More Praise for Building the Future

"City building may be the most important challenge of the 21st century, and it is a challenge that needs entrepreneurial brilliance as much as engineering. Edmondson and Reynolds provide an engaging glimpse at innovators—such as Living PlanIT and Quintain—who are changing our urban world. This thoughtful book is full of managerial wisdom and urban insight."

—Edward Glaeser, Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University, and author of Triumph of the City

 

"Building the Future is a remarkable book. It introduces readers to the cross-industry teaming that's needed to build the cities of tomorrow and offers an urgent reminder that technology alone can't solve global problems—cooperation, ingenuity, and empathy are needed to innovate on a grand stage. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of business or the future of the planet."

—Douglas Stone, Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School, and coauthor of Difficult Conversations and Thanks for the Feedback

 

"Every start-up wants to change the world and disrupt an industry or two along the way. But what happens when you don't? Edmondson and Reynolds glean important lessons from the story of one such company grappling with the biggest challenge of our time: building more sustainable cities. Their inside account of setbacks and brushes with failure has more to teach us than any just-so stories of success."

—Greg Lindsay, coauthor of Aerotropolis and Senior Fellow, New Cities Foundation

 

"What we witness in this thoughtful and compelling study is one of the heroic battles that are being enacted across the globe as visionary, fleet-footed technology start-ups collide with big business and the politics of government. As the urbanization of the planet gathers pace and governments grapple with the fateful consequences, can technology support a better future for our cities? Building the Future follows a small start-up business that believes it can and examines the leadership demands of ambition on this scale."

—Andrew Comer, Partner and Director of the Cities Group, BuroHappold Engineering

 

"Get ready. What you are about to read is unlike anything you've read before on innovation, teams, the built environment, or even leadership. Edmondson and Reynolds—a world-class academic and journalist—have joined forces to explore, document, and understand how complex innovation actually unfolds and the leadership required for its success. Based on multiyear observations of an entrepreneurial effort to build a smart, green city, Building the Future brings the challenges of the future into the present so we can see what it will take to create a world that works for all of us."

—Diana McLain Smith, author of The Elephant in the Room