Seeing Around Corners

How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen

By: Rita McGrath

Narrated by: Tiffany Morgan

The first prescriptive, innovative guide to seeing inflection points before they happen—and how to harness these disruptive influences to give your company a strategic advantage.

Paradigmatic shifts in the business landscape, known as inflection points, can either create new, entrepreneurial opportunities (see Amazon and Netflix) or they can lead to devastating consequences (e.g., Blockbuster and Toys R Us). Only those leaders who can “see around corners”–that is, spot the disruptive inflection points developing before they hit–are poised to succeed in this market.

Columbia Business School Professor and corporate consultant Rita McGrath contends that inflection points, though they may seem sudden, are not random. Every seemingly overnight shift is the final stage of a process that has been subtly building for some time. Armed with the right strategies and tools, smart businesses can see these inflection points coming and use them to gain a competitive advantage. Seeing Around Corners is the first hands-on guide to anticipating, understanding, and capitalizing on the inflection points shaping the marketplace.

Not much meat on the bones to finding inflection points.

I was looking for a simple framework to identifying inflections and more case studies to determine leading indicators. The author isn’t adding much since her prior books.

Insightful. Inspiring. Reaffirming

This literary work is now on my list of all time favorites! This book is well put together with an excellent balance of case studies and insight. Coupled with additional knowledge, I’m now prepped to ‘see around corners’. If you’re a fan of business leadership books, this is a must.

There’s something about the narrator…

I can’t tell if she’s bored, reading in a sarcastic tone or trying to sound condescending. I made it to the part where she started outlining each chapter of the book and I had to turn it off. I tried multiple speeds and nothing helped. I really wish Audible was like Siri and you could choose the voice you like. Anyway, Her voice was literally depressing me. I hope they get another narrator soon.

My review

One fascinating part of this book is the author talking about personal inflection points. How do we spot the changes that will eventually change the directions of our life's goals?

A good one

A must read to anyone in life, not only business people

I really like the real life examples and the organized approach to the topic. Ultimately, seeing around corners and anticipating major shifts is important to individuals as much as corporations- highly recommended

A Must Have

This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read and listened to. It’s the ‘The Innovators Dilemma’ by Clayton Christensen of current times.

A++

Solid read

Some of the examples are dated. But the information is relevant. I see many connections to Karl Weick’s theory of sensemaking. Do yourselves a favor and read the book.

Cool content idea, pretty bland delivery

Was really interested in the content concept, although I’m about halfway through and I’m not sure I’m going to finish. The reader sounds like a female AI. The content reads like a textbook or robotic reviews of case studies. Maybe better off just reading a ChatGPT summary

Narration was distractingly terrible

Professor McGrath has some useful points. However, it takes her way to long to get to them and the accompanying examples are drawn out or the same ones cited in several other books. Frankly, not much new. I could not finish the audio book and switched to a physical book because the narration was frankly unbearable. The emphasis on random words with a strange nasal monotone throughout—which became excruciating when she tried reading charts of information. I kept having to rewind and try to listen again because I tuned out for several minutes.

There were some segments that were worth pondering.

The text is somewhat dated with minimal insights. I have read other books that much better tackled this topic.