The Four Workarounds by Paulo Savaget is an insightful look at how employees in large organizations find creative ways to work around bureaucratic processes and inefficient systems. Savaget argues that these "workarounds," rather than being disruptive, actually enable organizations to function more smoothly. While at times self-serving, the book suggests that understanding and embracing workarounds can lead to positive organizational changes. The lessons on adaptability and problem-solving provide valuable insights not just for improving business practices but for navigating life's challenges and succeeding as an entrepreneur.

Whoa! This book! It’s so full of very interesting information about businesses all around the world and their workarounds to accomplish their goals. It’s a learning experience to read this in its entirety. Every chapter there’s something new to gain. Every workaround discussed is full of examples and ideas on how people as well as businesses can use the tools provided here.

It’s amazing how effective these workarounds have been and how we have been using workarounds without even realizing it. Even something as simple as substituting an ingredient for a recipe is considered a workaround. I’ve done a ton of that! It even how we overcome obstacles in the workplace by coming up with ideas to avoid the issues commonly faced.

The four workarounds discuss include:
– The Piggyback
– The Loophole
– The Roundabout
– The Next Best

Workarounds happen with school, sports, non-profits, etc. It’s great to see it all combined into just a simple book. Thankful for Savaget and the research he did to accomplish all the research he put into this! This book blew my mind! I give it 5 out of 5 tiaras for not just describing each workaround, but also providing real examples as well as sharing how we might implement it in our day to day.

Oxford University professor and award-winning researcher Paulo Savaget reveals the ways the scrappiest organizations solve problems and explains how everyone can use the same tools at work and in life.

We constantly encounter complex problems at home, in our places of work, and in society at large. Even if we had all the time and money in the world, sometimes no good solution can be found. So, what should we do, especially when we can’t wait? The answer: a workaround.

For ages, global corporations have been lecturing small organizations and not-for-profits on how to get things done. As it turns out, it should have been the other way around. In this groundbreaking book, scholar Paulo Savaget shows how the most valuable lessons about problem-solving can be learned from the scrappiest groups.

Savaget draws most of his examples from small organizations dedicated to social action that have made an artform out of subverting the status quo and proven themselves adept at achieving massive wins with minimal resources. Through his research, Savaget identified the four workarounds that these groups commonly employ: the piggyback, the loophole, the roundabout, and the next-best. He demonstrates how each one works, and how to know which one to use when.

The Four Workarounds shows how seemingly intractable problems—from public urination to the challenges of delivering life-saving medicine to remote communities—were addressed using unconventional tactics. Some of the world’s biggest and most admired companies are already using Savaget’s research to transform the way they do business. And these same lessons can also revolutionize the way we all approach the challenges we encounter, from small to big.

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It definitely answers all of my burning questions. One of the best nonfic books that I've read.
Thank you Netgalley, Flatiron books, and Paulo Savaget for the amazing ARC!

An interesting read that includes a variety of creative and innovative solutions to seemingly and actual big challenges. This may be inspirational or just informative, but it is a pretty good read. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

An excellent and highly entertaining perspective on obstacles in our lives and in our society and how to think about them differently, how to either overcome them, but them into a holding pattern or permanently resolve them.