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The Four Workarounds

How the World's Scrappiest Organizations Tackle Complex Problems

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About this listen

 Oxford University professor and award-winning researcher Paulo Savaget reveals the ways that the scrappiest organizations problem solve and how everyone can use the same tools at work and in life.

Even with all the time and money in the world, sometimes no perfect solution can be found. Often we need something easier, smarter and quicker: we need the workaround.

When Paulo Savaget was ten months old growing up in Brazil, he became deathly ill. His parents had no access to baby formula he needed - but managed to save his life using a simple workaround. Decades later, Savaget began to study workarounds to find different ways they can address our most urgent problems.

For ages, corporations have been lecturing the world on how to get things done - but Savaget soon discovered that much about problem-solving can be learned from the scrappiest groups.

He focused his research on groups that have made an artform out of subverting the status quo. He identified four workarounds: the piggyback, the loophole, the roundabout, and the next-best. This audiobook explains how each one works and how to know which one to use when.

The Four Workarounds covers stories of how seemingly intractable problems - from public urination to the challenges of delivering life-saving medicine to remote communities - were unconventionally addressed. Savaget shows how some of the world's most influential and admired organizations have used and benefited from these scrappy tactics. And he demonstrates how we can, too.

(P) 2023 Macmillan Audio©2023 Savaget Limited Career Success Decision-Making & Problem Solving Personal Finance Budgeting Money Management Career

Critic reviews

Savaget cleverly reveals how you take scrappiness to success . . . he uses real world examples to show us smart, efficient ways to problem-solve. This book helps us live happier, successful, and more fulfilling lives (Jenn Lim, CEO and cofounder of Delivering Happiness, and New York Times bestselling author of BEYOND HAPPINESS)
An original and inspiring read for anyone interested in non-traditional problem-solving approaches (Olivier Sibony, Professor of Strategy at HEC Paris and New York Times bestselling co-author of NOISE)
The most effective companies have figured out how to "hack" their own problems and use the Four Workarounds to bypass obstacles. But these "hacks" are also used by all changemakers. Read this book to discover how to unleash the Four Workarounds in your organization (Steve Blank, Adjunct Professor, Stanford University and author of THE FOUR STEPS TO THE EPIPHANY and THE STARTUP OWNERS MANUAL)
A smart guide to finding creative solutions for a variety of difficulties . . . Wise and level-headed, this delivers (Publishers Weekly)
A hymn to deviance and "scrappiness" and a rich repository of stories about how to work around rules and norms to solve complex problems . . . Entertaining (Financial Times)
All stars
Most relevant
I was led here after a talk given by the author, and I was not disappointed! This is a clearly-articulated and fascinating look into lateral thinking and its practical applications in every day life. The examples were well chosen and well presented and the central thesis persuasive whilst not being inflexible. Highly recommended!

Fascinating

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Resourceful and gives perspectives to appliable frameworks that can support from business to personal decisions.

Paulo’s perspectives and collection of stories

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