I really liked this book that talked about how scrappy organizations (and people) were able to workaround problems they encountered. One example was how a person worked with Coca-Cola to get oral rehydration salts shipped to remote areas in Brazil. Another was how women near Portugal were able to get around the system by offering family planning & reproductive services off the coast on the water since it wasn't specifically in the country of Portugal. Not sure how I will use this going forward, but it does give you ideas. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

I had a couple of takeaways but ultimately felt I was being constantly reassured of many of my practices when it comes to problem-solving. I do see how this would be highly beneficial to individuals who are early in their careers or who are not necessarily solution-oriented.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World's Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems was written by Paulo Savaget and the audiobook is narrated by Roger Wayne. 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 audiobook 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 art form out of subverting the status quo and have proved 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. With vivid and fascinating examples from his life and travels, he demonstrates how each one works and how to know which one to use when.

The Four Workarounds is a thoroughly researched and well written book. I think the narrator did a good job with the text as well, toner and inflection kept me focused on the book, for the most part. The times my mind wondered was more about me, and other drivers on the road, than anything relating to the text. I liked that the examples and suggestions given were pretty wide ranging, and I thought the book could be very useful for those looking to get out there and make changes, whether it be towards social change and helping others or making changes in your personal or professional life. I think workarounds can be utilized in grand and small scale, and regardless of which you are ready for this book can help you recognize a workaround when you see it in use by others, and to find and use them yourself when needed. I think the book provides exactly what it promises, and might get some people thinking a little differently about authority, conformity, and workarounds.

Delightfully Informative and Thought-provoking


SUMMARY
The Four Workarounds shares how organizations have creatively solved problems and created unique solutions to complex problems. The idea of a workaround is to devise a solution quickly and with little fuss. Workarounds must be effective and use easy methods for tackling complex problems.

Author Paulo Savaget has identified four types of workaround that the companies he researched typically employ. The four types are piggyback, loophole, roundabout, and the next best. Savaget tells real-world stories of problems solved using workarounds, such as getting much-needed diarrhea medicine to remote areas of Zambia by piggybacking with Coca-Cola distributors or the roundabout practice in India of discouraging public urination by posting images of deities on outdoor walls.


REVIEW
The Four Workarounds is a delightfully informative and thought-provoking book exploring creative ways to get things done. I loved the clear explanations of the various workarounds, the explanations of real-world applications, and the intriguing problem-solving methods. As a manager and management auditor for many years, I found this book fascinating, and I encourage all managers who must tackle problems, large or small, to read it. There is always a better way to do things.

Author Paulo Savaget is an associate professor at Oxford, University’s Engineering Sciences Department and the Said Business School. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Scholar and has a background working as a lecturer, consultant, entrepreneur, and researcher.

The audiobook narrator Roger Wayne’s pacing, inflection, and tone added immense value to the enjoyment and understanding of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher MacMillan Audio/Flat Iron Books
Published March 7, 2023
Narrated Roger Wayne
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Happy Pub day!
🎧📚Audio- Book Review 📚
Title: The Four Workarounds: Strategies From the World’s Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems
Author: Paulo Savaget
Genre: Non-Fiction / Personal Development / Leadership
Date published: March 7, 2023

A huge thank-you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚Synopsis:
A deep dive into how organizations problem solve in creative and non-traditional ways, supported by real-world examples from a variety of sources. The book explores ideas such as: the piggy-back strategy (linking onto an established system) and the next-best strategy (starting with a partial or temporary solutions until the time is right for a pivotal change), and offers suggestions on how to incorporate these work-around strategies into your problem solving routines.

✍️ My review:
A well researched book with lots of memorable examples, these ideas can be applied to problem solving for just about any scenario. It was refreshing to hear that there is rarely “one” right solution (no one-size-fits-all) and that any solution is likely going to have to evolve, pivot, and change over time. The audio was well paced and engaging, but as there was a lot of ideas / info presented, I’d likely need the print copy or a work-book if I was going to apply some of these strategies in a meaningful way.

💕You might like this book if:
🔹you are ready to look at innovative ways to approach problems
🔹 you learn best when given real-world examples to connect to
🔹you enjoyed books such as Atomic Habits by James Clear

As a person who’s always worked for or with “scrappy” organizations it was refreshing to read something in the professional development category that doesn’t glorify traditional business models and celebrates the innovations that are born from restraints. I appreciated the conversational tone, pragmatic approach, and personal anecdotes and thought Savaget’s framework is a useful tool to add to my problem solving toolkit. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to solve overwhelming and complex problems.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

I was expecting a more traditional business book. This feels more like an op-Ed or memoir. I do appreciate illustrative examples but there are too many here and they are also too drawn out. I would have liked it to be more succinct. The meat of the book could have been summarized well in a HBR article…

The narrator, who is also the author, explores ways to approach problems by employing a workaround. Using real-world examples to illustrate the power of approaching a problem in an unexpected way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing the advance reader copy of this audiobook. I was pleased to get an early review copy, as problem solving and decision making are fields of study I am particularly interested in.

The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World's Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems by Paulo Savaget and narrated by Roger Wayne was quite an enjoyable exploration of various ways that innovation and creativity can be utilized to solve real world problems of various levels of scale and importance.

The workaround types of Piggybacks, Loopholes, Roundabouts and Next Best were explained clearly, concisely and with interesting real-world examples. Additionally, an entire section was dedicated to developing a Workaround mindset and building on the fundamentals explained in the book to drive solutions in our own lives.

The narration by Roger Wayne was very solid. I would recommend both the book itself and the audiobook to anyone else who may be interested in learning how to use workarounds in an effective and efficient way in their everyday lives.

The four workarounds was a bit hard to follow for me. Full of examples and jargon, I felt that these ideas could have been expressed more efficiently and clearly.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

The Four Workarounds contains solid ideas about how to work around problems in your daily life or an organization. Further, it gives many examples of the four archetypes of workarounds and instructions on how/why to use them and identify that you might need a workaround.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and hearing the examples where these workarounds have been implemented. However, you could sum up the ideas and pointers in an HBR-length article instead of an entire book. This seems like too little substance for a book.

Scrappy Big Organization

This was a really good book on business and ethics.

How to get the most out of everything that you need to do.

I really enjoyed the tips and found it really an important read.

I will definitely be using the tips from this book and have already noticed a change in my interactions!

4.3/5