Here are 100 books that Where Good Ideas Come From fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m an innovator. I’ve been one since I was a kid. Since then, I’ve started a couple of non-profits and four companies, and I’ve advised hundreds of clients on innovation opportunities. I’ve also led the team that created one of the world’s first smartphones. Over the past dozen years, I’ve written four books on the strategy and capabilities of innovation. Innovation is one of the essential characteristics that make us human. It can get the world into trouble, but it does more good than harm on balance. My mission is to make us better at innovation and make the world a better place.
As a strategy consultant for over two decades, let me tell you: the world is full of bad strategy. This book lays out so clearly what makes bad strategy bad, as well as what good strategy consists of. Rumelt uses examples from business, of course, but he goes far beyond that realm, too.
The book opens with a description of how Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon’s forces in the Battle of Trafalgar. Rumelt, a Professor at UCLA, gives recommendations that are specific, tied to examples, and actionable. I walked away with a clear set of takeaways and wonderful stories to back them up.
When Richard Rumelt's Good Strategy/Bad Strategy was published in 2011, it immediately struck a chord, calling out as bad strategy the mish-mash of pop culture, motivational slogans and business buzz speak so often and misleadingly masquerading as the real thing.
Since then, his original and pragmatic ideas have won fans around the world and continue to help readers to recognise and avoid the elements of bad strategy and adopt good, action-oriented strategies that honestly acknowledge the challenges being faced and offer straightforward approaches to overcoming them. Strategy should not be equated with ambition, leadership, vision or planning; rather, it is…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I’m an innovator. I’ve been one since I was a kid. Since then, I’ve started a couple of non-profits and four companies, and I’ve advised hundreds of clients on innovation opportunities. I’ve also led the team that created one of the world’s first smartphones. Over the past dozen years, I’ve written four books on the strategy and capabilities of innovation. Innovation is one of the essential characteristics that make us human. It can get the world into trouble, but it does more good than harm on balance. My mission is to make us better at innovation and make the world a better place.
I read this book before a job interview with the author, and I kicked myself for not reading his works years earlier. Clay Christensen was a master of making the counter-intuitive simple and compelling and of showing why his theses really matter.
In this book, Clay laid out several of his most important theories—going well beyond the concept of Disruptive Innovation he’s most famous for. He illustrates the concepts with research and anecdotes, and his prose is always a joy to read. For anyone passionate about innovation, this book is simply a must. It’s a guidebook to success.
An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen's work continues to underpin today's most innovative leaders and organizations. A seminal work on disruption--for everyone confronting the growth paradox. For readers of the bestselling The Innovator's Dilemma--and beyond--this definitive work will help anyone trying to transform their business right now. In The Innovator's Solution, Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor expand on the idea of disruption, explaining how companies can and should become disruptors themselves. This classic work shows just how timely and relevant these ideas continue to be in today's hyper-accelerated business environment. Christensen and Raynor give advice…
As a UK registered lawyer, I have spent most of the past 35 years writing about my work. But what has always excited me, from my childhood, is the science fiction worlds which state a truth which is yet to happen, The worlds of H.G Wells; Huxley; Aldous; Orwell; Bradbury; and Atwell. An individual's struggle against overwhelming odds. Not always somewhere where you would want to go. But from which you will always take something away.
I used this book to relieve the boredom of a long daily commute.
Instead of looking out of a train window at the same old scenery I'd passed a thousand times before, I was now taken to a dystopian society in which everything which I had taken for granted about family life was turned upside down. Where humans are manufactured to a specification instead of being born. A new pseudo religion where everyone makes the sign of the ‘T’, to signify their devotion to the original Ford Model T, which was the first vehicle to be manufactured on an assembly line.
**One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**
EVERYONE BELONGS TO EVERYONE ELSE. Read the dystopian classic that inspired the hit Sky TV series.
'A masterpiece of speculation... As vibrant, fresh, and somehow shocking as it was when I first read it' Margaret Atwood, bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale.
Welcome to New London. Everybody is happy here. Our perfect society achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family and history itself. Now everyone belongs.
You can be happy too. All you need to do is take your Soma pills.
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I study and share winning marketing practices. My passion is making organizations better by utilizing precision segmentation strategies and creating superior customer value. Like most successful entrepreneurs, I wear many hats and juggle many ventures. I am a marketing professor, market researcher, business scholar, book author, case writer, blogmaster, speaker, and strategic consultant. Most of my work focuses on entrepreneurial businesses, information-based organizations, service firms, and technology and Now Economy companies. I am always searching for and thinking about the latest/greatest keys to business success. I work with future leaders to build, manage, and improve marketing operations in the great enterprises of today and tomorrow.
The author has a doctorate in psychology but chose a most unusual route to success and fortune. Rather than pursuing a traditional career in academia or medical practice, Dr. Konnikova became a superstar in the exciting and glamorous world of high-stakes poker.
This is a fascinating and intriguing story of how a card-playing novice learned the inside tricks and tactics from an incredible mentor. Read about how she used superior intellect, strategic decision-making, and an unwavering commitment to learn what it takes to climb to the top of the professional gambling arena.
A New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book
"The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself." -The Washington Post
It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him…
I study and share winning marketing practices. My passion is making organizations better by utilizing precision segmentation strategies and creating superior customer value. Like most successful entrepreneurs, I wear many hats and juggle many ventures. I am a marketing professor, market researcher, business scholar, book author, case writer, blogmaster, speaker, and strategic consultant. Most of my work focuses on entrepreneurial businesses, information-based organizations, service firms, and technology and Now Economy companies. I am always searching for and thinking about the latest/greatest keys to business success. I work with future leaders to build, manage, and improve marketing operations in the great enterprises of today and tomorrow.
How did Airbnb, Apple, Netflix, and Uber disrupt markets, displace strong market leaders, rapidly scale, and become cultural icons? The voltage effect played a significant role in changing the world. According to List, “for an idea to have a widespread impact, it must achieve “high voltage”–the ability to be replicated at scale.”
Check out his great insights from the fields of business, education, healthcare, and public policy. Read this book to energize your marketing strategy, expand your customer base, grow market share, and scale to win.
'By far the best book I've ever read on the how and why of scaling. If you care about changing the world, or just want to make better decisions in your own life, The Voltage Effect is for you.' Angela Duckworth, CEO of Character Lab and New York Times bestselling author of Grit ________________
Why do some ideas make it big while others fail to take off? According to award-winning behavioural economist John List, the answer comes down to a single question: Can the idea scale?
Countless enterprises fall apart the moment they scale; their positive results fizzle, they lose…
I’m an innovator. I’ve been one since I was a kid. Since then, I’ve started a couple of non-profits and four companies, and I’ve advised hundreds of clients on innovation opportunities. I’ve also led the team that created one of the world’s first smartphones. Over the past dozen years, I’ve written four books on the strategy and capabilities of innovation. Innovation is one of the essential characteristics that make us human. It can get the world into trouble, but it does more good than harm on balance. My mission is to make us better at innovation and make the world a better place.
The world is full of great ideas that don’t catch on. Indoor plumbing, for example, took about 2,500 years to become popular. Others, like radio, catch fire seemingly overnight. Why? Rogers produced the seminal work on this topic, which has now gone through five editions of updates.
He sets out clear patterns of how innovations get taken up—or struggle to. He delves into many examples to prove his points, and he always makes the reader think. Before you focus on your wonderful idea, think about what will make the idea be accepted quickly by the marketplace. As Rogers shows, that will save you vast amounts of work down the road.
Now in its fifth edition, Diffusion of Innovations is a classic work on the spread of new ideas.
In this renowned book, Everett M. Rogers, professor and chair of the Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico, explains how new ideas spread via communication channels over time. Such innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky. To overcome this uncertainty, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thus the diffusion process consists of a few individuals who first adopt an innovation, then spread the word among their circle…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I study and share winning marketing practices. My passion is making organizations better by utilizing precision segmentation strategies and creating superior customer value. Like most successful entrepreneurs, I wear many hats and juggle many ventures. I am a marketing professor, market researcher, business scholar, book author, case writer, blogmaster, speaker, and strategic consultant. Most of my work focuses on entrepreneurial businesses, information-based organizations, service firms, and technology and Now Economy companies. I am always searching for and thinking about the latest/greatest keys to business success. I work with future leaders to build, manage, and improve marketing operations in the great enterprises of today and tomorrow.
While most of us are happy getting the little things done in life (whether at work or home), we can all benefit from learning about the best practices employed in the successful design and management of one-of-a-kind, global megaprojects. Interesting applications were provided from construction, manufacturing, and real estate as well as winning products and services such as Amazon Prime and Apple’s iPod.
This book provides keen insights to help you succeed in your small venture/project by understanding how to turn a vision into reality, manage costs, ensure top quality, overcome obstacles, and stick to deadlines.
The secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious, complex projects on any scale--from home renovation to space exploration--by the world's leading expert on megaprojects.
Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York's skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple's iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months.
These are wonderful stories. But most of the time big visions turn into nightmares. Remember Boston's "Big Dig"? Almost every sizeable city…
I study and share winning marketing practices. My passion is making organizations better by utilizing precision segmentation strategies and creating superior customer value. Like most successful entrepreneurs, I wear many hats and juggle many ventures. I am a marketing professor, market researcher, business scholar, book author, case writer, blogmaster, speaker, and strategic consultant. Most of my work focuses on entrepreneurial businesses, information-based organizations, service firms, and technology and Now Economy companies. I am always searching for and thinking about the latest/greatest keys to business success. I work with future leaders to build, manage, and improve marketing operations in the great enterprises of today and tomorrow.
Baseball has been called America’s game. Yet, many fans find the season way too long and games way too boring. Jesse Cole, the Walt Disney of baseball, purchased a minor league team and totally reimagined the sport by changing accepted business practices and creating a super fan-friendly, game-day experience.
Many great lessons here on how to build an enterprise through creativity, differentiation, entrepreneurship, perseverance, and strategy.
The Savannah Bananas have peeled back the game of baseball and made it fun again.
This is their story.
For his entire childhood, Jesse Cole dreamed of pitching in the Majors. Now, he has a life in baseball that he could have only imagined: he met the love of his life in the industry; they shaped Savannah, Georgia's professional team into the league champion Savannah Bananas; and now the Bananas have restyled baseball itself into something all their own: Banana Ball.
Fast, fun, and outrageously entertaining, Banana Ball brings fans right into the game. The Bananas throw out a first…
As an organizational consultant, and a business writer, I’ve always been fascinated by Mark Twain’s comment that he would've written a shorter letter if he had more time. It’s a wonderful reminder that simplicity and clarity require hard work and won’t happen by itself. As part of the consulting team that worked with Jack Welch to transform GE in the 1990s, I saw firsthand that leaders actually have the power to simplify their organizations, and that it can make a huge difference. What they need is a playbook for how to do this, and that was my intention when I wrote Simply Effective. Since then I’ve seen “simplicity” become a driving force for business success.
Yes, Stella is a book – but it’s really a fable about how to cut through corporate inertia and bureaucracy to drive innovation.
When I first read it, I was blown away – a story about farm animals saving their farm from bankruptcy – with lots of clear and compelling messages. And it was actually fun to read. Since I first learned about it from one of the authors (we were working with a common client), I’ve recommended it to lots of other executives, and it’s made a difference.
One of the key lessons from Stella is that truly transformative innovation often needs to be separated from the core business – with different resources, budgets, metrics, and expectations. Otherwise it’s going to be in competition with the core business – and it will end up getting the short end of the stick in terms of money and people.
Inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm and the international bestseller Our Iceberg is Melting, How Stella Saved the Farm is a simple parable about embracing change and managing innovation in difficult times.
Bankruptcy, or the grim prospect of being acquired by a hostile human competitor, threatens Windsor Farm. But when a young sheep called Stella comes up with a bold idea, will the other animals be able to respond to her ambitious call to action?
Grounded in over a decade of academic research, How Stella Saved the Farm will resonate for organizations of all types, from global corporations to small…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Art, technology, and science…I have been seamlessly traversing domains all my life. I grew up with twin interests in physical sciences and visual arts, finding beauty in math and art and seeing creativity as being one thing rather than something living in compartments. Art influenced my research in chaos and complexity, and blurring boundaries characterized my work as dean of engineering when creating educational/research initiatives in design, art, entrepreneurship, energy, and sustainability. I also received visible external recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
This book will capture your imagination and dazzle your senses with deep scholarship.
Deep exploration of creative outputs at their maximum states, the state of “flow”, condensing Csikszentmihalyi’s thirty years of research and nearly one hundred interviews with exceptionally creative people, spanning science, business, and art, in all of their dimensions. Creativity in art, technology, and science, perceived by many as being different types of creativity, revealed, at its core, to be the same.
“Although the benefits of this study to scholars are obvious, this thought-provoking mixture of scholarly and colloquial will enlighten inquisitive general readers, too.” — Library Journal (starred review)
The classic study of the creative process from the bestselling author of Flow.
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (“The leading researcher into ‘flow states.’” — Newsweek) reveals what leads to these moments—be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab—so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly one hundred…
