No matter who you are or what you do, stop pushing and start pulling

One of the highlights of my career so far, has been working closely with John Hagel, John Seely Brown, Lang Davison and Duleesha Kulasooriya at the Deloitte Center for the Edge on a number of initiatives, including the Shift Index. Recently John, JSB and Lang launched a book called The Power of Pull and I have written my thoughts below in review.

I like business books. I enjoy reading about the science and theory of how to lead complex organizations and how to make them successful in a hyper-competitive world, but I've often had difficulty. I am not a CEO of a major company. The decisions I make on a daily basis do not shape the lives of thousands of people. Thus I have felt forced to hypothesize about that time when I am finally *that* leader. That is, until I read The Power of Pull. The principles and techniques therein apply to all of us, no matter who you are or what you do.

The main tenant of the Power of Pull is that in order to thrive now and in the future, companies and individuals need to develop pull "the ability to draw out people and resources as needed to address opportunities and challenges." In their latest book, Authors John Hagel, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison, join forces to evaluate the power of pull over multiple decades across all aspects of business, people and industry. The authors ascertain that the "success of institutions will depend on their ability to amplify the efforts of individuals so that small moves, smartly made, can become catalysts for broad impact."

Using concrete examples from big enterprise, the authors tell stories of pull: SAP reaches out across corporate boundaries to build a creation space that is driving change back into the company; Visa implements back-office credit-card processing services allowing other banks to jointly own the venture, reducing the investment required to enter the credit card business; Li & Fung works with thousands of business partners in more than 40 countries to deliver capabilities that support a bevy of consumer goods, even recently (Jan. 2010) entering into an agreement with Wal-Mart that may generate an additional $2B in sales.

While those examples are certainly credible and to the point, the authors firmly state that we must first understand how individuals will harness the power of pull before we can understand how institutions will change. So perhaps even more powerfully, the authors share examples of how people like you and I use pull. Surfers in Maui, dubbed grommets, connect and collaborate within small groups and across the Internet to learn how to ride sixty foot waves and World of Warcraft aficionados get better faster using social media and innovative teamwork.

Ultimately, the best test for me personally, of the quality of a book, is how inspired I am after I read it. That is something that cannot be forced or faked. I either feel that way, or I don't. After reading the Power of Pull, I am inspired to try harder than ever before to more effectively achieve my potential, to collaborate with others, and to pull an institution along the way.

Join the Power of Pull.