Description

A 2024 “NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB” MUST-READ

Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist inspires you to shape your own future, navigate ambiguity and uncertainty with intention, and transform problems and challenges into profound opportunities.

We don’t have to be afraid of what the future holds. Rather than bracing for what happens next, Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt argues that you can be making what happens next. You can respond to unexpected challenges-big and small-by turning them into opportunities with six principles for developing a “future-ready mindstate”:

1. Optimism

2. Openness

3. Curiosity

4. Experimentation

5. Empathy

6. Dimension X-the unique lens through which each of us sees the world.

Both inspirational and actionable, What’s Next Is Now engages your personal sense of discovery, providing dozens of thoughtful exercises and illustrations, real-world practices, and provocative insights from people who have adopted a future-ready mindstate. Here is an optimistic guide that helps innovators, entrepreneurs, and other agents of change invent the future.

Change how you think to create the world you want to live in.

Publisher Review

“This book is a profoundly optimistic guide that outlines a new mindstate encompassing unreserved openness to perpetual experimentation, allowing dreamers to become doers in shaping the futures they wish to inhabit.” – Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive

“How can you cultivate a future-ready mindstate? What’s Next Is Now provides practical insight and tactical approaches to leverage your unique talents and passions to shape your own path forward. This book also inspires us to work with others to shape the lives and livelihoods we all deserve, and co-create a vibrant and inclusive future.” – Linda A. Hill, co-author of Collective Genius

“What’s Next is Now is for the inherently curious (and those who aspire to be), a manifesto for innovators, and a must-read for anyone eager to transform their ‘now’ into an extraordinary ‘tomorrow.’ It’s not just about reading the future; it’s about writing it.” – Whitney Johnson, CEO of Disruption Advisors and bestselling author of Smart Growth: How to Grow your People to Grow Your Company

“Shape your future by defying the usual and welcoming the unknown. In What’s Next is Now, Frederik reveals that tomorrow’s blueprint lies not in technology, but in you. A transformative guide to grasping opportunities and crafting the future you envision.” – Sebastian Thrun, Stanford University professor and founder of Google X

“The future is plural. It doesn’t belong to Google or to AI or to anyone except the people who are willing to show up and make it real. Inspiring, practical and timely, this is a book to share.” – Seth Godin, author of The Song of Significance

“Coming from deep insight and experience, Frederik Pferdt shows us how our future needn’t be a place of fear of hesitancy but instead full of opportunity and optimism. You owe it to yourself to dive in.” – Tim Brown, chair of IDEO and author of Change by Design

“In this inspiring book, Frederik Pferdt teaches us to approach the future with energy, optimism, and radical curiosity. Drawing on his deep experience with innovation, he shows us how to cultivate the qualities of mind that allow our creative intuitions to flower in ways yet to be imagined. These insights will transform not just how you look at work, but how you look at everything.” – Robert J. Waldinger, professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, and co-author of The Good Life

“It’s rare to come across a book that genuinely resonates with the ever-evolving demands of our time. What’s Next is Now does just that. This book is a masterful guide for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of the modern world.” – Esther Wojcicki, educator and author of How to Raise Successful People

“If you want to be prepared for the constantly, rapidly changing times, you must read this book. Frederik guides readers through principles and techniques that have been successfully applied over many years, so that they can actively approach their future with openness, optimism, and strength.” – Oliver Bierhoff, national team director of the German Football Association

“What’s Next Is Now is a collection of gems, each of which could change your thinking about tomorrow. Frederik Pferdt shares years of accumulated wisdom from life experiences-vicarious and direct-to help you build a compelling future.” – Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

“What’s Next Is Now makes compellingly clear how much influence we have over what happens to us. This influence is the result of the many eager, energetic choices we can make to create a future of intention and promise. This book’s expansive yet action-oriented outlook makes it easy to begin building that future today.” – Zoe Chance, Yale School of Management professor and author of Influence is Your Superpower: How to Get What You Want Without Compromising Who You Are

“A transformative guide that empowers readers to harness their innate strengths and actively shape their destinies. Through purposeful and practical insights, it offers an immersive reading experience that shifts perspectives and ignites personal growth. By embracing its wisdom, readers will cultivate heightened awareness, sharpen intuition, and amplify their impact. This book is an invitation to elevate the lives of others and contribute to the collective betterment of our future. If you aspire to be an agent of change, What’s Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready, is the essential companion on your journey of becoming remarkable.” – Guy kawasaki, co-author of Think Remarkable, chief evangelist of Canva, and host of the Remarkable People podcast

“In [these] forward-looking pages…readers are invited to embrace the future with intention and creativity. This book is not an exploration of future trends; it is a passionate call to action for anyone eager to play an active role in crafting their future. Pferdt’s message resonates deeply with the core inquiry of our times: not what the future holds, but rather, what future we aspire to create. Pferdt encourages us to question, experiment, and empathize on our path to tomorrow, making What’s Next Is Now an essential read for anyone looking to leave their mark on the world.” – Cyril Bouquet, Professor of Strategy and Innovation, IMD and co-author of ALIEN Thinking: How to Bring Your Breakthrough Ideas to Life

“Frederik and I were colleagues for years at Google, where I witnessed firsthand how he helped inspire and shape the company’s culture of creating the future. Now he’s distilled those insights and experiences into this marvelous book. The future begins with and emanates from our internal mindstates. Dr. Pferdt’s book distills that insight into a powerful, actionable guide for anyone looking to lead and innovate. It’s about changing how we think to create the world we want to live in. If you want to create the future, and not just passively ride into it, this is the book to read.” – Alan Eagle, New York Times bestselling co-author of Trillion Dollar Coach, How Google Works, and Learned Excellence