
In "Next!", former USA TODAY editor Joanne Lipman reveals the four-step reinvention roadmap that won the Porchlight Business Book Award. What makes successful people pivot when others stall? Adam Grant calls it "filled with useful ideas" for navigating life's inevitable transitions.
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James Patterson had already made his mark in advertising-he's the creative genius behind "I'm a Toys 'R' Us kid"-when he began waking up at 5 AM to chase a secret dream. He wanted to write thrillers. His first novel bombed with critics. But Patterson kept going, quietly building a second identity while keeping his day job. Today, he's sold over 400 million books worldwide. His story isn't about quitting everything to follow your passion-it's about something more subtle and powerful. It's about recognizing that transformation doesn't happen in one dramatic leap. It unfolds through small, persistent steps taken over years, often while you're still doing something else entirely. The pandemic thrust millions into this uncomfortable space between who they were and who they might become. Suddenly, reinvention wasn't optional-it was survival. And what emerged was a pattern, a roadmap that successful transformers have been following all along.
Break down key ideas from Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work into bite-sized takeaways to understand how innovative teams create, collaborate, and grow.
Distill Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work into rapid-fire memory cues that highlight Pixar’s principles of candor, teamwork, and creative resilience.

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