At our Network event earlier this month in Boston, we asked participants about the books, podcasts, and resources on innovation and strategy that they’ve found most useful. Here are some of their recommendations:
Books
“The Chimp Paradox” by Dr. Steve Peters
“Do you sabotage your own happiness and success? Are you struggling to make sense of yourself? Do your emotions sometimes dictate your life? Dr. Steve Peters explains that we all have a being within our minds that can wreak havoc on every aspect of our lives—be it business or personal. He calls this being “the chimp,” and it can work either for you or against you. The challenge comes when we try to tame the chimp, and persuade it to do our bidding.”
“Pivot: How Top Entrepreneurs Adapt” by Remy Arteaga, Joanne Hyland
“Every day, business and corporate startups take action based on assumptions. Yet these assumptions are based largely on guesswork that leads to everything from costly mistakes to the failure of ventures. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these issues and excel in your business endeavors—and this book will show you how. Engaging and informative, Pivot provides entrepreneurs with practical guidance for achieving success in corporate ventures as well as new startups.”
“Design: The Invention of Desire” by Jessica Helfand
“Design has always prided itself on being relevant to the world it serves, but interest in design was once limited to a small community of design professionals. Today, books on “design thinking” are best sellers, and computer and Web-based tools have expanded the definition of who practices design. Looking at objects, letterforms, experiences, and even theatrical performances, award-winning author Jessica Helfand asserts that understanding design’s purpose is more crucial than ever.”
“Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity” by Hugh MacLeod
“When Hugh MacLeod was a struggling young copywriter living in a YMCA, he started to doodle on the backs of business cards while sitting at a bar. Those cartoons eventually led to a popular blog-gapingvoid.com-and a reputation for pithy insight and humor, in both words and pictures. MacLeod has opinions on everything from marketing to the meaning of life, but one of his main subjects is creativity… Ignore Everybody expands on MacLeod’s sharpest insights, wittiest cartoons, and most useful advice.”
“Start with Why” by Simon Sinek
“In 2009, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas…START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way — and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does.”
“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries
“Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched…Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs – in companies of all sizes – a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late.”
“Innovation Games” by Luke Hohmann
“The toughest part of innovation? Accurately predicting what customers want, need, and will pay for. Even if you ask them, they often can’t explain what they want. Now, there’s a breakthrough solution: Innovation Games. Drawing on his software product strategy and product management consulting experience, Luke Hohmann has created twelve games that help you uncover your customers’ true, hidden needs and desires.”
Podcasts
“Revisionist History” by Malcolm Gladwell
“Revisionist History is a new podcast from Malcolm Gladwell and Panoply Media. Each week for 10 weeks, Revisionist History will go back and reinterpret something from the past: an event, a person, an idea. Something overlooked. Something misunderstood.”
“Radiolab”
“Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience.”
“How I Built This” by NPR
“How I Built This is a podcast about innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built. Each episode is a narrative journey marked by triumphs, failures, serendipity and insight — told by the founders of some of the world’s best known companies and brands.”
“Jennifer Brown Podcast” by Jennifer Brown
“Jennifer Brown is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker and diversity and inclusion expert. She is the founder, president and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, LLC (JBC), and is a passionate social equality advocate committed to helping leaders foster healthier and therefore more productive workplace cultures.”
“The Design of Business“ by Design Observer
“How design works within complex organizations to shape decisions, products, and more. Guests include clients from many industries and designers in many fields. Recorded at the Yale School of Management.”
“Steve Blank Podcast“ by Steve Blank
“Steve Blank, eight-time entrepreneur and now a business school professor at Stanford, Columbia and Berkeley, shares his hard-won wisdom as he pioneers entrepreneurship as a management science, combining Customer Development, Business Model Design and Agile Development. The conclusion? Startups are simply not small versions of large companies! Startups are actually temporary organizations designed to search for a scalable and repeatable business model.”
Resources
“Pixar in a Box“ by Khan Academy
“Pixar in a Box is a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar artists do their jobs. You will be able to animate bouncing balls, build a swarm of robots, and make virtual fireworks explode. The subjects you learn in school — math, science, computer science, and humanities — are used every day to create amazing movies at Pixar.”
“Smart Blogger“ by Jon Morrow
“So, you have a blog. (Or you’re thinking about starting one.) But you’re not an average blogger. Blogging is more than just a fun hobby for you. Much more. You’re excited about where it could lead you because you know the potential is huge. Successful bloggers land book deals, launch online businesses, attract high-paying clients, become recognized thought leaders… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But it doesn’t happen overnight. And if you don’t have the right approach, it won’t happen at all. That’s why smart bloggers know where they want to go, and how to find the right strategies to get there.”
“Customer Decision Journey” by Lynda.com
“The customer decision journey is a time-tested tool for connecting your brand with customers and differentiating your company from the competition. But like any tool, it has evolved with time. Learn how the decision journey has developed, with digital as the catalyst, and why it’s more critical than ever to your business. Dina Shapiro walks you through the process of creating buyer personas, defining and mapping customer touchpoints, and aligning your marketing message to the customer decision journey.”
“The Zachman Framework“ by John A. Zachman
“The Zachman Framework is a schema – the intersection between two historical classifications that have been in use for literally thousands of years. The first is the fundamentals of communication found in the primitive interrogatives: What, How, When, Who, Where, and Why. It is the integration of answers to these questions that enables the comprehensive, composite description of complex ideas. The second is derived from reification, the transformation of an abstract idea into an instantiation that was initially postulated by ancient Greek philosophers and is labeled in the Zachman Framework™: Identification, Definition, Representation, Specification, Configuration and Instantiation.”
Do you have a favorite innovation book, podcast, or resource? Post a comment below, and we hope to see you at a future InnoLead gathering!
