Understand the barriers to change and cultivate a reinvention mindset that will make you impervious to disruption
In our world of incessant change, we are all threatened by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity-at the individual and organizational levels. Undisruptable will give you a new lens through which to consider change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. You’ll be inspired to consider the big questions of today: What does the future hold? What does the exponential growth of technology mean for the world of work? What does a changing job market mean for future generations? What do waves of disruption mean for business leaders? Society is evolving at breakneck speed. What does this mean for all of us? Read Undisruptable to bridge the chaos and build the resilience you need to move forward.
While we cannot see into the future, there are repeatable patterns that we can understand. Undisruptable demystifies the principles of change through a blend of analogies, innovation frameworks and exemplars of change such as Fujifilm and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The first step to becoming undisputable is to realize that evolution is a natural part of life, and nature provides many examples. Undisruptable will help you to:
Understand the principles of change
Overcome the barriers to change
See change as an opportunity and not an obstacle
Utilize simple frameworks and examples to guide you on your transformation
By the end of this book, you will have the essential tools and techniques to foster a reinvention mindset that will help you and your organization to become Undisruptable.
This book is part of a 3-part series. Part 2 looks at the biases and mental obstacles that prevent change. Part 3 examines the best ways to communicate change within an organization.
PRAISE FOR UNDISRUPTABLE
Aidan McCullen has lived a fascinating life of major change. In his book, ‘Undisruptable’; he brings us a method for making sense of the external world, and an accessible and visual approach to letting go of the past, and welcoming the future with a mindset of permanent reinvention. It is a timely, thoughtful book, well worth reading.
- Dee Hock, founder and CEO Emeritus of VISA and author of One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
As the poet Paul Valery said, ‘the future is not what is used to be’.
Organizations across the board must come to grips with permanent reinvention as their needed way of being. Aidan McCullen’s gifted storytelling will inspire you and get you on your way to permanent reinvention.
- Mark Johnson, co-founder Innosight and author Lead from the Future
This book teaches the mindset-the lens of clarity-that we all must develop in order to be undisruptable in a future of chilling disruption.
- Bob Johansen author Full-Spectrum Thinking, Distinguished Fellow, Institute for the Future
The snake may slough off its tail, but there’s nothing to be sloughed off with this book. Former professional rugby player Aidan McCullen knows how not to be defeated by victory. He knows how to disrupt himself. He knows what it means to be Undisruptable.
- Whitney Johnson, author of Disrupt Yourself
Aidan McCullen shows us how to embrace a mindset of permanent reinvention. By reading this book, you will learn how to shed outdated assumptions and mental models before it’s too late. Moreover, you will learn how to remain perpetually curious no matter your past success. McCullen encourages us to embrace a constructive form of restlessness that can be personally rewarding as well as effective for our organizations.
- Michael A. Roberto, author of Unlocking Creativity, Trustee Professor of Management, Bryant University
A masterpiece! Aidan McCullen’s been through the gristmill of change, and come through with great wisdom and guidance for all of us. This is a book to treasure and reread.
- Barbara Oakley, author of A Mind for Numbers and Learning How to Learn
Come for the evocative metaphors and stories. Stay for the powerful frameworks and practical guidance. Undisruptable is a useful guide to thriving in today’s era of constant change. Highly recommended.
- Scott D. Anthony, senior partner, Innosight, author of Eat, Sleep, Innovate and Dual Transformation
In Undisruptable, Aidan McCullen provides the missing manual to thrive in the Age of Disruption. This is the right book for right now.
- Ozan Varol, author of Think Like a Rocket Scientist
Strategic frameworks often feel both academic and stale. Aidan McCullen has built a series of lenses on transformation that are based in real world practice-they are alive and fresh through research and compelling storytelling. It is so much fun to read, and incredibly important for people who work in strategy, innovation and the management of change (which we all do now!)
- Charles Conn, Board member of Patagonia and author of Bulletproof Problem Solving
If the 1920s was the time of the Great Depression and the 2008-2011 the era of the Great Recession, the COVID-19 has opened the doors to the age of the Great Reinvention. Now is the time to shed the old believes about change - and transform it from a threat into an opportunity. And that’s exactly what Aidan McCullen with the Undisruptable - a sharp, deep, focused, pragmatic, and incredibly compassionate work we all need during these volatile and uncertain times.
- Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva, founder of Reinvention Academy and author of The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook: How to Thrive in Chaos
Much of what makes us successful today, can limit our success in the future-therefore we must continuously learn, unlearn and relearn to be truly undisruptable. Aidan McCullen has packed this book with examples, powerful questions and actionable steps to put your journey to this state into practice. This book will make you better prepared for our uncertain future ahead, and help you find your own unique path to succeed in it.
- Barry O'Reilly, author of Unlearn
Undisruptable combines analogies from the natural world with stories from the business world, and in doing so changes your perspective on business and life. It’s a joy to read.
- Anne Janzer, author of Writing to Be Understood
Aidan McCullen is an amiable companion in this exploration of the kind of mindset that will help you thrive in an uncertain world and become undisruptable no matter how big the gray rhinos charging at you may be. This book is full of thought-provoking questions, useful mental models, and real-world examples to help you approach business and life by embracing permanent reinvention. I highly recommend it!
- Michele Wucker, author of The Gray Rhino
This book can help people and organisations answer perhaps their toughest strategic question: ‘How can we stay externally relevant to our fast-changing world when we’re internally encumbered by slow moving systems and motivations?’ Filled with a great blend of stories, practical tools and imaginative illustrations, I read it cover-to-cover in one sitting. Highly recommended for leaders, managers or anyone interested in change and innovation.
- Elvin Turner, author of Be Less Zombie
A wonderful combination of philosophy, metaphors and business concepts. A truly inspirational book on transformation and innovation.
- Dan Toma, author of The Corporate Startup
I have three pieces of news for you; two good and one bad. First, the good news: we all understand the idea and the need of constant learning and permanent reinvention. Now, the bad news. Very few people really know how we can actually make it happen. The final good news. Aidan McCullen’s book: Undisruptable will guide you with a beautifully crafted narrative, compelling evidence, storytelling and amazing creativity. It is a deep book and yet so much fun to read: learning - the sex of the mind - at this best.
- Paolo Gallo, Former CHRO, World Economic Forum and author of The Compass and the Radar
Becoming undisruptable is not an event, it is a never-ending odyssey. In an age of incessant change, we must all learn to reinvent ourselves and our organisations big and small. This book provides a mental model to enable permanent reinvention.
- David C. McCourt, Executive Chairman Granahan McCourt Capital and National Broadband Ireland and author of Total Rethink
Undisruptable inspires the mindset, provides the techniques, and stimulates the motivation to embrace constant change as a unique opportunity for yourself and for your organization. In an age of unprecedented change, this is not only useful. It is essential.
- Alessandro Lanteri, PhD, Professor of Management ESCP Business School and author of Clever
A must read. Get it now! Aidan McCullen’s work is itself an undisputable contribution to the power of focus and imagination when applied to all facets of our society. Undisruptable brings a fresh, vibrant and packed perspective on innovation and reinvention. The recurrence of reinvention is so powerful that it become the underlying current of the entire work and it does its magic! It primes us to think positively about the infinite possibilities that individual and collective thinking can achieve. It is a book for all ages and all flavours. No matter whether you read it for fun and personal leisure, or whether you read it to inspire yourself at work, or if you have just received it as a gift, Undisruptable will endow you with the greatest gift of all: the gift that human ingenuity can makes us Undisruptable!
- Mark Esposito, Ph.D, Professor, government adviser and author of Understanding How the Future Unfolds.
Brilliant book. As a game plan for continued success throughout life, this book is a game changer. Regardless of your goals as an individual or a group, Undisruptable opens up a panacea of tactics and opportunities that are life altering. Aidan McCullen has crafted a pragmatic toolbox for life based on his own diverse experiences. As a young rugby player, when people saw Aidan for what he was, Aidan always envisioned what he could become and that makes all the difference.
- Eddie O'Sullivan, former Head Coach to the Ireland and USA Rugby teams and author of Never Die Wondering
A magnificent book! How do you continuously learn, adapt and evolve so that you have the
ability to continuously have meaningful work and a meaningful life in the Smart Machine Age? This book provides you a pathway to being on that Journey. This is a book that you will want to use for the rest of your life. Its practical how -to stories will capture your heart and your mind. I invite you to savour each chapter. It is a great read!
- Edward D. Hess, author of Hyper-Learning, Learn or Die and Humility is the New Smart, Professor at the Darden Business School
I absolutely love it! This book will change your life.
- Friederike Fabritius, author of The Leading Brain
In an age of disruption, the only viable strategy is to adapt. In this gripping book, Aidan McCullen brings us along on his personal journey in which he unlocks the secrets of reinvention. The result is an excellent guide to navigating today’s complex environment.
- Greg Satell, author of Cascades and Mapping Innovation
A book we all need to read right now! If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is guaranteed. Instead of that being a message of doom and gloom, Undisruptable, shows us just how much we actually control. It reminds us that our imagination and ability to create is paramount. It’s a straight to the point guide to navigating and creating the change we need to see to continuously evolve. At a time where leaders and employees everywhere are feverishly trying to figure out what happens next, this book ensures everyone can get on the same page about how to use their unique talents, insights and resourcefulness to jump onto the Infinity curve and create the future they want to see.
- Heather MacArthur, author of Low Man on the Totem Pole
A relatable and educational book with penetrating insight into the rise and fall of organizations. This is a must-read for business leaders with ambition to reach, and maintain, excellence.
- John D. Wood, Esq. author of The Humachine: Humankind, Machines, and the Future of Enterprise
The germination of this book predates this current wave of disruption and so it’s timing may seem remarkable; but that’s how Aidan McCullen, and people who live undisruptable lives, have always seen things. In this book you see, hear and feel the personal and organisational mindset that thrives in disruption. More than anything it shows us the way to live happy and fulfilling lives in our ever-changing world.
- Phillip Matthews, Former Captain Ireland Rugby Team and former CEO National College of Ireland
