If you’re anything like us, you love reading about innovation.
either peter f. Drucker Exploring Innovation as a Discipline, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne discovering new approaches to creating markets, or Scott Berkun exploding some common myths about innovation, there are so many inspiring and informative books out there.
You are reading: Best books about innovation
In this article, we come to the rescue with a curated reading list of our 15 favorite innovation texts, divided into five main themes:
innovation and personal development books
- 1. innovation and entrepreneurship
- 2. the DNA of the innovator
- 3. innovation mapping
innovation strategy books
- 4. the innovator’s dilemma
- 5. blue ocean strategy
- 6. blue ocean change
innovation management books
- 7. reinventing organizations
- 8. creative construction
- 9. business model generation
innovation implementation books
- 10. run skinny
- 11. lean scaling
- 12. value proposition design
other innovation books
- 13. the myths of innovation
- 14. dual transformation
- 15. waterfalls
innovation and personal development books
One of the most fundamental categories of innovation literature focuses on the development of personal innovation skills. here, we have three excellent books that provide advice and information for anyone who wants to unlock their inner creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.
1. innovation and entrepreneurship, peter f. drucker
Considered the father of modern managerial thought, Peter F. Drucker’s seminal text, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is required reading for almost anyone in business.
This book was one of the first to discuss innovation and entrepreneurship as useful disciplines capable of being studied like any other system. Although now more than three decades old, Drucker’s ideas are still as relevant today as they were in the 1980s.
In this text, Drucker outlines ideas and concepts that are now so ingrained in our thinking about innovation and entrepreneurship that they seem obvious.
its central thesis is that more than an innate talent or a natural ability, the capacity for innovation can be studied, learned and improved. It is this capacity for innovation that makes successful entrepreneurs.
As Drucker himself writes, “entrepreneurship is a behavior rather than a personality trait. and its foundation lies in concept and theory rather than intuition.”
innovation and entrepreneurship is an excellent starting point when trying to understand the discipline of innovation and the role of creativity as a central tool of entrepreneurship.
2. The DNA of the Innovator: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators, Jeffrey H. dyer, hal b. Gregersen, Clayton M. Christian
A joint effort by three accomplished business authors, including bestselling writer Clayton Christensen (learn more about his book The Innovator’s Dilemma below), The Innovator’s DNA is a comprehensive exploration of the core competencies in heart of disruptive innovation.
This book begins by looking at the skills and behaviors of the world’s top innovators, including the leaders of tech titans like Apple and Google. the authors describe five tendencies that distinguish these entrepreneurs: associate, question, observe, network, and experiment.
Packed with practical observations and case studies, The Innovator’s DNA is one of the most useful books on the subject of business innovation. There are many valuable lessons here for anyone who wants to harness promising ideas into competitive business advantage.
This book also earns points for its comprehensive innovation self-assessment, which enables readers to understand their specific needs and derive maximum value from the text.
3. innovation mapping: a playbook for navigating a disruptive era, greg satell
At first glance, this may not seem like a personal development book, but trust us, there are plenty of lessons and insights here for those looking for ways to be more creative and innovative in business.
Gatell’s exploration of the four models of innovation (basic research, breakthrough innovation, sustainable innovation, and disruptive innovation) offers a flexible and informative description of the different types of creative entrepreneurship.
Even better, the book’s focus on telling the stories of the greatest inventions of the last century helps ground the advice in reality, allowing the reader to understand the innovation process in practical and understandable terms.
we’ll take a look at gatell’s excellent trace cascades below, so be sure to check that one out too.
innovation strategy books
Beyond developing your personal capacity for creative thinking and entrepreneurship, another critical part of the innovation literature relates to strategy.
Simply put, an innovation strategy is a plan that guides a company’s investments in innovation and articulates basic principles for channeling creative business activities. the literature on innovation strategies takes a close look at how companies can and should develop such strategies.
In today’s environment, all companies need an innovation strategy. if you want to know exactly how you can get started here, you’d better start reading!
4. The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business, Clayton M. Christian
many books contain bold promises, but this bestselling text actually does what it says on the cover: change the way you do business.
In The Innovator’s Dilemma, Christensen takes a long, hard look at one of the most intractable problems in business: the tendency of established companies to spend money on improving the performance and efficiency of existing products rather than anticipating major disruptive events.
In fact, this book popularized the theory of sustainable versus disruptive technologies. Here, Christensen points out that unless established companies can use innovation to drive both types of innovation, they risk losing their competitive advantage.
A favorite of innovation luminaries from Steve Jobs to Peter Thiel, The Innovator’s Dilemma contains a wealth of wisdom about the strategy and values that drive company investments in innovation.
despite being written before the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s, christensen’s approach to innovation strategy applies as much to the modern technology environment as it does to the ibm disk wars of the 1980s and 1990s .
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Check out this excellent book and find out what all the fuss is about.
5. blue ocean strategy: how to create market space without competition and make competition irrelevant, w. Chan Kim & renée mauborgne
Any discussion of the blockbuster innovation strategy bestsellers would be incomplete without the blue ocean strategy. this incredibly influential book by w. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne completely changed the way people think about innovation and creating markets.
Launched in 2005, Blue Ocean Strategy examines more than 150 strategic business decisions and explores how competition for growth influences innovation.
Challenging the traditional belief that cut-throat competition leads to technological advances, this book argues that enduring business success comes not from dueling with competitors, but from discovering “blue oceans” – uncompetitive market spaces ripe for growth.
As the book shows, identifying new areas of potential growth (also known as market adjacencies) can be more profitable and less expensive for companies, and can lead to greater innovations than traditional direct competition.
The blue ocean strategy is worth getting your hands on for the case studies alone. For example, Kim and Mauborgne watch with fascination Canon’s astute decision to market home copiers and printers to consumers, moving laterally into a market with no competition.
6. Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond the Competition: Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Harness New Growth, w. Chan Kim & renée mauborgne
A much-needed follow-up to the seminal text Blue Ocean Strategy, Blue Ocean Change builds on a decade of fresh thinking from the authors to provide readers with even more excellent advice and guidance on innovation strategy and tactics. of growth.
instead of blue ocean, kim and mauborgne focus more on practical steps and offer detailed guidance for companies that want to move away from traditional competition-based thinking and focus on finding untapped markets for innovation.
A combined study of human psychology and informative business case studies, this book provides readers with a comprehensive examination of the value of non-disruptive innovation over disruptive innovation.
blue ocean shift is an indispensable resource for any company developing an innovation strategy, or any entrepreneur who wants to understand the full range of market-changing innovations.
innovation management books
Beyond developing a strategy to guide innovation investments, companies must also adopt a robust approach to innovation management. After all, if a company’s leadership can’t attract innovators and keep them engaged and motivated, they won’t last long.
here are some fantastic books to help readers break down innovative concepts, from high-level strategic considerations to practical day-to-day management advice.
7. reinventing organizations: a guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage of human consciousness, frederic laloux
The title may sound a bit lofty, but trust us, this advice inside this book is rock solid.
by reinventing organizations, frederic laloux demonstrates the importance of the values of authenticity, community, and shared purpose in the innovation process. laloux links these values to a modern shift in human consciousness that values meaning within work systems.
Usefully, Reinventing Organizations offers practical advice and guidance to accompany these wide-ranging theories. laloux draws on a wealth of inspiring stories and case studies to show how companies can better manage their innovative and creative processes.
If you’re looking for ways to better manage your creative talent, retain skilled people, and harness your organization’s collective power of innovation, this text is crucial reading.
Laloux’s discussions of the limitations of hierarchy in business are particularly helpful. as he writes, “when trust is spread, it breeds accountability in return. emulation and peer pressure regulate the system better than hierarchy ever could.”
8. Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation, Gary P. Pisan
There are plenty of books that offer solutions for growing startups looking to get off the ground. Fewer books, on the other hand, focus on the specific challenge of larger, established companies that maintain the same rate of innovation over time.
in creative construction, gary p. Pisano jumps right into this complex issue. Drawing on three decades of research, Pisano offers some unique factors that set established companies apart when it comes to innovation.
Larger companies, Pisano argues, have more complex relationships with shareholders and customers, and this complicates their reliance on innovation and creativity. with larger companies, the stakes are higher, and this requires a different management approach.
Fortunately, Creative Construction offers some compelling solutions to these thorny questions, including promoting a set of innovation management practices designed specifically for established companies.
If you’re working at a larger, more established company, or planning to turn your start-up into one, then Creative Construction offers great innovation management advice.
9. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Revolutionaries, and Challengers, Alexander Osterwalder & yves pigneur
Published in 2010, Business Model Generation is less an innovation text and more a comprehensive compendium of practical management advice and solutions.
Co-created by nearly 500 individual strategy practitioners (just let that number sink in for a second!), Business Model Generation offers guidance and innovation techniques informed by an incredible depth of research and analysis. .
In this book, alexander osterwalder and yves pigneur focus on real-world applicability above all else, providing everything you need to manage business innovation and creativity at every layer of your business.
Whether you’re auditing your current innovation management systems or designing systems to foster creativity in a new startup, there are countless valuable tips to be found in generating business models.
Even more helpful, the authors have also joined forces for a closer look at the implementation of the innovation, Designing the Publishing Value Proposition (see below).
innovation implementation books
The successful implementation of new ideas is one of the most challenging aspects of business innovation. Unfortunately, techniques for implementing innovation is an area that is often overlooked in favor of strategy and management techniques.
However, as the next three books show, there are many useful ideas to guide companies and entrepreneurs as they take their ideas from the first sparks of imagination to market-changing products.
10. execute lean: iterate from plan a to a plan that works, ash maurya
founder of the leanstack continuous improvement platform, ash maurya is something of a guru when it comes to implementing innovation.
In his fantastic book Running Lean, Maurya takes a long, hard look at the question of why so many products fail in modern business, even when the product sounds promising. your answer? companies need a thorough and systematic process for examining product ideas at their earliest stages.
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Drawing on his experience in the tech industry and elsewhere, maurya takes readers through a candid and detailed strategy for developing products that fit the market. this includes a step-by-step guide from problem definition to solution refinement and product design.
For companies and entrepreneurs looking for ways to improve their ability to implement promising innovations, running lean is a must. luckily for us, maurya didn’t end up with a single great book…
11. scaling lean: mastering the key metrics for startup growth, ash maurya
Another example of a follow-up building on the success of its predecessor, Lean Scaling continues Ash Maurya’s journey through innovation implementation techniques.
Focusing on metrics to measure and assess a company’s ability to implement valuable innovations, Scaling Lean is packed with valuable advice and information for growing startups. no matter what stage of the growth cycle you are in, you will find indispensable information in this book.
As with running lean, scaling lean includes a focus on real-world examples, putting success stories like airbnb and dropbox under the microscope to see how they successfully implemented their market-changing ideas.
So if you want to answer detailed questions about your growth rate, the speed of your product development, or your revenue models, scaling lean is a great place to start.
12. value proposition design: how to create products and services customers want, alexander osterwalder, yves pigneur, patricia papadakos, gregory bernarda, alan smith
Fortunately for us, the authors of the successful generation of the book business model were not content to rest on their laurels. Instead, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur teamed up with Patricia Papadakos, Gregory Bernarda, and Alan Smith for another classic innovation text.
Value Proposition Design offers more great advice on business innovation, but with a greater focus on the specific steps involved in implementing the innovation. Continuing the same visual format, the book provides practical tools for companies to nurture and develop new ideas.
In this book, the authors teach readers valuable tools and techniques to guide effective collaboration across teams, channel innovative thinking into productive areas, and guide companies through the process of designing, testing, and testing innovative products. .
Even more helpful, the value proposition design focuses heavily on hands-on exercises, process illustrations, and suggestions for collaborative workshop exercises. this helps readers get the most out of these helpful tips and information.
other innovation books
Sometimes there are books that don’t fit neatly into any particular category, but are nonetheless packed with compelling insights, information, and advice on innovation.
These are three of our favorite wildcard entries.
13. the myths of innovation, scott berkun
While it’s useful to learn about popular and successful ideas, it’s refreshing to find an author willing to use a bulldozer for some of the most useless, yet somehow very persistent innovation concepts.
this is precisely what scott berkun accomplishes here. Through each entertaining chapter, Berkun explodes different popular myths about innovation, including examining how stories of innovation can be distorted by history and why the best idea doesn’t always win.
berkun’s frank style is informative and illuminating, and a welcome change from some of the conventional wisdom about innovation. For every tired business phrase you’ve heard a thousand times, this book offers an evidence-based antidote.
In Myths of Innovation, Berkun draws on years of experience at Microsoft and other technology companies, examining case studies in business, science, and technology to explain why certain innovations dominate the world and others don’t even make it out of the blue. door.
From Einstein’s theory of relativity to Tim Berner Lee’s first idea of the internet, here are plenty of compelling examples to show how innovation works.
Even more helpful, berkun shows us why so much of the conventional wisdom about creativity in trading should be thrown out the window.
14. dual transformation: repositioning today’s business while creating tomorrow, scott d. Anthony, Clark G. Gilbert, Mark W. johnson
For business leaders looking to stay ahead, there’s nothing like a good case study. After all, putting a market disruption like Skype, Airbnb, or Netflix under the microscope can teach you a lot about what it takes to deliver a world-changing product.
in dual transformation, authors scott d. Anthony, Clark G. Gilbert and Mark W. johnson combines dozens of informative and illuminating case studies on companies undergoing radical transformation and how they managed to stay on top in rapidly changing markets.
Digging deeper into the stories of companies like Adobe, Aetna, and Johnson & Johnson, Dual Transformation offers guidance and behind-the-scenes advice on how companies can change and rebuild from the ground up.
with a wealth of practical insights into why some companies don’t respond to drastic changes in the market (eg kodak) and why some are able to anticipate disruptive innovations to stay on top (eg microsoft ), double transform has it all.
Check out this informative book and find out how your business could eventually become the next better version of itself.
15. waterfalls: how to create a movement that drives transformational change, greg satell
For the final entry on our list, we take a look at Cascades, the provocative follow-up to Greg Satel’s mapmaking innovation.
In Cascades, Satell examines innovation in a collective sense, taking a microscope to case studies like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring to see what makes some social movements succeed when others fail.
as satell says, most start-ups don’t survive and most community movements don’t make it past a few occasional meetings and protests. Those who do, Satell suggests, succeed because of “cascades”: small groups united by a common purpose.
Cascades is a fascinating study of the power of collective behavior to drive change, and has many useful insights into why and how markets, regimes, and even entire countries experience disruptive upheaval.
For business leaders and entrepreneurs who want to understand innovation at a societal and community level, Cascades is required reading.
Who thought a story about the Ukrainian media sector would offer so many valuable lessons about innovation and transformational change?
now it’s time to read
Whether you’re looking for new ways to unleash your innovative potential, rebuild a startup from the ground up, or ensure your systems foster great ideas from the blackboard to a finished product, these innovation books will open your eyes and help. reach innovation.
Happy reading!
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