View the video review of the new book, Rewired. Listen in as Dr. John Reynolds and David Schmidt join Pearson to discuss AI. Learn why Reynolds urges, “Rewired is the book to have on your desk today.”
“Rewired is the book to have on your desk today.”Attn: Leaders, Readers, and Listeners!I’ve been haranguing you to delegate your reading—but for this issue, I actually delegated my review!
Dr. John Reynolds, President of Los Angeles Pacific University, read and reviewed this week’s book and urges every executive to get it off the shelf and onto your desk!
Another bonus! Click here to view a short video conversation about AI with Dr. Reynolds,
David Schmidt, and me—as we talk about all things digital, AI, and this book:
READ THE REVIEW FROM DR. JOHN REYNOLDS:If you are an executive looking for one comprehensive “how to make it happen" book that is current, speaks to the executive in language that makes sense about the rapidly evolving digital world, then
Rewired is the book to have on your desk today.
The style of the book is perfectly stated right on the dust cover: “
Rewired is a practitioner’s guide for leaders ready to do the hard work needed to outcompete in the age of digital and artificial intelligence.”
Circle in your mind
“practitioner,” “leaders,” and
“digital,” and you will know right now that this is a must-read for every organizational leader.
Well-designed for a complex topic, the book is neatly divided into seven sections:
•
Sections 1 to 4 focus on the business of leading people and leading the organization certain to come with digital transformation.
•
Sections 5 to 7 identify the digital strategies required to support the organizational change and deliver impact—utilizing the latest data on governance and technology available.
Your more technical staff and Chief Digital/Information Officers will be ecstatic! There are several outstanding new and interesting insights. For example, “EVP” is not “Executive Vice President,” but an “Employee Value Proposition.” (
Fascinating.) And if you want to learn more, read Chapter 10,
“Hiring Digital Talent When They’re Actually Interviewing You” (especially pages 88-91). Discover the new talent management strategies needed in this digital world.
The book is loaded with practical “how-to-do-it” strategies, examples, and case studies to support the execution of digital strategies. An outstanding example is the chart on page 90,
“The Most Important Job Factors for Software Talent,” showing four columns (Took a Job, Plan to Stay, Plan to Leave, Left) and the reasons for such action:
• Career development and advancement potential
• Compensation and financial-related factors
• Workplace flexibility
• Meaningful work
• Support for employee health and well-being
A talent acquisition map ready to go! Pages 92-96 feature a template to document your “Current State Recruiting Journey” and your “Future State Recruiting Journey”—populated graphically with yellow emojis (i.e.
Motivated, Anxious, Stressed, Hopeful, Frustrated, Informed, Excited, and more). The recruitment phases note the timelines.
Several chapters on “doing agile” serve as a great primer if you’ve missed the large repository of information published on agile organizations over the last few years. The detailed and practical approaches to organizational structure and optimizing agile methods are masterful with several real-world examples and case studies—a signature of this well-researched book.
Rewired is a practical
“this is what we learned, use our experience, now go out and do it yourself” reference for navigating the often-fraught challenges of digital transformation. It could easily be renamed “The Dummies Guide to Digital Transformation, Agile Organizations, and Technology”—but the book is too well-researched, and replete with research information, that
any other title would not do the content and value justice.Rewired should be on every executive’s desk, and definitely not on the shelf. It masterfully fuses Strategic Thinking with execution in a practical and logical roadmap—enabling organizations to be successful in implementing and adding value through digital transformation.
NOTE: A genuine THANK YOU to our guest reviewer of Rewired. John Reynolds, Ph.D., serves as the President of Los Angeles Pacific University (LAPU) in Los Angeles. Prior to his 20+ year career in higher education, John worked and consulted in over 40 countries speaking, consulting, and advising educational, corporate, and NGO leaders on strategy, leadership, and organizational development initiatives. In addition to being a President and CEO, John serves on several for-profit, nonprofit, and educational boards in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Africa. John enjoys writing, speaking, teaching, and consulting, specifically in the areas of strategy, leadership, digital transformation, board governance, and organizational change. To order from Amazon, click on the title for
Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI, by Eric Lamarre, Kate Smaje, and Rodney Zemmel. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.
BONUS! To read the 12-page summary of
Rewired, by the authors,
click here to sign up for
McKinsey Quarterly. (See pages 18-29 in the June 2023 digital edition, Vol. 59, No. 3.)
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:1) Who should read this book first? Who will ensure that
Rewired is on the DESK of our digital and AI team members, not the shelf?
2) In our video review of
Rewired,
David Schmidt cautions about
the unprecedented changes that AI is bringing to the workplace—and the “ten percent” factor that faith-based nonprofits, especially, should be vigilant about. Can we trust the data? As a
consultant, Schmidt recommends that policies keep pace with these coming changes. “What’s core and what’s non-negotiable?”
Who is giving us guidance on these key issues? (NOTE: The day after we recorded the video, this article appeared online: "'AI and the Church' tech initiative aims to bring God's power to those in need. Scott Beck, CEO of Gloo, believes that AI, used properly, can benefit 'human flourishing.'")3) If you enjoyed the above review, check out the video review of
The Four Workarounds, recorded on March 8, 2023, with John Pearson (host) and David Schmidt and Jason Pearson.
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 7: Contrarian Thinkers
Book #41 of 100: The Contrarian’s Guide to LeadershipFor your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #41 in
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership
by Steven B. Sample
Books #41 through #45 spotlight five unique authors I’ve labeled
“Contrarian Thinkers.” Steven Sample (1940-2016) served as USC’s president from 1991 to 2010. He had two general rules about decision making:
[ ]
Rule No. 1: “Never make a decision yourself that can reasonably be delegated to a lieutenant.”
[ ]
Rule No. 2: “Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off to tomorrow.”
•
Read my review.
• Order from
Amazon:
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership •
Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
The page-turning contrarian chapters include: 1. Thinking Gray, and Free
2. Artful Listening
3. Experts: Saviors and Charlatans
4.
You Are What You Read 5. Decisions, Decisions
6. Give the Devil His Due
7. Know Which Hill You’re Willing to Die On
8.
Work for Those Who Work for You 9. Follow the Leader
10.
Being President Versus Doing President
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. Mystified by the divergent views on AI? Some of our clients have discovered breakthrough solutions—saving hours (even days) of precious time. Need an outside insight? Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
MORE RESOURCES:
IMPORTANT NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon.
Issue No. 658 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Oct. 3, 2025) features a new book coming Oct. 7—describing the four seasons of a CEO. The “...
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