Bob Seelert, Chairman Emeritus, Saatchi & Saatchi

“The VUCA world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity is upon us – whether we like it or not. This book lays out the roadmap for surviving and prospering in these dynamic and challenging times.”

Mark Nelson, President, ARAMARK Higher Education

“Even in the most successful organizations – danger lurks. It may take the form of complacency where maintaining the status quo, doing those things we have done well for years will continue to ensure our success even when we know the world around us and our competitive set continue to evolve at a much faster pace (VUCA). Tom and Nick helped prepare and mobilize our team for what lies around the corner – change and transformation at lightning speed. The Agile Model helped our managers see the world through the lens of opportunity – to anticipate what truly is around the next bend and to create resiliency for the challenges ahead…and winning in the marketplace.”

Kevin Toomey, CEO, Kayser-Roth Corporation

“The fashion business, driven by consumer trend and innovation is already well immersed in VUCA and accelerating at an increasingly rapid pace. Successful companies of the future will need to be not only Focused, but Fast and Flexible at the same time. The Agile Model, outlined in Tom and Nick’s book, provides the steps to competitive advantage in the future and coping with all aspects of VUCA.”

Jim Bowles, EdD VP Leadership Practice BTS USA

“Having Nick Horney’s’ research lens specifically focused on the issue of “agility” in his new book “Focused, Fast and Flexible” has yielded a great new “must read” to the reading list of any student of leadership. Readers will find very specific, useful and highly relevant guidance as to how to preempt or prepare for the “surprises” that accompany the avalanche of change that will continue to be faced by leaders in all organizations. The integration and practice of “agility” as an organizational attribute will continue to be a key differentiator of business success. This book provides a well-articulated “how to” for leaders who understand the challenge. While it is tempting and convenient to believe that change is so pervasive that people eventually adapt to it, the fact is that people are not naturally equipped or inclined to do that. Understanding and leveraging the prescriptive approach explained in the Agility Model” is an alternative path.to acceptance, with a more likely outcome of resilience.”

Walt Pilcher, former CEO of L’eggs® Products and Kayser-Roth Corporation and author of The Five-fold Effect: Unlocking Power Leadership for Amazing Results in Your Organization

Wouldn’t you have a wonderful advantage if you could see into the future and accurately anticipate changes that will inevitably happen? By adopting The Agile Model in Focused, Fast & Flexible you can do better than that and be more than ready when your future arrives, and keeps arriving, and arriving. Honed and validated over many years of practical experience and proven effectiveness by no-nonsense business people, The Agile Model is both comprehensive and detailed yet always with a view toward the bigger picture. Focused, Fast & Flexible is well organized, easy to read, and full of real life examples. With its guidance, you see the trees and the forest as you sharpen and sustain your company’s winning edge.

Bill Pasmore, SVP Organizational Leadership, Center for Creative Leadership and Professor of Practice, Columbia University

Who hasn’t experienced the increased speed and complexity of change in our businesses and institutions?  We have felt it but until now, we didn’t have the playbook to cope with it.  Thanks to Horney and O’Shea, we now know clearly what to do.  Their AGILE model makes perfect sense and points the way.  The rest is up to us.

Joel Katz, President, Leadership Acumen

“Nick and Tom switch our headlights to high-beams so we can see further down the road and prepare for multiple scenarios.  This book provides an excellent model and practical guidelines for becoming an agile organization with agile leaders at every level.  Read this book and incorporate its precepts into your leadership protocols, lest you become the proverbial “deer in headlights” when unexpected shift happens. I consult with many C-suite executives and just about every one of them understands the need to be an agile organization, but very few know how to make that happen.  This book presents a powerful tool with practical guidelines for building organizational agility.  Put a copy on the bookshelf  and in the hands of every leader at every level of your organization.  

Jane Martin, Strategy+Communications+Marketing

The pace and complexity of change continues to escalate at an alarming rate in the business world. Your business success depends on developing and implementing relevant business strategies to simply maintain your market position.  Tom and Nick’s book provides the wisdom and insights needed through their Agility Model to create a sustainable competitive advantage. This book is a must read for leaders at all levels of an organization.  Don’t wait. Get the book now.  Use it. You will be glad you did.

Anson Dorrance, Hall of Fame Head Women’s Soccer Coach at UNC-Chapel Hill

The speed of play in business has been accelerating just like the speed of play in the major leagues of competitive sport.  Business is definitely a team sport where speed, collaboration, creativity and adaptability are critical success factors and differentiators of winners and losers.  Focused, fast and flexible are good descriptors for championship teams whether in the stadium or in corporate hallways.  Tom and Nick’s book captures the key insights to help any coach or leader build high performance, agile teams to win in today’s competitive cauldron.

Justo Nunez, Vice President, Marketing The Limu Company

“Working in high-growth entrepreneurial environments over the last two decades has absolutely confirmed the very real importance of proactive agility to me. Working fast and focused every day, in every situation, is now a hallmark of success in every organization, and especially where competition grows exponentially as in our direct sales industry. It is the CEO who is more than willing to change course – and quickly – that wins the race. But only if agility is organizationally developed as an internal track to run on.”

Mary Eckenrod, VP Global Talent Management, Johnson Controls 

Nick Horney and Tom O’Shea have taken their extensive experience with CEOs and executive teams dealing with unprecedented change and complexity, and are sharing the lessons and tools with all of us. Focused, Fast and Flexible is not a superficial “how to,” but is instead a practical and comprehensive guidebook on sustainable change for today’s leaders.

Sandy Costa, author, Humanity at Work: Encouraging Spirit, Achievement & Truth to Flourish in the Workplace 

There is no question that the business environment is more turbulent than ever before. Tom O’Shea and Nick Horney have spent decades showing business leaders how to make sense out of these uncertainties. They can help you make certain that you and your company are not left behind.

Mark Haas, President, Research and Organization Management and former Chair of Institute of Management Consultants

Today, every business is like a new arrival in a VUCA world, requiring different attitudes, skills, language and tools to survive. The Agile Model described in this book, and the mindset needed to execute it successfully, provides this needed guide. Backed up by logic, data and practical experience, Horney and O’Shea have eliminated the last excuses executives and their teams might have for failing to navigate their increasingly complex and fast moving world. The only question remaining is whether you are more agile than your competitors, because they are certainly not going to ignore agility as a fundamental business strategy.