show how innovators are creatively exploiting this trend to their decided advantage."
–Gerard Hoetmer, Senior Vice President, Unilever Bestfoods

"If you set your strategy at lower levels of the business, you can more effectively compete and grow–and fend off unexpected rivals. Rebuilding the Corporate Genome shows that once you look through capability lenses, new horizons and new possibilities suddenly come into focus."
–Jan Oosterveld, Member, Group Management Committee, Royal Philips Electronics

"This book is a compelling and prescient look at the future of the modern corporation. While the ‘corporate genome project’ may be a work in progress, the authors take important steps towards the goal of understanding how corporations really work, and how capability-based corporations will emerge as the organizations of tomorrow. Read this book carefully, because this is as close as you will get to a key for unlocking innovation and value in your industry."
–Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology and Director,
Center for Research in Technology & Innovation
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

"Rebuilding the Corporate Genome reveals the future before it arrives. The authors masterfully extrapolate from a set of current trends to paint a picture of how businesses and strategies will evolve. The book is a must-read for anyone charged with charting the direction of a business in these turbulent times."
–Toby E. Stuart, Fred G. Steingraber-A.T. Kearney Professor of Organizations and Strategy, University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business

This edition of The Tale of Three Trees is a sturdy board book with a shorter version of a bestselling classic retelling of a traditional tale linking to key events in Jesus' life for very young children. This classic story, beloved by young and old, is now retold in simpler text for younger readers. Recommended for ages 4 years and under. Featuring beautiful illustrations from Tim Jonke, The Tale of Three Trees is a bestselling classic children's book inspired by a traditional folktale that tells the story of Jesus's life from a new and unusual point of view. Three trees discuss what they want to become when they grow up. When they are felled, it seems as if all their dreams are over. But their wishes come true in a way they never expected, each tree is destined to play an important part in key events of Jesus's life. A moving folktale about Jesus's life for children, The Tale of Three Trees can also be shared out loud with the whole family. Perfect for Easter, Christmas, and a baby dedication or baptism gift. Both children and adults will be deeply touched by the beautiful message of the book, that even when life doesn't seem to be going our way, God has a plan for us and works for His good through all things.

An astonishing and fantastical autobiographical novel -- reminiscent of Italo Calvino and Laurence Sterne -- "The System of Vienna" details Jonke's travels through Vienna by streetcar, reporting the bizarre and frustrating encounters he experiences as he progresses -- and meanwhile moving not just from trolley-stop to trolley-stop, but through life as well, from innocence to disillusionment, birth to death. Jonke meets a paranoiac fish wholesaler who believes he is directing all of Austrian politics from his little stall, a stamp collector in such deadly earnest he hopes to be appointed to a professorship in philately, and a compulsive talker who has developed a rigorous economic philosophy out of the most common objects to be found in a Vienna neighborhood. Slowly increasing the comic and fantastic elements in his story until they overwhelm all pretense to autobiography -- culminating in a strangely touching love scene between Jonke and a caryatid -- "The System of Vienna" reminds us that the very act of describing a life turns it into fiction.

A composer who has already given up composing -- because of his inability to notate the music of the spheres -- becomes increasingly fixated on capturing a mysterious, eerie, distant sound, which he soon equates with all the things he desires most: the perfect woman, the perfect city, the perfect work of art. Obsessed with his impossible quest, the man breaks out of the asylum and begins a series of comic, dreamlike, and ultimately haunting adventures as he tries to locate the source of the sound that consumes him... and instead finds the root cause of all his failures.

Writing from his background as a conservatory-trained musician and his lifelong passion Gert Jonke (born in 1946) has produced literary works in every genre involving the lives and works of various composers. This volume includes four pieces in several forms -- a prose poem in tribute to Olivier Messiaen's great piano work "Catalogue d'oiseaux", which gives the title to the piece; a short story in the form of recollections by George Frederick Handel during the last hours of his life; a play (Gentle Rage) in which Ludwig van Beethoven figures as the alternately despondent and triumphant main character; and a novella whose point of departure is the bizarre, accidental shooting death of Anton Webern in 1945 (Blinding Moment).

This classic tale that tells the Easter story from a different perspective presents three trees that stand on a mountainside, dreaming of what they want to be when they grow up. Each of their dreams comes true in an unexpected way in this lovely retelling of an old folk tale. Illustrations.

An innovative satire on the process by which bureaucracy and official regimentation insidiously pervade society. In a deadpan, pseudo-scientific tone, the nameless narrator takes us on a tour of a bizarre village whose inhabitants lead such habitual, regulated lives that they resemble elements in a mathematical equation.

The first ever collection of photographs showing in detail the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world's most important urban exploration site. The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was created by the Soviets in the 1950s. It was from Baikonur in 1988 that the first Soviet spaceplane, Buran, was launched in response to the United States Space Shuttle. The Buran programme would officially end in 1993 during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, with only one Buran launch ever taking place, in 1998. Thereafter, parts of the Baikonur Cosmodrome fell into disuse, notably the sites connected with the launch of these Soviet craft. The two shuttles that were completed remain abandoned there, laid to rest in this atmospheric place. This is the first time that photographs of these spectacular locations have been published in a book. Jonk travelled 20km through the Kazakh desert under cover of night, entered the hangars clandestinely, and spent three nights there under the radar of military security to produce a truly incredible photographic reportage of what is considered today the world's most important urban exploration site. Jonk reveals his excellent collection of photographs taken in the disused part of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. As well as providing us with these amazing pictures, he describes the incredible adventure of visiting a location that is unique in the world.

Don't sell your soul to the devil to protect a marriage that is stagnated, blocking your personality and spirituality. Marriage can only survive long term if it is imprinted with the elements of Spirituality which are to enjoy the simple mysteries of Love, be attentive, respectful, accepting of each other's flows and have a genuine interest in each other's physical, emotional, intellectual and material goals. This kind of intimacy will bond you with that everlasting electricity that runs through your veins. Any relationship cannot be sustained by one sided affection and work; it must be a mutual understanding between two people wanting the same path.
Intimacy is a huge part of our human thirst, the lack of it will bring down any good marriage over time thereby it is imperative that we connect to our partner and his/her needs which will elevate the harmony, contentment and happiness that come with this fulfillment. Marriage is a sacred and healing place where constant work is needed to keep that magic alive with a nurturing and caring attitude. In an ever revolving world, our life, circumstance and relationships are put to the test and it is our challenge to step beyond these adjustments and walk hand in hand with our spiritual partner to embrace the world that awaits our participation. Marriage is not a prison cell, it is a happy place where you live, learn and grow. Please come and share my journey as to how I redeemed my soul.

In 1933, Clarence Jonk, full of yourthful naivete and an urge for adventur, decided to build a houseboat from scrap materials and float it the length of the Mississippi River. In the tradition of Huckleberry Finn and Henry David Thoreau, Jonk recounts a first-person tale of high adventure complete with wry and lyrical observations on life, love, and nature that capture the beauty and harshness of existence along the Mississippi River. Hp omg to live rent free on a St. Paul lake in hard times, Jonk, a carefree college student and would-be poet, cobbled together his own houseboat from empty oil drums, scrap lumber, and two old Model Tlengines. Then, evicted by the local authorities, Jonk hauled his rudderless craft through city traffic to the Mississippi and boldly set out from Minneapolis bound for New Orleans in the chill month of October and into the teeth of an early winter. Accompanied at times by his sweetheart, friends, and a dog, Jonk fell overboard, was almost capsized by a blizzard, encountered hostile moonshiners, and fled angry farmers while scrounging for provisions on shore. Inexperience, hasty plans, and little cash made the journey a harrowing yet entertaining one as the boat reached La Crosse, Wisconsin, before being locked perilously in shifting ice for the winter. River Journey is as much a portrait of a now-vanished era as it is about a free-spirited man's attempt to find escape from mundane responsibility during the Great Depression. It is a story that begins in delight and ends in wisdom.

Own the Future of Your Industry with a Transformational Strategy Designed for Today's Business WorldLeaders today are inundated with strategic opportunities, besieged by business disruptions, andpressured to innovate--to do things better, faster, or differently. The CEO of a Fortune 500 firm explains it best: "I am looking at 23 different strategic initiatives. Trying to develop and implement so many strategies is like trying to change the driver, tires, the oil, and the bumpers; paint the body; and tune the engine. And doing all of this on a car that's running at full speed." The answer used to be found in strategy. But in thepast decade, the commonly deployed large-scale strategic exercises were largely discredited. They were slow and elaborate and did not deliver the expected returns, let alone help make sense of a glut of initiatives or cope with an increasingly unpredictable future. The Future of Strategy brings strategy back fromthose big top-down plans. It answers the questions of executives facing tumultuous business conditions and rapidly shifting markets: Is strategy still possible? Yes. Aren't strategies outdated before they can be implemented? Not if they are done right. Rather than developing strategy, aren't we better off being agile and able to capitalize on emerging trends faster than our peers? Agility complements strategy; it cannot replace it. This book is about reversing course and repositioningstrategy in its rightful place as the overarchingmanagement system. The authors introduce their core methodology, designed to future proof companies against the friction and "fog of war" that inexorably accompany changing times. They synthesize three fundamental principles that, when combined, provide the means to reclaim strategy: Take direct cues from fundamental trends affecting the company going forwardEngage people across the company to translate these cues into strategy and effectively eliminate the handover hurdle between formulation and execution, a major reason for strategy failureCapture the output as competitive opportunities and manage their life cycles--when some have run their course, others are ready to take over Strategy today requires stepping over the shadows of one's own ingrained beliefs to capture new opportunities.This book reveals the inner workings of transformational strategies developed by leaders who gradually become more successful by advancing winning combinations of attitudes, values, habits, and practices.

This book is about icons - exceptional organizations (orchestras, restaurants, sports teams or companies) with an aspiration to make or do something special, and to go on doing so, year in, year out for decades. This is what gives these organizations their undeniably iconic status. By selecting 14 iconic organizations (including ElBulli, McKinsey, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Procter & Gamble, the All Blacks) and researching what characteristics make them different from others, the authors discovered a "competency spiral" which these organizations exhibit in their success. Attracting and retaining the right people; forging individuals into a team; and achieving outstanding results, time after time, through continuous improvement and adjustment - these are the key competencies required to achieve iconic status.