Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results

The transformative system that shows leaders how to rethink their strategies, retool their capabilities, and revitalize their businesses for stronger, longer-lasting success.
 
There’s a learning curve to running any successful business. But once you begin to rely on past achievements or get stuck in outdated thinking and practices that no longer work, you need to take a step back—and unlearn. This innovative and actionable framework from executive coach Barry O’Reilly shows you how to break the cycle of behaviors that were effective in the past but are no longer relevant in the current business climate, and now limit or may even stand in the way of your success.
 
With this simple but powerful three-step system, you’ll discover how to:


1.  Unlearn the behaviors and mindsets that prevent you and your businesses from moving forward. 
2.  Relearn new skills, strategies, and innovations that are transforming the world every day. 
3.  Break through old habits and thinking by opening up to new ideas and perspectives to achieve extraordinary
results.


Packed with relatable anecdotes and real-world examples, this unique resource walks you through every step of the unlearning process. You’ll discover new ways of thinking and leading in every industry. You’ll identify what you need to unlearn, what to stop, what to keep, and what to change. By intentionally and routinely applying the system of unlearning, you’ll be able to adapt your mindset, adopt new behaviors, acquire new skills, and explore new options that will totally transform your performance and the business you lead. This book will help you let go of the past, and encourage your teams and organization to do the same. When you think big but start small, choose courage over comfort, and become curious to tackle uncertainty, you can achieve new levels of success you never dreamed possible.


Good leaders know they need to continuously learn. But great leaders know when to unlearn the past to succeed in the future. This book shows you the way.

Barry O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of ExecCamp, an entrepreneurial experience for executives, and the management consultancy Antennae. A business advisor, entrepreneur, and sought-after speaker, O'Reilly has pioneered the intersection of business model innovation, product development, organizational design, and culture transformation. He works with the world's leading innovators, from disruptive startups to Fortune 500 companies. He is a frequent writer and contributor to The Economist, Strategy]Business, and MIT Sloan Management Review, as well as a coauthor of the international bestseller Lean Enterprise: How High Performance Organizations Innovate at Scale--included in the Eric Ries Lean series and a Harvard Business Review "must-read" for would-be CEOs and business leaders. He is also an executive advisor and faculty member at Singularity University.


Visit barryoreilly.com, execcamp.com, and unlearn.online

"To succeed, it''s critical for everyone, from executives to entrepreneurs, to know how to let go of behavior and methods that have helped them achieve in the past but are now limiting. Unlearn explains how to enter into a continuous cycle of replacing old ideas and models with new ones in order to adapt in an ever-changing world. Founded on clear principles and filled with stories from the field, it advocates for courage over comfort not just now, but in whatever circumstances the future offers up." -- Eric Ries , Founder, Long-Term Stock Exchange, and author of The Startup Way and The Lean Startup "Surprisingly, many of the attributes that enabled small companies to scale into large ones are now the very things that impede their future prospects. Some telltale signs of trouble include administration replacing true leadership, process morphing into bureaucracy and red tape, and past successes inhibiting the ability to drive needed change. All this leads to a culture that sacrifices speed, client centricity, and innovation. Successful companies are mission driven and customer and employee obsessed, and they passionately preserve the founding mission of the organization while having the humility to unlearn the tried-and-true ways of the past. This book is an essential reminder that the ability to unlearn is an enduring core competency of extraordinary individuals--and the winning organizations they lead." -- John Marcante , CIO, Vanguard "Many executives and entrepreneurs hang on to thinking and methods that were once useful, but may limit their future success. Apply the lessons in Unlearn and unlock the full potential in yourself, your teams, and your organization." -- Noelle Eder , Chief Information and Digital Officer, Hilton "The only thing that is constant is change. And it''s happening faster and faster. Disruption is ongoing, yet leaders tend to think incrementally about the future. Barry shows us a better way: the only way to disrupt yourself before someone does it for you is to unlearn, separate yourself from what has worked in the past in order to create an open space to shape the future. A great read for any leader in fast-moving environments faced with the realization that what worked in the past won''t work in the future." -- Stephane Kasriel , CEO, Upwork, and Co-Chair, Future Council in Education, Gender and Work, Global World Economic Forum "We work in a world of complexity, revolutionary technologies, and dynamic change. The only advantage is people--people who are engaged and can rapidly learn and unlearn. That''s why I love Barry O''Reilly''s new book, Unlearn . It correctly magnifies a vital and often overlooked concept, the importance of unlearning for organizational success. Typically, organizations lose capability and innovation by their inability to unlearn ideas that are no longer relevant. This book provides guidance on the steps to take to form a culture of learning and unlearning." -- Edward J. Hoffman, PhD , former Chief Knowledge Officer, NASA, and Academic Director, Information and Knowledge Strategy, Columbia University " Unlearn lays out an easy-to-use system to constantly challenge what we think we know. Barry draws from a wealth of relevant and relatable examples to help us better understand how we can apply the powerful principles in our own lives. Reading Unlearn inspired me to challenge many of my own old mindsets and ideals, and I''ve seen a considerable improvement in my own results and outcomes. Inspiring work!" -- Stephen Orban , General Manager, New Initiative, Amazon Web Services, and author of Ahead in the Cloud "The only way to thrive in a world of accelerating change driven by exponential technologies is through adaptability and continuous learning. Barry O''Reilly has identified the critical first step: unlearning the past. Unlearn is a methodical playbook for breaking ourselves away from the anchors of the past and accelerating into the future." -- Rob Nail , CEO and Associate Founder, Singularity University "When you work at the intersection of technology, design, and people, change is constant, and unlearning what brought individuals and teams success in the past is of critical importance for future success. Today, every industry is changing rapidly, and the ability to learn and unlearn is a major factor differentiating the highest-performing companies and individuals from those that are falling behind. Barry O''Reilly''s book, Unlearn , with its experience-based framework, is inspiring and essential reading for all of us in leadership positions, especially within traditional industries." -- Katri Harra-Salonen , Chief Digital Officer, Finnair "Part of unlearning is not getting stuck doing only what worked in the past. When 97 percent of people think you should just go back to doing what you''ve been doing, or resist the change that you are trying to make, you know you''re on to something, and that''s where the breakthrough journey begins." -- Stephen Scott , Chief Digital Officer, Avios Group Limited "The best way to master our ever-changing business environment is by designing--and redesigning--our deep-seated habits and routines. In Unlearn , Barry O''Reilly explains in an easy-to-understand way how to introduce new habits into your workplace intentionally and systematically. By unlearning old habits and welcoming new routines, you have the unique opportunity to create a fast path to extraordinary results. The process Barry outlines draws on key methods from my work in behavior design, as well as techniques from my Tiny Habits

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