As befitting a book on polymaths, I sought feedback from a wide range of executives and authors – they represent big and small companies, a variety of industries and geographies. I got some great blurbs back this week – many thanks to all the reviewers!
"As I watch Meg Whitman, my boss at eBay for seven years, pursuing one of the toughest jobs in the country - the Governor of California - and I am now focused on changing the world of work the same way we changed the world of ecommerce, I am inspired by this book. As you'll see when we all aim higher, and embrace the power of 'AND", we are all capable of contributing far more than we imagined!"
- Maynard Webb, Chairman and CEO, LiveOps; former COO, eBay
“Bravo! In a work that's fresh and inviting, Mirchandani shares with us his case studies in innovation and creativity. It's no small irony that the "IT revolution" has created a technology industry that all too easily falls back on bromides and received wisdoms; Mirchandani inspires us to return to IT's roots, with the transformative power that comes from putting technology innovation in service to business and society.”
- Benjamin Fried, CIO, Google
"Don’t know what a Polymath is? If you learn and become one before your competitors do, you can eat rather than be eaten. Mirchandani’s thoroughly insightful work will become 21st Century Acumen.“
- Don Tapscott, author of 14 books including (with Anthony Williams) MacroWikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World (September 2010)
“At DeVry Education, we are focused on the next generation workforce which will build the Polymath enterprises of tomorrow. So, it’s good to see the book touch on such a wide range of technologies -- from cloud computing to emerging medicine -- that are shaping our curriculum. We are always looking for innovation, including online classes and instructional labs, and the book has got us thinking in new directions.”
- Daniel Hamburger, President & CEO, DeVry Inc.
“Mirchandani is one of the few technology analysts to realize that technology doesn’t come in neat bundles anymore, if it ever did. His stories and lessons cut across infotech, biotech, greentech, and mathtech. If you want to be a polymath innovator, this is your bible!”
- Thomas H. Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor of IT and Management, Babson College; Co-author Analytics at Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results
“A brilliant read. In order for individuals and companies to fully maximize new century opportunities--and stay abreast of a constantly morphing technological frontier--Mirchandani not only gives examples of the polymath framework but concrete evidence for successful leveraging. Thanks to technology, we can all be polymaths if we open our minds to the possibilities. Consider this book your guide--I think da Vinci would be proud.”
- Linda Avey, co-founder, 23andMe
“In this fascinating book, Mirchandani, himself an example of the new breed of Polymath that he defines, brings into a sharp focus exactly what has been achieved by those who have the remarkable ability to combine and mix technology elements. An excellent read on multiple levels; to learn from; to be entertained by; and most of all to leave you wondering what you could personally achieve.”
- Andy Mulholland, Global Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini
“Mirchandani describes a future of possibilities - “fortunate accidents of innovation” - enabled by the convergence of technologies with a dose of ideas from “left field”. As the founder of Rural Sourcing, we believed in the untapped potential of our young people in Rural America. The possibilities are limitless when there are no geographic boundaries to our workforce and we can truly move the work to the worker rather than the worker to the work.”
- Kathy Brittain-White, Former EVP and CIO, Cardinal Health; Founder, Rural Sourcing, Inc.
"The New Polymath brings to life the powerful idea of innovating by bringing the right mix of people together, regardless of function or geography. It's must reading for anyone leading multi-disciplinary teams or looking to drive innovation."
- Chris Curran, CTO, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants
“Every 10-15 years the technology industry reinvents itself, taking all the achievements and knowledge from the prior generation and turning them into a platform for new innovation. That regular cycle of rebirth has transformed the way we work, live and play – around the world. Mirchandani has done a fabulous job shining a light on examples of people and organizations that take what exists around us and turn it into what is possible. These are the innovators that inspire us.”
- Dave Duffield, co-CEO and Chief Customer Advocate, Workday; former Chairman and CEO, PeopleSoft, Inc.
“In today’s world, innovation distinguishes great companies from good ones. Mirchandani highlights the importance of technology in such innovation, and specific to IT counsels about being a full partner of the business and being open to the best ideas from other industries and geographies. The book is full of examples on how to accomplish this and should be required reading for all IT professionals and students”
- Caroline Watteeuw, Global CTO PepsiCo and SVP Business Information Solutions
“At Science Debate, we focus the attention of Presidential candidates on the Top 14 Science Questions Facing America. Solving them requires collaboration between technologists, economists, industrialists and governments. The New Polymath profiles numerous examples of this cross-silo innovation.”
- Shawn Lawrence Otto, CEO and cofounder, Science Debate, Inc
Previous reviews were posted here.
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