“Dad – what’s that?” My daughter, 4 or 5, was in her car seat as we were running errands. She grew impatient with my delay in answering her question. “That!” she said as she pointed out her window at the curb. “It’s called a curb,” I explained. “What’s it made of?” “Cement.” “What’s cement?” I […]
There is an old saying that goes something like this, “Speaking with passion but without the facts is like making a beautiful dive into an empty pool.” As John Adam’s famously said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the […]
Inspiring innovation seems more like an art than any kind of skill or science. The sudden spark that results in an exciting new idea seems random – like it came out of the blue. Studies have shown what seems random was actually inspired by something your did, read or saw in the past. Inspiring Innovation […]
Innovation can sometimes seem totally intangible. It’s easy enough to come up with an idea that you believe will change the world, or at least your industry. It is putting that idea into action that becomes another ballgame. Developing a real product or service that can be sold or put into practice is a daunting […]
Coca Cola is the most famous soft drink in existence and has penetrated almost every corner of the globe. What many do not know is that Coca Cola started as the unintended consequence when someone was attempting to invent a headache cure. Back in the 1880s John Pemberton, a struggling pharmacist, was attempting to develop a natural cure for headaches by mixing […]
When I signed my book deal with Hyperion to publish my book, Beyond The Obvious, it also included global rights. What this meant was that Hyperion purchased the right to have Beyond The Obvious translations in any language they choose. As an update, Beyond The Obvious has now been translated and released in: Japanese (キラー・クエスチョン 常識の壁を超え、イノベーションを生み出す質問のシステム) Available […]
Innovation is what keeps the world moving, growing and adapting to all the changes that occur along the way. They usually do not just happen. It takes individuals with a bit of creativity and imagination, as well as not being afraid to try new things. Shel Silverstein usually considered a children’s book author, encouraged creativity and imagination in […]
During my recent trip to China I discovered that the simplified Chinese translation of my book, Beyond The Obvious (创客学:苹果公司也在偷师的创新课), has been released and on-sale. I reached out to the publisher while I was in China and there was a mad scramble to setup a handful of press interviews while I was there. My current plan […]
Would you agree that if you want to be innovative, it helps to be a little bit different? The upcoming issue of The World Financial Review has reprinted Chapter 1 from my book Beyond The Obvious titled “Why Questions Matter?”. The core message of the chapter is that there are many ways to generate new innovations, but […]
getAbstract summarizes business books, helping their customers be the best-read, most expert players on the business scene today. They select ~50 titles per month and create a five-page summary in a magazine-page format. You can read it in less than 10 minutes. You get the book’s key ideas. The no-fluff summaries are logically structured so that you will get […]