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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:


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

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.

1-Page PDF Summary of Lean Startup

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’:

1-Page PDF Summary of Spark

Building a Trusted System

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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’

A Peak State of Productivity

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The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler

Researchers recently coined the phrase “Twenty-First-Century Skills” to describe the myriad abilities our children need to thrive in this century. Action and adventure sports demand them all. – Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman

Action & adventure sport athletes may seem like an odd case study for productivity; however, action & adventure sport athletes are on the cutting edge of human performance.
We can learn to master the same skills in our work by studying these athletes.
In the following video I’ll explore the secret of action & adventure sport athletes and provide you with a method to accelerate your performance at work.

1-Page PDF Summary of ‘The Rise of Superman’

Achieve Perfection with Imperfection

little bets book

Little Bets by Peter Sims

By expecting to get things right at the start, we block ourselves psychologically and choke off a host of opportunities to learn.” – Peter Sims, Little Bets

I’ve always felt pressure to minimize mistakes and get things right the first time.
My ‘perfectionist’ mindset makes it hard to come up with new ideas.

People like Chris Rock, Frank Gehry and the Pixar filmmakers are perfectionists who systematically make mistakes to discover new ideas and develop great products. How is this possible?

I read ‘Little Bets’ to find the answer, and this is what I discovered:

1-Page PDF Summary of Little Bets

Generating the Happiness Advantage

Happiness Advantage Book

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

The fastest way to disengage an employee is to tell him his work is meaningful only because of the paycheck.” – Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage

Most of us experience a lack of ‘happiness’ in our jobs. Most of us think that this is normal and happiness at work is a cute luxury…

Well most of us are seriously limiting ourselves if we think this way.

Author Shawn Achor has spent his adult life studying the science of happiness and performance, and his findings are startling.
Watch the following video to learn how you can gain the happiness advantage:

1-Page PDF Summary of The Happiness Advantage

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