WHY LOONSHOTS MATTER

With cameos from leaders of Pixar, Apple, and Moderna, plus the U.S. Navy.

 

 

 

Not to be missed by anyone who wants to understand how ideas change the world.”

- Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow

If The Da Vinci Code and Freakonomics had a child together, it would be called Loonshots.”

- Senator Bob Kerrey, Medal of Honor recipient, former governor of Nebraska and president of The New School

A groundbreaking book that spans industries and time.”

- Newsweek

An ambitious and entertaining effort … Bahcall makes the whole idea sing.”

- Financial Times

An essential read for leaders who wish to build a creative organization.”

- Ed Catmull, Founder and CEO of Pixar, author of Creativity, Inc.

Brilliantly explores one of the great challenges of leadership.”

- Gen. (ret.) Stanley McChrystal, former Cmdr. of US Joint Special Operations Command, author of Team of Teams

An absolute page-turner, packed with scintillating stories of world-changing ideas.”

- David Epstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Range and The Sports Gene

Wonderful … explores the beauty, quirkiness, and complexity of ideas … you need to read this book.”

- Siddhartha Mukherjee, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, author of The Emperor of All Maladies  

James Bond, Isaac Newton, Jane Austen, a world chess champion, and disappearing fish are all used to illustrate the behavior of organizations. Brilliant, funny, fascinating.”

- Jennifer Aaker, General Atlantic Professor at Stanford, author of Humor, Seriously

Riveting stories … Bahcall’s fresh ideas and practical solutions—an unusual combination of psychology and physics—should change the way any person or team sets out to change the world.”

- Amy C. Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, author of The Fearless Organization

“I inhaled Loonshots.”

- Stephanie Cohen, Chief Strategy Officer, Goldman Sachs

“A must read.”

- Kevin Scott, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft

When leaders ask me, “How can we be more innovative in a time of crisis?” I give them a copy of Loonshots.”

- Kim Scott, New York Times bestselling author of Radical Candor; formerly at Google, Apple; advisor to Dropbox, Twitter

A fantastic read for anyone who wants to unlock the power and potential of human creativity.”

- Evan Spiegel, Founder and CEO of Snap, winner of Fast Company 2020 Most Innovative Company award

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Brief Bio

 

 

Safi is a former public-company CEO, physicist, award-winning entrepreneur, author of the international bestseller Loonshots, and frequent speaker and advisor on innovation and strategy.

 

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries – which combines physics, business, and history – has been translated into 21 languages and was the #1 most recommended book of the year in Bloomberg’s annual survey of CEOs and entrepreneurs. Loonshots was an instant WSJ bestseller; was selected as a best business book of the year by Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes, Inc., the Washington Post, and others; and has been recommended by Bill Gates, Daniel Kahneman, Malcolm Gladwell, Tim Ferriss, Gen. (ret) Stanley McChrystal, and more.

 

Safi received his BA from Harvard summa cum laude, completed his PhD in physics at Stanford, and served for three years as a consultant at McKinsey and Company. In 2001, he founded a biotechnology company developing new drugs for cancer. He led the company’s IPO and served as its CEO for 13 years. In 2008, he was named E&Y New England Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, he worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors (PCAST) on the future of national research. He currently works with CEOs and leadership teams on innovation and strategy, and is completing the research for his next book.

 

 

 

Appearances

 

 

 

Articles

 

 

 

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries

St. Martin's Press

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How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries

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