September book club pick: Exploiting Chaos

It’s September, which means it’s time to hit the books – even if you’re not a student anymore. It’s time for another pick of the Sprouter book club! This month we’ve chosen a brand-new book (released today) called Exploiting Chaos: 150 ways to spark innovation during times of change. The book is written by Jeremy Gutsche, founder of TrendHunter.com. He is an entrepreneur, a popular keynote speaker, and his TrendHunter site boasts an audience of 10 million views. The book Exploiting Chaos focuses on how periods of uncertainty fuel tremendous opportunity, and is perfect for any entrepreneurs or startups who are looking to thrive during the economic recession (companies like Disney & GE were started during recessions!). The book features a forward by Alltop co-founder Guy Kawasaki, and bestselling author, entrepreneur and marketer Seth Godin says “with his ideas, you might catch an ideavirus.”

Jeremy took the time to answer some questions about Exploiting Chaos and why it’s a great pick for entrepreneurs:

Sprouter: Why should entrepreneurs read this book?

JG: Times of chaos give birth to new opportunities that enable entrepreneurs to thrive.  Large companies tighten their budgets, but consumers still buy things.  By identifying the evolution of consumer needs, entrepreneurs can catapult to the next level.  Accordingly, each of these companies were founded during periods of economic recession:   Disney, CNN, MTV, Hyatt, Burger King, FedEx, Microsoft, Apple, Gillette, AT&T, Texas Instruments, 20th Century Fox, IBM, Merck, Hershey?s, IHOP, Eli Lilly, Coors, Bristol-Myers, Sun, Amgen, The Jim Henson Company, LexisNexis, Autodesk, Adobe, Symantec, Electronic Arts, Fortune, GE, and Hewlett-Packard.

Sprouter: What’s the best advice you can give to entrepreneurs who are looking to thrive in times of chaos?

JG: Times of change offer entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to leverage their nimble size and intimate understanding of the customer. Reset your expectations, open your eyes to fringe opportunity, and develop a toolkit to filter your ideas. These tactics will help you to act big despite being small.

Exploiting Chaos author Jeremy Gutsche

You can buy the book in stores or online at Chapters or Amazon.ca. We’ll also holding a contest for copies at our next Sprout Up event on September 9th. Read along with Sprouter, and stay tuned for details on an end-of-month meetup and online chat. As a special treat, Jeremy will be attending the meetup to exclusively answer your questions and talk about the book.

Follow the conversation around the book club at Sprouter.com/BookClub – and happy reading!

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3 Responses to “September book club pick: Exploiting Chaos”

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