Title: The Myths of Innovation Author: Scott Berkun Publisher: O'Reilly Media Edition: First Publication Month: May 2007 Pages: 192 ISBN 10: 0-596-52705-5 ISBN 13: 9780596527051 Cover: Hard Cost: $24.99 USD, £17.50 GBP
Short Review
Smiley Rating: Very good. :) :) :) :) of 5.
This is a very-good well-organized easy-to-read short book regarding myths about innovation.
If you don't feel you know everything about innovation and you want to learn more, I recommend this book highly.
If you want more detail, you could take a look at my somewhat longer review.
George Woolley
of Camelot.pm and Oakland.pm
Miscellaneous
Chapter Titles
- Chapter 1: The myth of epiphany
- Chapter 2: We understand the history of innovation
- Chapter 3: There is a method for innovation
- Chapter 4: People love new ideas
- Chapter 5: The lone inventor
- Chapter 6: Good ideas are hard to find
- Chapter 7: Your boss knows more about innovation than you
- Chapter 8: The best ideas win
- Chapter 9: Problems and solutions
- Chapter 10: Innovation is always good
Note
- To view the full table of contents, visit the O'Reilly Media catalog entry for this book.
Online Watch
Safari
This book is on Safari. :) In fact, I read it on Safari. Moreover, I did this review without accessing a paper copy of the book.
The original reading went smoothly, but, perhaps because I use a dial up connection, checking stuff for the review was painfully slow.
Author
There's plenty of things on the Web re Scott Berkun. I suggest starting with the O'Reilly Short Biography of him. There are also links there to lists of articles and blog entries (15).
You could also check out his website. I particularly enjoyed his essay Why Software Sucks.
You might also find interviews with him entertaining and enlightening. If you think so, you could try a simple search such as
"scott berkun" interview
Book
The the O'Reilly Media catalog entry contains a good bit of information on the book.
You might also do a search on
"the myths of innovation" review
That would give you some other points of view on the book.
Myths of Innovation
To explore other points of view on myths of innovation, you could try a search on
innovation myths
Lists
Notes
- The lists in this section occur in the book as lists or as headings at the same level (and I interpreted them as lists).
- In most cases the wording of the list items in this section is the same as (or similar to) that in the book. However, the wording of three items in the first list in this section is significantly different from that in the book.
Some Myths of Innovation
- Most innovations involve an epiphany.
- We understand the history of innovation.
- There is a method for innovation.
- People love new ideas.
- There is a lone inventor for most inventions.
- Good ideas are hard to find.
- Your boss knows more about innovation than you.
- The best ideas win.
- Solutions are more important than problems.
- Innovation is always good.
Notes
- Above, there is one myth per chapter.
- Most (7 of 10) chapter titles describe a myth of innovation with one simple sentence with no period.
- Where that was true, I simply added a period to the myth description.
- Otherwise (i.e. in 3 cases) I chose a myth that related to the title and described it with a simple sentence.
Some Seeds of Innovation
- hard work in a specified direction or with a direction change
- curiosity
- desire for wealth
- necessity
Some Challenges of Innovation
- finding an idea
- developing a solution
- getting sponsorship and funding
- scaling
- reaching possible customers
- beating the competition
- timing
- keeping the lights on
Some Factors re Innovation Spread
- relative advantage
- compatibility
- complexity
- trialability
- observability
Some Ideas Supporting Brainstorming
- Produce many ideas.
- Produce wild ideas.
- Piggy back on the ideas of others.
- Don't judge.
More Lists
A Few Subjects of Photos
- The Rosetta Stone
- The Roman Colesium
- The Taj Mahal
- The Eiffel Tower
- Prometheus Bound
Some Quotes
- "Journalists have always asked me what the crucial idea was or what the singular event was that allowed the Web to exist one day when it hadn't before. They are frustrated when I tell them there was no Eureka moment. It was not like the legendary apple falling on Newton's head to demonstrate the concept of gravity...it was a process of accretion (growth by gradual addition)." - Tim Berners-Lee
- "History is written by those who win and those who dominate." - Edward Said
- "History is the lie commonly agreed upon." - Voltaire
- "I have stood on the shoulders of giants" - Newton
- "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Einstein
- "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries...and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it." - Niccolo Machiavelli
- "If I had 20 days to solve a problem, I would take 19 days to define it" - Einstein
- "The chief cause of problems is solutions." - Eric Sevareid
Note
- In selecting these quotes from the book, I tended to pick one's that were either by well-known people, that were familiar or that were pithy.
Some Terms in the Index
- adoption of innovations
- bad effects of innovations
- best ideas winning
- business management
- creativity
- good ideas
- goodness
- history of innovation
- ideas
- innovations
- lone inventor
- love of new ideas
- managers
- methodology
- problems
Note
- All of the above are main entries in the book's Index, and the entry including its subentries contains at least 9 page references.
Some Names of People in the Index
- Berners-Lee
- da Vinci
- Edison
- Einstein
- Ford
- Galileo
- Hawkins
- Jobs
- Kay
- Lienhard
- Newton
- Peabody
Note
- All of the above are main entries in the book's Index, and the entry including its subentries contains at least 2 page references.
Somewhat Longer Review
Contents
The Title
The
I understand the word "the" in the title to indicate that what is under consideration is what follows, i.e., "myths of innovation".
Myths
I understand the word "myth" in the title to mean "a widespread belief which (a) is false (or without a solid foundation) and (b) supports the views of those holding the belief".
Of
I understand the word "of" in the title to mean "associated with".
Innovation
I understand the word "innovation" in the title to mean "something created that is new" (new when it was created, anyway).
The innovation could be:
- a device
- an idea
- a methodology
- a point of view
- or perhaps something else
In the Preface, the author says specifically that he addresses all at once innovation in:
- business
- science
- technology
Does the Title fit the Book?
Yes.
About the Reviewer
Artist
I view myself as an artist. I've created:
- drawings
- paintings
- poems
- songs
- stories
However, I'm not a professional artist.
Minimalist
I'm a minimalist, a (cultural) postmodern minimalist, but still a minimalist.
Skeptical about History
I am skeptical about history.
For one thing, I don't get how historians make their choices. In college when I asked my history professor why some things were included in the textbook (and others not), he provided no answer.
Experienced in Brainstorming
I am experienced in brainstorming.
I payed (out of personal funds) to take a course in collaborative problem solving that included brainstorming.
I've found brainstorming to be quite useful before and after taking that course.
By the Numbers
This book includes:
- 1 preface
- 10 chapters
- 1 appendix
- 1 index
- 192 pages (in all)
Since I didn't (and don't) have access to a paper copy, I don't know how the pages are divided. I only know the total pages from the publisher's online catalog page.
Chapters
Each chapter consists of
- 1 introduction
- 1 to 5 sections
All the chapters are of a manageable size.
Some of the mechanisms that are used many times are:
- lists
- photos
- quotes
- humor
For a few examples of lists in the book, see the Lists section in the left column.
There are enough photos in the book that there is a part entitled Photo Credits. Under that title, credits are given for 19 photos. So I guess there are at least 19 photos in the book.
There are many quotes in the book. See Some Quotes in the left column for some examples.
An example of humor in the book is: "But life is larger than science. What we want in life is more complex than what can be achieved by mixing smelly powders or dropping Mentos into large bottles of Diet Coke (do try this, but do it outside)." I should mention, though, that humor (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder.
Likes
Short
The book is short and so are the chapters.
Well-Organized
The book is well-organized.
There are many lists in the book and they contribute to the book being well-organized.
Easy to Read
I found the book easy to read. While reading the book, I never felt overwhelmed or bored.
The many photos, lists and quotes and the pervasive humor contribute to the book's readability.
Many Insights
I came away from reading the book with many new (for me, that is) insights about innovation.
Gripes
Not Enough Focus on Artistic Innovation
I wish there had been more focus on artistic innovation. Although to be fair, there are references to da Vinci, Beethoven, etc.
I have mixed feelings about a focus on artistic innovation partly because I personally think it's usually inappropriate for an artist to aim at innovation. Still, I would like more focus on artistic innovation.
Not Inspiring
I was not inspired by the book to take any action re innovation.
Oh, unless you count reading the book and writing this review.
Incomplete Section Numbers
In the on-line version of the book (at least), section numbers do not include the chapter number. E.g. the sections for chapter 3 are (or were) numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. I would have preferred the section numbers in chapter 3 be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4.
This was not a problem when I was reading the book, but it was quite annoying when I was going back over the book for this review. The thing is I was often uncertain where I was in the book.
Terms Missing from Index
The terms mentos and coke are not in the index. :( ;)
Who's the Book for?
Ideal For
This book would be ideal for someone with all the following characteristics:
- wants to learn more about innovation
- values his/her time
- likes lists
Not For
This book would not be good for someone not interested in innovation. The book didn't inspire me; it might or might not inspire you.
Final Thoughts
This a very-good short well-organized book on innovation. If you want that, I suggest getting it.