The 1percenters: How NEW Things Get Done

The 1%ers: How NEW Things Get Done by Shana Finnegan and Darrell Mann (2025)

Full-colour, 168 pages, ISBN 978-1-912670-13-0 (eBook)

Why do 98% of business innovation attempts fail while a rare 2% succeed spectacularly? The answer isn't better strategy, smarter technology, or bigger budgets. It's the humans. 

After analyzing 11.5 million innovation case studies, innovation architects Darrell Mann and Shana Finnegan discovered breakthrough success comes from "1%ers,” people who possess seven rare cognitive capabilities that enable them to navigate complexity, solve contradictions without compromise, and see what others miss. 

The challenge? Our education and work systems trained us to optimize, not innovate. While we learned to find "right answers" and accept tradeoffs, 1%ers leveraged capabilities AI cannot replace. Optimization skills worked brilliantly in the Industrial era, but now that AI handles them better than any human, they've become our limitations. 

The 1%ers reveals the seven NEPTUNE capabilities that separate those who merely cope with change from those who drive breakthrough innovation. Drawing on real case studies this book provides a roadmap for developing these capabilities with self-assessments, practice exercises, and frameworks you can apply immediately. 

Learn to think like a 1%er, or watch as AI and those who've mastered these capabilities “get new things done.” 

Perfect for: • Anyone sensing their role is being drastically affected by AI • Leaders navigating digital transformation • Innovation professionals tired of "best practices" that don't work • Organizations building teams that can actually innovate