Archive for October, 2006
- By Scott (admin) on October 31st, 2006
- 2 Comments »
- Book reviews
Book reviews: Engines of ingenuity & How Invention begins
Sometimes good books sneak up on you – you enjoy reading them, but their full value doesn’t surface until afterwards, when in the days and weeks that follow you find yourself thinking back on how the book changed your mind. Engines of ingenuity by Historian and NPR host John Lienhard, fits this profile.
The book is comprised of short essays on the history of technology and invention, largely from his NPR show by the same title (transcripts onlne). These essays read well, cover many famous bits of technology history and offer insights and fresh perspectives on some stories I thought I knew well. Highly recommended.
Lienhard’s new book, How invention begins picks up where EOI leaves off. This time he looks deeper into how inventions develop, exploring how often desire, and not true necessity, led to many of the major technoligical innovations of our past.
It’s written in a more challenging style than EOI: longer pieces, more rigorous history, and covers less well known territory. For that reason I recommend EOI or Leinhard’s short NPR pieces first, and if you enjoy those, they’re excellent introductions for How invention begins.
- By Scott (admin) on October 30th, 2006
- 30 Comments »
- Innovation
Good ideas/innovations that lost?
One myth that surfaces in innovation history is the faith that good ideas win: if a technology, product or concept is truly better than the status quo it will eventually win because of its goodness.
Many industry veterans love to tell me how often this faith has been broken for them.
But when I ask for examples of good ideas that lost – products that should have won but were out-marketed, out-politicked, out strategized, or lost for other reasons – very few names come up.
In my innovators survey and interviews I’ve heard the same four:
- QWERTY vs. DVORAK
- Beta vs. VHS
- Windows vs. Macintosh
- U.S. Street cars vs. automobiles
Can anyone name other examples of good products, or good ideas that lost, despite being “superior” to their competitors?
It’s fine if you dont have hard evidence, I can track that down myself. (And yes, I know defining goodness is entirely subjective – I’m leaving it all up to you)
- By Scott (admin) on October 30th, 2006
- No Comments »
- Design
This week in ux-clinic: managing sensitive designers
This week in the ux-clinic discussion group:
I’m managing a small team of relatively young designers. They’re smart and sassy, but have trouble being told no – as in “no we can’t build this”, “no it’s too expensive” or “no there are more important things than this idea.”. They basically shut down if the rest of the team doesn’t unanimously swoon over their ideas: they don’t argue, complain or even put up a stink in private. But they do shut down and stop doing their best work, or any work at all.
In our org’s culture they need to be able to push back, but more importantly, not give up because someone doesn’t follow their thinking on the first try. What should I be doing to help them along?
I’ve tried the basics, but there seems something very personal/sensitive about their design work to them and I don’t know how to help them get past it.
- Managing SDS (Sensitive designer syndrome)
- By Scott (admin) on October 30th, 2006
- 2 Comments »
- Innovation
This week in pm-clinic: Innovate or die
This week in the pm-clinic discussion forum:
Is innovation for innovation’s sake a good idea? I think not, but my new VP has it in his head that our entire organization needs to be more innovative – despite his lack of clarity about what that means. So all of the team leads (including myself) are like a pack of wolves, pacing and racing around our projects.
New ideas are flying all over the place (reorgs, new technologies, new directions), but progress on existing projects has stalled, morale is volatile (rising and falling daily), and there is a shortage on meaningful decisions about why we’re changing things, or how those changes will be made.
How can I help my VP sort out what innovation means? (Or is this some kind of leadership game where he’s testing us by watching our responses)? Or more cynically, protect my team and existing projects from this chaos until it passes?
- Innovate or die
- By Scott (admin) on October 26th, 2006
- No Comments »
- Innovation
Start-up camp: Nov 2&3 Mountain View
I know a bunch of you readers are in start-ups, or hopefully soon will be – Well, here’s the event for you. Start-up Camp.
The rundown:
- It’s free. November 2nd & 3rd.
- It’s in Mountain View, CA.
- It’s an unconference.
- It’s being facilitated by Kaliya Hamlin, an unconference pro.
Start-up camp Registration and general info. Have fun.
- By Scott (admin) on October 25th, 2006
- 21 Comments »
- Innovation
How to make an innovative book? (help wanted)
It’d be daft to write a book about innovation without some effort to make the book itself an innovative thing. So I’m asking you, wise blog readers, for some help: How can a book, in how its designed, written, marketed, or something else, be an innovative thing?
Some thoughts:
As I’ve covered elsewhere, innovation means something new that’s good, or better than before. I’m not looking for fads or change-for-change-sake gimmicks: but I do want good, clever things you’ve seen other books do that should be emulated, or new ideas you’ve always thought should be part of what a good book is.
Book design: Aren’t most bibliographies a snorefest? Are there things about footnotes that drive you nuts? Isn’t there a smarter way to help people find other resources? Either in the book itself, or connecting the book to the web? Kawakasi made the cover a design competition (an idea I like) – what else has been done, or should be done?
Marketing: I did two no-frills low radar book tours to support artofpm. Is there a better way to use my time on the road besides the standard lecture, Q&A, drinks routine? Especially on a budget? Things more interactive, more fun, and more memorable? What’s the best book related event you’ve ever been too? The best book marketing you’ve ever seen?
Book writing: I’ve been doing my best to use this blog and open interviews (still open!) to help bring people into the process. But as I head into draft two, are there other new ideas I should be trying? Something I missed or you heard about that might work for this project?
Speak up! – now is the time to help a book be all it can be. Please pass this link on to all your designer and marketing friends :)
SCOTT'S NEW BOOK
A provocative collection of behind-the-scenes tales from the life of a successful public speaker, bestselling business author Scott Berkun offers a unique insider's take on what public speakers do, how they do it, and how anyone can do it well. Book Details
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