Taming Uncertainty - A Book Review of Thrive: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Competitive Advantage by Meridith Elliott Powell

What period could be more uncertain than the past 18 months? I can't remember any, which is why I was excited to try Thrive: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Competitive Advantage by Meridith Elliott Powell and boy am I glad I did. I usually stick to sales and marketing books, but I was very attracted to the idea that uncertainty itself could be turned into a competitive advantage and Thrive delivers this in spades.

 If you've seen Meridith Elliott Powell speak then you know she is a brilliant orator. That same finesse I see in her keynotes is here in her writing as well. This book is very engaging. I completed it in two days because the well-researched stories are both fascinating and relevant. They come from all periods. Each chapter includes both an older example as well as a modern example to illustrate her points.

 The book is broken down into twelve chapters, and except for the beginning and the end. Each one illustrates a particular strategy. I very much prefer practical, hard-hitting books that deliver concrete action items I can apply right away and Meridith's book delivers on that big-time. Each chapter ends with a summary of the strategy, how to apply it in the real world and exercises to do just that. Thank you for checking all my boxes! A reader in a hurry could jump straight to the end of each chapter for the summary and application but then you'd miss the fascinating examples of the strategy applied in the real world. But the option is there if you're hurting for time.

 There are nine strategies:

• Be Relentless About Your Vision
• Condition Yourself For Change
• Get Creative With Collaboration
• Be Clear About Your Core Values
• Secure Your Base
• Build Your Network
• Strengthen Your Team
• Shed Fast and Keep Moving
• Rinse and Repeat

The exercises are excellent. You'd pay major bucks to have a consultant come in a run these for you as a workshop in your organization and here they are in magnificent detail for you to run yourself. And they are applicable to both entrepreneurs as well as larger Fortune 500-types. These and the final two chapters are worth the price of the book alone.

In chapter eleven Meridith pulls all the strategies into one great whole that you can implement. It's phenomenally practical. One could start at the beginning and do one a month and have a year's worth improvement all lined up. Or, you can do what I'm going to do and cherry-pick the strategies that you can benefit from the most and start there.

My cup was already running over at the end of chapter eleven and then I encountered the coup de grace that is chapter 12. This chapter applies all nine strategies to your own personal life and holy smokes! This chapter rocks! Again, this one chapter is worth the price of the book. It could almost be a book itself.  

So there it is - I gambled on a book that I thought would make me more flexible in tumultuous times and what I got is solid, hard-hitting steps to making uncertainty my ally in both my business and personal life. Maybe this was simply perfect timing, but I loved this book. The only thing certain in life is change and here I find is a roadmap for walking down a dark, foggy path with confidence.  

You can find Thrive: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Competitive Advantage by Meridith Elliott Powell at AMAZON.   

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Until next time!

James

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