What is your favourite innovation related book? – Fred de Villiers
Books on Innovation are plentiful and it is hard to find the real gems.
It would be great if we can all nominate a few that has meant a great deal to us.
What is your favourite innovation book? Why do you say so?
At the moment I am reading “A whack on the side of the head” by Roger van Oech, a real creativity classic that was published way back in 1983. It is more about creative and lateral thinking than pure Innovation but the fact that we need to change our ways of thinking in order to be innovative is as true today as it was 27 years ago. It is also a very funny book full of anecdotes, puzzles, cartoons and quotes, easy to read therefore and very insightful.
Another I’ve enjoyed is “Think Better” by Tim Hurson with the subtitle, “An Innovators’s guide to productive thinking”.
I believe what make these books very interesting and worth mentioning is the way the authors relate their theories to practical real-life examples. You can identify with what they are saying. They also make you laugh, which to me is one of the most important things about Innovation and creativity. We cannot create without playing and having fun, can we?
Fred de Villiers
About Fred de Villiers
Fred de Villiers is member of the Eskom Innovation Circuit team. He has dabbled in PR, Communications, teaching, training and has, for the moment, settled on Innovation as a possible solution to humankind’s future dilemmas. This, after discovering that Albert Einstein was a playful old soul and said stuff like, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.”
We asked some of the steering committee members what their favourite innovation book is.
Here are their responses:
Jayshee Naidoo:
My favorite innovation book is: Mavericks at Work : Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, written by W.C. Taylor and P. LaBarre, (2008), Harper Collins, London.
The book is written in a conversational style and provides examples and real case conversations on some of the best minds in business and how they have managed to create a focus on innovation within their respective organizations. It also provides practical insight into some of the innovative techniques used by these organizations to bridge the innovation chasm and deliver competitive solutions and products that have positioned them in a league of their own.
Karen Eksteen:
I usually read the Harvard Business Review articles on innovation because it is current, applicable and interesting.
Nicky Koorbanally:
One of my favourite books is “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” by C.K. Prahalad (Wharton School Publishing 2005).
The book is best summarised by an introductory remark by Christopher Rodrigues, CEO of VISA International, ” Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notions about the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations of the world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercial success and societal improvement – but only if the developed world reconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developing world.”
In my opinion, this implies that innovation is fundamental if we want to deliver new products and services to largely untapped markets at the bottom of the pyramid. We have to re-think, re-learn and find new creative ways for how we go about our business. If we are to commercialise technologies that are mainly focused on achieving social impact in a sustainable way, we have to be innovative with respect to the type of products and services developed, the business models utilised, the way in which we partner with relevant stakeholders, etc.
The book draws on the experience in developing countries such as India, and provides practical examples and case studies that are relevant to the situation in South Africa.
Fred de Villiers and Thedu Rikhotso
Two of my favorite books (there really are many!) are Cirque du Soleil The Spark, created by Lyn Heward and written by John U Bacon. By telling the story of how Cirque du Soleil (a number of very different entertainment experiences that travels around the world) works, I’ve found basic truths about innovation and creativity that can be applied to any organisation – specifically ways they encourage everybody to contribute. It inspired me!
The other is Matthew May’s The Elegant Solution. May starts the book with a fantastic quote from Thomas Edison “There’s a way to do it better – find it!”. Based on May’s experience in Toyota, a company that implements 1 million ideas a year, he gives sound pointers to creating this magic in any organisation. He defines an elegant solution as one where optimal or the desired effect is achieved with the least amount of effort. Is that not what we’re all striving for?
My favourite innovation tape that I listened to is the “Creative Fire” of Clarissa Pincola-Estes. She kindles anyone’s creative fire through the stories that she tells. She motivates and teaches at the same time. Based on this book I developed a model called the “The natural Innovation Cycle”. Maybe Saine can put the model up as I cannot paste it into this blog page.
Hi Fred, I like the outfit.
Hi there. I have many favorites but particularly interested in “The Innovators Toolkit” – Check out the templates http://www.innovatorstoolkit.com/
Also a good read is The Future of Management by Gary Hamel
Now more importantly where do you get that costume?
I have quite a few books and each of them adds a different dimension and thinking to innovation: “The Whole Brain Business” book from Ned Herrmann which focuses on how to engage everyone in the organisation by ensuring you use Whole Brain communication, plan projects with different thinking styles in mind and apply Whole Brain thinking in your creativity and innovation journey.
I got a lot of value form “Idea are free” (Robinson and Schroeder) which are down to earth and deals with real issues facing innovators and organisations who want to be more innovative.
“Total Creativity” from David Tanner looks at a total innovation framework and clearly demonstrates the need and link between creative thinking and making innovation a reality.
Edward de Bono has many books and even though they don’t read easily, they have many examples and specific tools and techniques that can be applied by anyone.
The Art of Innovation is a all-time favourite and was also the first book I ever read on innovation
Mavericks at work (see Jayshree’s comment – a must read)
Re-Imagine from Tom Peters – very inspirational
The Game Changer – about P&G – good insights
Gary Hamel is always thought provoking and Charles Handy is worth looking at
A good few books listed already! Maybe SAINe can make a list?!
. That is the IDEA guy. He hangs out at Eskom’s Innovation Circuit and tell people what happens to ideas once they get to the Innovation Circuit.
PS: That is not a costume
Great to have a list of recommended reading like this! Do please keep going! My favourite (from the science & tech perspective) is The Edge series by Graeme Addison, published by The Engineering Association,(2005 & 2002) with the assistance of Eskom. It’s so inspiring to see what South Africans have already done in terms of innovation. Local role modeling is important as it makes it easier to believe in ourselves!
We’re putting a blurb about SAINE in our next e-newsletter “NASTEF” at the end of the month, so you can get lots more ideas!
My current favourite is Max McKeown’s “The Truth About Innovation”. The 55 “truths” provide great insights and tips.
Each Truth is a short chapter, and can be read as a quick standalone, so even busy Managers don’t need a lot of time to immediately get value from the book.
I think there is great potential for Managers to use this book to keep their team thinking “innovation” – by introducing a new “truth” for discussion at each team meeting. With 55 concepts, it can sustain the discussion and learning for a good length of time!