Innovation 101
Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen
“When we buy a product, we essentially ‘hire’ something to get a job done. If it does the job well, when we are confronted with the same job, we hire that same product again. And if the product does a crummy job, we ‘fire’ it and look around for something else we might hire to solve the problem.” – Clayton Christensen
Author and Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen has studied innovation for over twenty years, and he’s created a great framework for innovation called: ‘Jobs to be Done.’
The following book summary explains Christensen’s innovation framework with a fun example:
Simplifying Business
Rework by Jason Fried
“Find a judo solution, one that delivers maximum efficiency with minimum effort. When good enough gets the job done, go for it.” – Jason Fried, Rework
The book ‘Rework’ offers a refreshing take on business. Watch the following video to learn a less intimidating approach to starting a business.
Produce Perennial Work
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
“Let’s start by internalizing the best practices of those who’ve achieved intermediate and lasting success so we can give ourselves the best chance of joining the lofty perch of those who have made something truly perennial and timeless. Let’s be truly ambitious.” ― Ryan Holiday, Perennial Seller
How do we make products that stand the test of time? Watch my new book summary to find out:
1-Page PDF Summary of Perennial Seller
Make The Competition Irrelevant
Blue Ocean Strategy by W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
“The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.” – Blue Ocean Strategy
To understand why you should ignore the competition and chart a course towards a Blue Ocean of opportunity, check out my latest book summary video & 1-page PDF summary:
Validating Your Business Idea
“We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want.” – Eric Ries
Developing a new business product can result in an enormous amount of wasted time and effort. Eric Ries, author of ‘The Lean Startup’ and former Chief Technology Officer of a Silicon Valley Startup, discovered this the hard way.
Watch my latest animated book summary of ‘The Lean Startup’ to discover what author Eric Ries learned from his initial mistake, and how you can use The Lean Startup method to develop your next business idea.
Building a Better Brain
Exercise provides an unparalleled stimulus, creating an environment in which the brain is ready, willing, and able to learn.” – John Ratey MD
Looking for motivation to exercise in the new year? Stop seeing exercise as means to get a better body, and start seeing it as a tool to build a better brain.
See why in my video summary of ‘Spark’:
Building a Trusted System
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Most people have lived in a semistressful experience so consistently, for so long, they don’t know that it could be quite different—that there is another and more positive place from which to engage with their world.” – David Allen, Getting Things Done
An inability to remember all ‘things’ we want to do or need to do but can’t complete in this moment, creates stress.
Without a trusted system to capture, clarify and remind us of our ‘things,’ we are forced to live in a semistressful state all day long…..
“Hopefully this book will inspire you to raise the bar about how much pressure you will allow yourself to tolerate, knowing you have the techniques to reduce it.”
1-Page PDF Summary of ‘Getting Things Done’