Book Review: Unsettled Disruption

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Portland Book Review.

Juana-Catalina Rodriguez

How do companies successfully adapt to disruption in the market that threatens their existence? Conversely, how do new entrants execute disruptive innovation to serve unattended customers? In Unsettled Disruption, Juana-Catalina Rodriguez provides a methodical guide for entrepreneurs and business leaders to understand the mechanics of disruption, and how best to adapt to changes in value chain, business model, technology, and business purpose.

Disruption happens when new entrants move from the niche and obscure to the center. Rodriguez, a Stanford consultant, illustrates how established companies respond to market challenges by seeing clearly the evolution of the user and adapting a broader perspective. The author shares examples from technology disruptors such as Canva and Warby Parker, while also understanding how well-known brands like Microsoft and Lego demonstrated self-innovation.

The book is written for the busy and time-crunched executive, intrapreneur, or startup founder who would appreciate how information is presented in the book: through short case studies, takeaways, and numbered lists. Rodriguez discusses disruption trends in digestible chunks. She craftily writes for readers who want to get the point right away. Thus, the case studies are brief and straightforward. Rodriguez supports her claims with an extensive list of notes highlighting the journey of how different companies anticipate market needs and confront deadly disruption.

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Lucky Tomorrow: Stories

Deborah Jiang-Stein's debut collection of short stories explores the lives of people who are often overlooked. From flower street vendors to families torn apart by ambition, to a woman on death row awaiting redemption amidst a tumult of memories, Jiang-Stein vividly depicts their struggles. Each story is set in various cities where she has lived: Seattle, Minneapolis, and Tokyo. While these settings differ, they share a common indifference toward human suffering. In "Lucky Tomorrow, " each vignette offers a glimpse into harsh realities that are often difficult to confront, yet are grounded in the lived experiences of those frequently unseen and cast aside. The stories convey powerful themes of longing and fleeting hopes for fresh starts that may never arrive. Although the themes are specific to the characters, they resonate with the universal human experience. As an activist and advocate, Jiang-Stein has made a significant impact through her extensive work with women...

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe. A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...

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