The New Science of Radical Innovation: The Six Competencies Leaders Need to Win in a Complex World

by Sunnie Giles

Discover a groundbreaking, science-based approach to leadership that catalyzes radical innovation for dramatic—and permanent—results. Today's business environment is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, defined by extraordinary levels of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity). But most traditional companies are still built for the old-world economy when the new mandate from VUCA requires a fresh leadership approach.  Dr. Sunnie Giles is a new generation expert on radical innovation who takes the mystery out of what radical innovation is and transforms organizations into ones fit to deliver radical innovation. Her in-depth research reveals that applying concepts from neuroscience, complex systems approach, and quantum mechanics can help leaders catalyze radical innovation rapidly. Giles's breakthrough leadership development program, called Quantum Leadership, is the key to survival in the today's VUCA market, with huge consequences for organizations' bottom lines. The New Science of Radical Innovation provides profound insights and actionable tools to help you accelerate the speed of execution, balance between team cohesion and self-organization, and tap into the power of collective wisdom. Inside, discover how to develop the six leadership competencies you need to catalyze radical innovation in your    • Self Management    • Providing Safety    • Creating Differentiation    • Strengthening Connection    • Facilitating Learning    • Stimulating Radical InnovationThis book will help you redefine how value is created in your industry.

Genres: Business, Leadership

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2018

About the author

I grew up in Korea, with neither of my parents having gone to college.

My PhD studies in systemic psychology (marriage and family therapy) at Brigham Young University led me to neuroscience, psychology, then to systems theory, which led me to complex adaptive systems theory, then to quantum mechanics.

I was fascinated with what I was learning. I had to write a book about how all these diverse disciplines of studies were connected with a coherent thread, which opened my eyes to not only how radical innovation happens but to the laws that govern all living things.

I am grateful for these insights and hope you find them as profound as I did and as a result become a more evolved being as it helped me become.
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Dr. Sunnie is a new generation expert on radical innovation who takes the mystery out of what radical innovation is and how to consistently produce it.

Her research found that by combining principles from neuroscience, complex systems approach, quantum mechanics, psychology and business, you can produce breakthrough results through a program called Quantum Leadership.

Dr. Sunnie’s methodology has helped hundreds of leaders create a culture of radical innovation that redefines the industry dynamics and launch a new paradigm upon which the rest of the industry to build incremental innovations.

Reviews

[Daniel Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunnie provides necessary insights for leaders in our fast, changing world. Her depth of understanding of both psychology and management meaningfully addresses leadership questions. This book gives a fresh and state-of-the-art lesson in leadership. I am currently studying business at a top business school; I can attest that the ideas in this book are new and insightful. The lessons it contains will act as a secret weapon to anyone in the business world today.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read on the need for today's businesses to adapt. I recently opened up a business, which was exciting and simultaneously anxiety provoking. Sunnie Giles' book was helpful as it offered tools and gave me direction on how I would like to grow my business. Great book! Highly recommend to anyone interested in learning about the importance of radical innovation!

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The management and business advice is interesting, and I like the concrete way she describes the value of new critical business soft skills such as systems thinking. However, I felt that the scientific links the author was tripping to make were often tenuous or unbelievable. For insurance the linking of creativity and flexibility to epigenetics or quantum mechanics - yes, both scientific domains relate to ideas of variation and change, but the author seems to imply a more direct connection, which is unsupported in her examples.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Innovation Requires Integrity—This Book Ignores That

As someone who read this book and also experienced the author in a real-world professional capacity, I can confidently say: the ideals in this book do not match the ethics of the person who wrote it.

Dr. Giles claims to champion emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and complex problem-solving—but in practice, I witnessed the opposite. Her behind-the-scenes behavior reflects a pattern of unchecked bias, emotionally manipulative tactics, and ethically questionable decisions that directly harmed the very relationships she claims to help “innovate.”

Leadership, by its true definition, requires humility, accountability, and fairness—not a veneer of science paired with a lack of integrity in execution. If you’re looking for leadership rooted in lived values and clinical responsibility, you may want to look elsewhere.

Innovation without ethics is not evolution. It’s exploitation.

[Lisa Kosak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very complex, yet eye-opening. It forced me to look at leadership in a new way and how to better function as a leader with all the complexity and instability around us every day. Sunnie emphasizes that we should use complexity to our advantage to make improvements and positive change around us. Radical innovation happens when we experiment and learn to see how we can better adapt to our own environment. Moreover, we need to be open to feedback and adopt a positive exchange flow with those around us. The six competencies that Sunnie shares are something that should be on a leader's radar every day and in everything that they do.

[KimballPotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. Some parts did feel somewhat redundant (as is the case for many business books). However, the book accomplished what it was set out to do: educate the reader on how leaders in today's world can navigate the complexities of today's business world.

The book walks you through 3 fundamental areas of leadership to help you harness the power of complexity: safety, connection, and learning. Additionally, it addresses the need to discover your own self-limiting beliefs. Only once we overcome those erroneous beliefs are we able to truly lead others.

I would highly recommend this book. It's one of the better business books I've read.

[Michael Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. It’s a good audiobook, although I also bought the Kindle version for some of the actionable material and ideas that it generated for me. Sunny provides a unique perspective of innovation and its connection to quantum theory. Her suggestions for leaders to improve their support of innovation are very actionable and the reason I bought 2 copies. Some of the ideas are deep and might be more meaningful when you read it rather than listen to it.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The New Science of Radical Innovation: The Six Competencies Leaders Need to Win in a Complex World is an in-depth look at years of research And practice by the author. The text demonstrates the aspects of the leadership competencies one needs to implement and sustain radical innovation their organization, enabling them to achieve success and the results they want and need. Worth the time to read.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author goes through great pains to sound informed but what has resulted from this suffering is a bunch of pseudo-scientific platitudes. She tries to draw parallels between learning and the second law of thermodynamics, between leadership and quantum physics… reading that is painful. The last chapter is worth the price of the book - good case studies and analysis of practical application of basic concepts of agile teams. There’s nothing that’s very ground breaking though.

[Joe Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really good ideas from an author who has clearly succeeded in her field, but the writing is atrocious. It's a baffling combination of repetitive technical jargon combined with her attempt to qualify for the self-congratulation olympics. I should have skimmed it instead of reading in depth as there weren't enough nuggets to justify 200+ pages.

[Book Chui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very smart author but it's a bit of a struggle to read.