BOOKS
The Art of Change | The Art of
Leadership | The Art
of Strategy
PODCAST/INTERVIEW on the books
I
Ching
THE ART OF CHANGE
Patterns for Success
A Modern Interpretation by Erik Schön
First printing, July 2024
Amazon .com .de .uk .se | Leanpub | Google | Medium (free) | Audiobook | Sample chapters
Lao Tzu
THE ART OF LEADERSHIP
Purpose and Integrity
for Sustainable Success
Interpreted and Compiled by Erik Schön
Second printing, April 2023
Amazon .com .de .uk .se | Leanpub | Google | Medium (free) | Audiobook | Sample chapters | Presentation | Article | Revisions to the first printing
Sun Tzu, John Boyd, Simon Wardley
THE ART OF STRATEGY
Steps Towards Business Agility
Interpreted and Compiled by Erik Schön
Fourth printing, August 2024
Amazon .com .de .uk .se | Leanpub | Google | Medium (free) | Audiobook | Sample
chapters | Curated collection of Wardley
Maps | Revisions to the first printing | Revisions to the second
printing | Revisions to the third printing
Why is it important?
How do you change successfully?
THE ART OF CHANGE provides timeless answers to these eternal questions. It is a modern reading of The Book of Changes, in Chinese I Ching, with focus on practical guidance for actions and decisions, consciously leaving out the fortune-telling parts. It is an interpretation of 64 short sections on how to successfully create and respond to change in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world where the rate of change is increasing daily.
Through diverse situations and patterns, you will discover new perspectives on people and their behaviours, get actionable advice on handling and creating change strategically and effectively, and, thus, learn how to make a difference: discover solutions for your current situation by exploring relevant sections and considering how you can apply the change patterns in your context.
You will also improve your understanding of China and Chinese ways of transforming, leading and strategising since The Book of Changes is deeply ingrained in Chinese thinking, decision-making and actions, e.g. as part of civil servant education for over 2,000 years and as a primary influence on Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
"Drawing both on ancient philosophy and today’s experience of running a tech company, Erik provides better perspective on change and how to think about it and manage it than the more frantic advice we get from modern business books." Hunter Hastings, executive director and value creator
"I really liked how you turned an ancient and complex text into something so practical and easy to understand for modern times. Congrats on making these ideas clear and helpful for anyone looking to improve themselves and lead with purpose!" Excelsior Ignu, storyteller
"Thank you for sharing all these profound insights, which remain highly relevant, in a very digestible format!" Johan Ivari, officer and teacher
“I have read things that I needed to read — right now, in my life. As usual, the I Ching never fails." Rod Leaverton, strategist
"This is wonderful." Frank Chiaro, passionate explorer
With extended glossary and extensive index,
186 pages printed in
premium colour
With extended glossary and extensive index,
186 pages printed in colour
With extended glossary, extensive index and hyperlinks
With extended glossary, extensive index and hyperlinks
Leanpub
Medium, 8 parts,
5-10 min listen each
Medium, 8 parts,
5-10 min read each
51 min conversation
with Hunter Hastings
The Value Creators
October 18, 2024
9 min conversation
with Len Epp
Leanpub Book LAUNCH!
August 9, 2024
60 min conversation
with Marcus Aurelius
Anderson
Acta Non Verba
July 17, 2024
Apple podcast
Spotify podcast
Why is this important?
How do you lead successfully?
THE ART OF LEADERSHIP provides timeless answers to these eternal questions. It is a modern reading of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching — a guide for leaders in turbulent times in ancient China. It is an interpretation of 81 short, poetic sections on leadership, people and how to succeed together in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world where the rate of change will never be slower than today.
You will discover new perspectives on the world, people and their behaviours, get actionable advice on how to lead strategically and effectively, and, learn how to make a difference using purpose and integrity instead of pressure and control.
You will also improve your understanding of China, Chinese ways of leading and strategising since the Tao Te Ching is deeply ingrained in Chinese thinking, decision-making and actions.
"The Art of Leadership is a beautifully deep exploration of leadership based on a modern interpretation of my favourite Chinese
classic, the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu." Rod Leaverton, strategist
"I love this interpretation of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. The insights go beyond what I could possibly imagine. After leading a tech company for more than 26 years there is still so much to learn and study. Thank you Erik for bringing these more than wise words to our attention." Jørn Larsen, CEO and founder, Trifork
“This is powerful, this is for practical people struggling with business goals.” Goran Skugor, competence manager
With extended glossary and extensive index,
170 pages printed in
premium colour
With extended glossary and extensive index,
170 pages printed in colour
With extended glossary and extensive index
With extended glossary, extensive index and hyperlinks
Leanpub
Medium, 13
parts,
5-10 min listen each
The Art of Leadership
Article, 5 min read
Slide deck, 16 pages
Conversation with Ulrika Vincent
Agical Radio
July 24, 2023
Shownotes,
in Swedish
Podcast, 40 min in Swedish
Extra material, 13 min in Swedish
THE FIRST AGILIST
Fit For the Future?
10 minute lightning talk
Agile Sweden
May 25, 2023
Slide deck, 15 pages
LEADERSHIP
for Sustainable Success
in Turbulent Times
48 minute conversation
Wardley Maps for Business
May 19, 2023
Slide deck, 14 pages
Mapping Leadership, Strategy and Development Capabilities
58 minutes
Wardley Mapping Community Event
September 19, 2022
Slide deck, 23 pages
THE ART OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership from First Principles
in Turbulent Times
XP 2022 Leadership Track
June 15, 2022
Slide deck, 16 pages
Why do you need it?
How do you do it?
And, how can you be more certain to succeed?
The Art of Strategy provides timeless answers to these eternal
questions. It is a short introduction to strategy through the insights of three successful strategists: Sun Tzu, John Boyd
and Simon Wardley. It is a modern interpretation of Sun Tzu's The Art of War - the strategy classic written in China around 500 BC - using the lenses of Boyd (OODA "loop" inventor) and
Wardley (Wardley Map inventor) who were both influenced by Sun Tzu.
Each chapter gently transforms The Art of War into a modern business setting and includes material from Boyd and Wardley in separate sections to complement and clarify Sun Tzu's terse, poetic text. The idea is to serve strategy in 13 short chapters requiring 5-10 minutes reading time each. An extensive glossary is included since many Chinese concepts are purposefully abstract and ambiguous.
You will discover new thinking patterns, e.g. OODA "loops" and situational awareness, as well as visualisation tools like Wardley Maps that will help you and your organisation succeed together with your stakeholders. You will also improve your understanding of the – sometimes evil – political gameplays (and counter-measures!) used by Nancy Pelosi, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xí Jìnpíng who are all inspired by Sun Tzu, in some cases indirectly via Boyd.
With extended glossary and extensive index,
192 pages printed in
premium colour
With extended glossary and extensive index,
192 pages printed in
premium colour
With extended glossary and extensive index
With extended glossary, extensive index and hyperlinks
Leanpub
Curated collection of Wardley Maps, 9 min read
Medium, 13 parts,
5-10 min listen each
Doctrine or Dogma?
Blog post, 12 min read
Video, 46 min
Slide deck, 28 pages
Seeing Around Corners
Blog post, 10 min
read
Slide
deck, 26 pages
"A great little book with loads of maps in there." Simon Wardley, inventor of Wardley Mapping
"The Art of Strategy is condensed knowledge that all managers, agile coaches and other leaders should have. This is three thinkers from very different contexts. But as Erik has put it, with similarities and differences topic by topic, a fourth voice appears. That voice belongs to the interaction between the three narrators and it gives as much value to me as a reader as the other three voices do." Staffan Nöteberg, author of Monotasking
"Erik Schön has created a great example of Boyd’s 'snowmobile' — a synthesis across a variety of domains leading to new insights and capabilities. I’m sure every strategist, business leader, and entrepreneur will find valuable ideas for making their own enterprises more competitive." Chet Richards, author of Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd, Applied to Business
"A great resource for anyone into effective strategy. As a fan of Wardley Mapping and have written about it myself previously I find this
book is a great resource that ties in Sun Tzu and Boyd as I have been looking for a hardback that covers these elements of strategy. Many thanks Erik for bringing this book
out!" Aidan Molloy, senior product manager
"I like the layout & style, 'let the ideas speak for themselves.'" @frescoseco
“An excellent fusion of SunTzu, Boyd, and Wardley that is beautifully laid out, highly readable and very straightforward in compressing the learning curve on all three!“ Mark J. McGrath, chief learning officer
"THE summary and independent look on modern strategy right now!!!" Markus Andrezak, founder and managing partner
Panel with
Ben Mosior,
Rod Leaverton, Si Alhir and Todd Nilson
The Art of War
in the Wild
July 16 + July 18, 2024
Part 1, 60
min
Part 2, 62 min
75 min conversation
with Mark J. McGrath and Brian "Ponch" Rivera
No Way Out
May 8, 2023
Show notes, chapter
markers
Apple podcast
Spotify podcast
53 min conversation
with Hunter
Hastings
Economics for Business
February 6, 2023
Podcast + show notes
58 min conversation
with Markus
Andrezak
Strategie Machen
July 1, 2020
18 min conversation
with Jørn Larsen
GOTO Book Club
June 22, 2020
Blog post, 5 min read
31 min conversation
with Barry Bettman
Business Agility
September 4, 2019
Mapping Leadership,
Strategy and
Development Capabilities
58 minutes
Wardley Mapping Community Event
September 19, 2022
Slide deck, 23 pages
Wardley Mapping Strategy & Capabilities at BigCorp
a True Story
48 minutes
Map Camp Use Case Edition
November 23, 2021
Slide deck, 36 pages
DOCTRINE OR DOGMA? Challenge Your Assumptions in a Friendly
Way!
46 minutes
Map Camp Germany
July 29, 2020
Blog post, 12 min read
Slide deck, 28 pages
THE ART OF STRATEGY
Steps Towards
Business Agility
46 minute keynote
Agile Leadership Conference
March 13, 2019
Blog post, 11 min read
Slide deck, 42 pages
ERIK SCHÖN is a change catalyst who
has successfully led global organisations for more than 20 years. Hacker, software researcher and system engineer turned leader, executive and strategist, Erik is the author of the widely
acclaimed trilogy The Art of Change, The Art of Leadership and The Art of Strategy.
Erik's favourite books on strategy, product development, Sun Tzu and Boyd on Goodreads.
A short interview and blog post about the art of creating "The Art of Strategy" using LaTeX/Overleaf inspired by Edward Tufte's beautiful books.
Erik's articles on strategy, leadership and ways of working.
Erik's conference talks and interviews on strategy, leadership and ways of working.