Breakthrough in 2024 | Deloitte US has been saved
I’m going to start off the new year by highlighting some of what happened last year! 2023 brought the release of a new book (co-authored by Kim Christfort and me, Dr. Suz) and the launch of a new podcast (hosted by Kim). Both are focused on breakthrough. I’ll share below the ways you can access the book and podcast directly and also a number of other options for learning about breakthrough because, as students of Business Chemistry know, people like to consume information in different ways.
Based on more than a decade of work with individuals, teams, and organizations, our new book, The Breakthrough Manifesto: 10 Principles to Spark Transformative Innovation, offers both inspiration and practical advice for achieving breakthrough. And, of course, there’s a little bit of Business Chemistry in there, too. For more information about the book (including ordering information), you can check out breakthroughmanifesto.com. The book itself is available in hard cover, ebook, and now audiobook formats from Amazon and other retailers.
Maybe you’d like to watch this quick intro video, in which Kim and I talk about the book for just a few brief moments.
Prefer more long-form audio? Listen to this episode, “Breakthrough Book,” on Kim’s new podcast, Breakthrough by Design. Kim, usually the podcast host, becomes a guest along with me, and we’re both interviewed by guest host Paul Silverglate, who is our US Executive Accelerators Leader. We talk about why and how we wrote the book, how the principles of the Breakthrough Manifesto have been showing up in our work for years, and how you can apply them in your own work to get more creative.
On another Breakthrough by Design episode, Breakthrough Breakups, Kim and I talk about how the Breakthrough Manifesto principles can be applied in the most challenging times of our lives. We discuss how I used breakthrough thinking to navigate divorce in a way that illustrates the power of these approaches to extend far beyond the world of work right into our homes and hearts.
Or perhaps you’d like more from Kim, without me. Check out the intro episode of the Breakthrough by Design podcast, where she answers the question What is Breakthrough? There are more episodes of the podcast coming out as well; give them a listen. You can also hear from Kim about on this episode of the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast where she talks about sparking transformative innovation and how her background in theatre and science gave her a love for problem-solving and interacting with people.
Or how about more from me, without Kim? Listen to Psychology at Deloitte Greenhouse (featuring Suzanne Vickberg) on the CUNY Graduate Center Alumni Aloud podcast. I talk about our book as well as the long and winding career path that led me to becoming Dr. Suz.
If reading is instead your thing, you’re in the right place! Besides the book itself, you can read in this Fast Company article, “Interrogate yourself: When being self-critical can be good” about how to apply the Silence Your Cynic principle from the book. Or check out 10 Principles for Sparking ‘Ah Ha’ Moments to Achieve Breakthroughs in the Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal. It addresses how leaders can commit to understanding the Breakthrough principles, achieve transformative innovation, and help produce lasting change.
And, of course, there’s a whole series on this very blog that I wrote about the Breakthrough Manifesto and its principles as they relate to Business Chemistry, starting with The Chemistry of Breakthrough Results, and ending with When the Answer Is a Question, with 10 posts in the middle (one for each principle).
There will be much more to come about breakthrough in 2024. Stay tuned!
Get in touch
Suzanne Vickberg (aka Dr. Suz)
Research Lead | Deloitte Greenhouse®
Dr. Suz is a social-personality psychologist and a leading practitioner of Deloitte’s Business Chemistry, which Deloitte uses to guide clients as they explore how their work is shaped by the mix of individuals who make up a team. Previously serving in Deloitte’s Talent organization, since 2014 she’s been coaching leaders and teams in creating cultures that enable each member to thrive and make their best contribution. Along with her Deloitte Greenhouse colleague Kim Christfort, Suzanne co-authored the book Business Chemistry: Practical Magic for Crafting Powerful Work Relationships as well as a Harvard Business Review cover feature on the same topic. She also leads the Deloitte Greenhouse research program focused on Business Chemistry and is the primary author of the Business Chemistry blog. An “unapologetic introvert” and Business Chemistry Guardian-Dreamer, you will never-the-less often find her in front of a room, a camera, or a podcast microphone speaking about Business Chemistry or Suzanne and Kim’s second book, The Breakthrough Manifesto: Ten Principles to Spark Transformative Innovation, which digs deep into methodologies and mindsets to help obliterate barriers to change and ignite a whole new level of creative problem-solving. Suzanne is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate with an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a doctorate in Social-Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. She is also a professional coach, certified by the International Coaching Federation. She has lectured at Rutgers Business School and several colleges in the CUNY system, and before joining Deloitte in 2009, she gained experience in the health care and consulting fields. A mom of two teenagers, she maintains her native Minnesota roots and currently resides in New Jersey, where she volunteers for several local organizations with a focus on hunger relief.
