Scott Berkun Does Some Myth-Busting.
There is a quote about this book that describes it as a “hilarious, fast-paced ride through the history of ideas” and that’s a pretty good description; Scott Berkun has written whats quite rare: a book about business and technology that’s also a very funny read. The soft-cover edition has added some useful suggestions to readers to counter what could leave readers feeling a bit despondent after reading chapters that disprove their titles like: “people love new ideas”, “the lone inventor” and “the best ideas win”.
One of the themes in Myths of Innovation is that history is not as simple as it’s told, rather it’s a telling of a story with certain details emphasized, others left to the side and out of this come myths that become accepted as truths. While this, and many other ideas in this book, are not new ideas, what Berkun tries to show is that in the case of innovation, these “truths” keep us from being innovative.
But is not all gloom, the softcover edition has added chapters like “how to pitch an idea” and “creative thinking hacks” that follow the epilogue. For 200-odd pages, it’s defiantly a book worth checking out when you’re looking for something fun to read that might help you think too.