Linda Bernardi is a serial technology author, investor, and entrepreneur. Formerly Chief Innovation Officer for IoT & Cloud at IBM, she runs the technology strategy firm StraTerra Partners. Sanjay Sarma is Vice President for Open Learning and Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. The late Kenneth Traub, a consultant with thirty years of experience in software engineering, was the cofounder and technical advisor to five high technology startups.
"Bronze winner in Business Theory from the 2018 Axiom Business Book Awards ""A growth mindset and an obsession with customer needs are at the core of Microsoft's continuing transformation. The authors take us on an important and necessary exploration of this journey toward inversion, one that looks beyond narrow product strategies to breakthroughs built on innovation, technology, and culture."" —Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft ""Groundbreaking use of networked technology in service of the real north star—customer satisfaction and experience—is one of the reasons Zipcar succeeded. This book describes how the dynamic real-time digitization of our physical world can positively transform lives with the right people-centric focus."" —Robin Chase, cofounder of Zipcar and Veniam; author of Peers Inc ""The Inversion Factor is about the implications of hyper-connectivity, especially in the Internet of Things space. It offers a thought-provoking approach by arguing against the conventional wisdom of 'make products people want' in favor of developing better strategic planning. This book is essential for managers and technologists, as well as the general reader."" —David Hsu, Richard A. Sapp Professor and a Professor of Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania ""The Inversion Factor is part vision, part history and part narration of the present. Its premise is simple, yet powerful: a triangulation of technology, innovation and (business) culture is changing such that the world is moving away from business models that put products-first (let us produce a blender and market it accordingly) to one that puts needs-first (what issues do consumers have in the kitchen, and how can we service and solve their needs?)."" —Economic Record"