Leading The Revolution by Gary Hamel :: Leading The Revolution by Gary Hamel

Leading The Revolution by Gary Hamel Leading the Revolution was written by Gary Hamel and published in September of 2000. Hamel writes a how to book on creating the new dynamic organization. His main theme is that old business strategies are not going to survive in what he calls the age of Revolution. In his premise to the book, he states that he will show the reader how to become a revolutionary in the business world. He completes his stated task by explaining the difference between contemporary strategy and revolutionary strategy, by explaining how a reader can begin to think revolutionary, and finally by explaining how a person can act revolutionary in their own company. Hamel introduces the topic of revolutionary strategy by explaining the differences between contemporary strategy and revolutionary strategy. Contemporary strategy in his opinion coincides with the â€Å"Age of Progress†. The Age of Progress tries to improve current processes and production techniques and attempts to squeeze every last penny from the same strategy that has always been used at a given company. In Hamel’s opinion, this will not work in his â€Å"Age of Revolution†. The revolutionary strategy will try to turn an industry upside down. He pounds home his point by illustrating the differences between companies that still try to improve and companies that revolutionize an industry, by stating the differences in the new wealth that revolutionaries create for their stockholders. At first, I felt that he would only be describing internet companies, but he pointed out examples such as Midwest Airlines , who has a higher income percent than the rest of the industry. He talked about companies such as the Body Shop, Virgin-Direct, Dell, Sony and IBM. Hamel shows how even stodgy companies (IBM and Sony) can become revolutionaries. His next step is to show individuals how they can begin to think in revolutionary ways. He uses examples from these same companies that he believes to be revolutionary and they tell their own stories of how they try to think of revolutionary ideas for companies. Some examples include reading magazines from all over the world, attending industry conventions for industries outside of your own industry, travelling to places that are unfamiliar, and meeting new people. These are simple steps, but they have a profound impact if the person is truly trying to experience the differences in each situation.