The Myths of Innovation (Scott Berkun)

By taking some of the great past and present innovations off the divine pedestal they have been put on, Scott Berkun illustrates what innovating is really about in his Myths of Innovation. And although the subject sounds negative, this classic by Scott Berkun is strangely empowering, inspires everyone to be innovative, and does all this in the extremely pleasant, entertaining, and easy to read style we’re used to from Berkun. Highly recommended!

I always thought that the great innovations in history were mostly about having a great deal of luck and epiphamies, making it demotivating to even try to put my own ideas to work. However, this is one of the first myths that are debunked in the book. By stripping innovations from these inaccurate perfect perceptions, and showing the other forces that drive innovation (hard work, curiosity, motivation, failure, earlier innovations, etc.), this book gives you the exhilerating feeling that it could actually be worthwhile exploring your own ideas. The book also makes your aware of the “filters” that you put on your own (and others’) crazy ideas, encouraging you to open your mind more, and taking away the fear of having ideas in the first place. And without analyzing innovations to death or claiming that there is a magical formula for innovating, you get some handy tips on how to succesfully convert these ideas into real products: creative thinking hacks, motivational techniques, pitching, management, etc.

I found the book to be a very interesting and pleasant (even as an eBook on an iPhone) read. It changed my perception about ideas and innovations quite a bit!