Move: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Overview

Americans are stuck.

Americans are stuck.

We live with travel delays on congested roads, shipping delays on clogged railways, and delays on repairs and project approvals due to gridlocked leadership. And when we can’t move, when goods are delayed, and when information networks can’t connect, then economic opportunity deteriorates and social inequity grows. We don’t have to take it anymore! In Move, Harvard Business School professor and bestselling author Rosabeth Moss Kanter visits the business leaders, mayors, transportation advocates, and entrepreneurs across the country tackling these challenges through underwater tunnels, instant bridges, road sensors, parking apps, bike-sharing programs, seamless wifi, and much more. It all adds up to a new vision for American mobility, where local leaders and public-private partnerships lead the way. With unique insight and unrivaled expertise, Kanter gives us a sweeping look at the innovative projects, vital leaders, and bold solutions that are moving our transportation infrastructure toward a cleaner, faster, and more prosperous future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393246810
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/27/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	748 KB

About the Author

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School and is chair and director of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. She is the best-selling author of Confidence, When Giants Learn to Dance, The Change Masters, Men and Women of the Corporation, and many other books.

Table of Contents

Preface: In Search of Leadership 1

1 Stuck on the Way to the Future 9

2 On the Rails 27

3 Up in the Air 73

4 Smart Roads Meet the Smartphone 119

5 Rethinking Cities 171

6 The Will and the Wallet 221

7 How to Move 259

Notes 281

Acknowledgments 301

Index 305

Editorial Reviews

It's no secret that America's transportation systems are in deep crisis; within the past ten years, the phrase "America's crumbling infrastructure" has almost acquired the dull thud of a cliché. Rosabeth Moss Kanter (The Change Masters; Confidence) comes to this situation not as a prophet of doom, but as a Harvard Business School professor/messenger who, though deeply convinced of the urgency of these problems, also sees viable solutions, thanks to technological innovations and purposeful leadership. (P.S. On almost every infrastructure front, the situation is dire: For example, America spends less money on roads than do small countries such as Japan and New Zealand.)

This is not just a book about repairing our ailing roads, bridges and railways. Kanter's ambition is broader and deeper: She wants Americans to address the fundamental issues of how our cities work…she wants to get the country's citizens…to hop on a bike or take mass transit, to find ways to reduce our dependence on cars. Her recommendations, if realized, could make America more efficient and more environmentally sound, with greater economic opportunity and the health benefits that will flow from these investments…[Move is] a worthy book, one that anyone in public service needs to read.

The New York Times Book Review - John Schwartz

"What a wonderful book! With bold and imaginative thinking, Move shows how we can combine technological innovation with dedicated leadership to make transportation infrastructure an engine for growth and a spark to reignite America’s optimism."

Walter Isaacson

"Savvy, persuasive, and enjoyable to read, Move is a sweeping, fact-filled look at how reimagining infrastructure and embracing disruptive technologies and new business models could improve daily life, open economic opportunities, and ease burdens on families. Everyone who cares about more livable cities and more efficient commutes should grab this eye-opening book."

Scott Griffith

"Delivering world-class infrastructure is essential for any country to be competitive and create jobs. Move takes a fresh view on this issue and identifies solutions that build on key American strengths in technological innovation and entrepreneurial vision."

Jeffrey R. Immelt

"What unites us should be stronger than what divides us, and our shared reliance on infrastructure—for access to jobs, education, clean air, and healthy communities—makes it a top national priority. In Move, Rosabeth Moss Kanter offers impressive analysis, insightful stories, and a compelling road map for a new way forward."

President Bill Clinton

2015-03-05
Harvard Business School professor and prolific author Kanter (SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good, 2009) examines the degrading conditions and increasing inefficiency of American transportation networks. Following an exhaustive, 20-month survey of our nation's stalled mobility provisions, the author's results proved to expand beyond the widely known theory that America has "coasted on past successes, failed to fully confront mounting problems, lacked sufficient vision about future opportunities, and, in Congress, held essential funding hostage to partisan battles over taxes." At this point, the United States is lagging behind other international hubs boasting fast-tracked advancements in rail engineering, solar power, automotive excellence, and aerospace innovation. Kanter admits that although her perspective is primarily rooted in the public interest, it's also personal: on a local scale, transportation issues like bridge collapses, flight delays, and chronic rail and roadway gridlock affect most of the planet's population to varying degrees. She draws reactions and creative solutions from an exhaustive array of engineers, business professionals, politicians, and innovators, all complemented by pages of often startling statistics and insightful interviews, many with women who have become distinguished leaders in the robotics, logistics, and public transportation fields. Kanter, whose previous books have addressed corporate competitiveness and digital culture, argues that the main issue hindering American innovation in public transit is a stifling combination of corporate underinvestment and a lack of "faith in government." There is an urgent need to "allocate public money for public works at a national level" and to empower leadership at the grass-roots level. Her accessible solutions encompass sophisticated, futuristic tools and incremental changes toward increasing efficiency while boosting public enthusiasm and cooperation. Though some readers may find the sheer volume of ideas daunting, the author's intent remains clear: to inspire and promote participation in the development of America's mobility infrastructure and elevate it to the forefront of the global innovation marketplace. A busy yet passionately motivating call for action.

Kirkus Reviews