
Publications
The Outthinker team of researchers and analysts aims to dig deep beneath the surface to find underlying trends and patterns others cannot see. See below for bestselling books, white papers, articles, and blog posts we have produced. Stay up-to-date with our latest thinking by following the weekly Outthinker Blog or subscribing to our newsletter.
White Papers:
Design a Disruptive Business Model that Disrupts your Competition… Not your Company
To create something of truly transformative potential, passionate action-oriented intrapreneurs must design a business model that is “strategically disruptive”
Unlocking Value Through Intrapreneurship
Contrary to commonly accepted dogma, incumbent organizations are the drivers behind the innovations that have most impacted our world.
How Outperformers Outthink the Competition
Leading companies have radically disrupted their industries by seeing things differently and acting differently to outpace the competition.
A Manual for Outthinking the Competition
How to apply the Rapid-Cycle Strategy Innovation Process to respond to challenges quickly and creatively.
Building Creative Strategies with Patterns
An explanation of Outthinker’s approach to strategy and innovation.
Seven Surprise Openings for a Strategic Game
Logic tends to hide from view a set of initial openings that win the early stages of the strategic game and effectively catch your competition off guard.
Books Published

Driving Innovation from Within
Driving Innovation from Within is a practical and inspiring guide to leadership at all levels for those who want the fulfillment of changing the world without leaving their job in order to do it. Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are society’s main source of innovation, but in reality, many of the modern world’s most impactful creations were invented by passionate employee innovators from within organizations. Distilling more than 150 interviews with internal innovators and leading experts along with insights from the latest research and today’s most successful companies, strategist and advisor Kaihan Krippendorff lays out a step-by-step playbook to overcome barriers and unlock innovation from the inside.
Outthink the Competition
“Outthinkers” are entrepreneurs and corporate leaders with a new playbook. They see opportunities others ignore, challenge dogma others accept as truth, rally resources others cannot influence, and unleash new strategies that disrupt their markets. Outthink the Competition proves that business competition is undergoing a fundamental paradigm shift and that during such revolutions, Outthinkers beat traditionalists.


Hide A Dagger Behind A Smile
Today’s global economy is a battleground. To survive and thrive, you’ll need every weapon you can get. Microsoft, Sony, and Starbucks use business practices based on the ancient Chinese military text The 36 Stratagems – now you can, too.
Weaving the story of each strategy with contemporary case studies from top business and strategic management schools, each chapter analyzes a company’s situation, options, decisions and results. “Hide a Dagger Behind a Smile” is a timely and timeless resource for executives and corporate strategists looking to win their most contentious battles.
The Way of Innovation
Inside The Way of Innovation, corporate strategist Kaihan Krippendorff explains how you can adapt and thrive by recognizing, understanding, and utilizing the ancient Asian approach to innovation. He illustrates how companies like Microsoft and Nokia use this powerful wisdom, and how you too can master the five elements of change to reinvent your products, services, and organization.


The Art of the Advantage
Contrary to commonly held beliefs, strength and resources play minor roles in a company’s ability to beat the competition. Instead, the ability to conceive of unorthodox strategies that the competition will choose not to copy is the key to gaining a competitive edge. The Art of the Advantage shows that the fundamental patterns that successful companies have used to outmaneuver their rivals are rooted in a set of ancient Chinese warfare metaphors known as The 36 Stratagems. “The Art of the Advantage” marries these ancient principles with modern application through graphical depictions, ancient examples, and modern case studies. More than a traditional business book, this is a manual for systematically outthinking the competition.