Karaoke capitalism - Jonas Ridderstrle

"If you loved Funky Business as much as I did, you'll love Karaoke Capitalism. Weird? Most certainly. Different? Most definitely. But, if you want to re-imagine your organization and your career it's a thought-provoking place to start."

Tom Peters

In the long-awaited follow up to their internationally acclaimed Funky Business, Kjell Nordstrm and Jonas RidderstrSle have delivered a thought-provoking, workout for the wits in Karaoke Capitalism. A book that challenges individuals, businesses and nations to create originals rather than cover versions. Management guru Tom Peters said "If you loved Funky Business as much as I did, you'll love Karaoke Capitalism."

The karaoke economy is dominated by individuals with endless choice. The trouble for business is that the karaoke club is also home to institutionalized imitation. Copy-cats abound. Only imagination and innovation place societies, organizations and individuals center-stage.

Karaoke Capitalism is a call to arms. Kjell and Jonas are rebels with a cause. With their unorthodox combination of academic rigor, forceful logic and funky free-thinking they once again re-write the rules for revolutionaries. This is a true work-out for the wits.

The book teaches us how to successfully compete on competencies, create capitalism with character, and how to have a great life while also making a living. It is required reading for all those wanting to be a first-rate version of themselves rather than a second-rate version of someone else.

Karaoke Capitalism - create or cover?

Karaoke Capitalism is a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxies of business. and practice is that business schools, benchmarking and best practice have transformed the entire world of commerce into a super-group of karaoke copying companies. And imitating someone else will never get you to the top - merely to the middle.

Our societies are shaped by the glorious trio of technologies, institutions and galaxies of commerce. It is a book about people - management for mankind - the individuals prepared to grasp the microphone and express themselves. You have the rights. Now, you must learn to live them.

The karaoke reality is a cosmopolitan club with endless individual choice but also a paltry place for institutionalized imitation. The dirty little secret of management theory values. Changes have now made abnormal the new normal. The bubble economy has given way to the double economy. Forget about appealing to the average. Success is a question of exploring the extremes.

Corporations are no longer in control. Modern companies are facing the prospects of a two-front war: held hostage by talent and under siege by consumers. The winners know that wealth is created with wisdom, but to remain competitive they are forced

to create knowledge networks that pose new and fundamentally different demands on the organization.

In a world of economic Darwinism, survival is a question of being fit or sexy - competing on models and moods. Fitness boils down to using market imperfections to your advantage. Masters of mood exploit the imperfections of man by seducing or sedating consumer. Excellent companies re-invent innovation and re-energize the corporation.

To develop the chara

Kjell and Jonas are based at the Institute of International Business at the Stockholm School of Economics, and are at the forefront of the new generation of business gurus. They have been lecturers, advisors and consultants to many international companies - enabling them to look to the future creatively and develop dynamic strategies and solutions. They are the fresh face of business thinking and the new sound of business speaking.

"The Swedish economists, who shot to the top of the management guru charts in 2001 with their era-defining book, Funky Business, are back" Director magazine