"The naked truth about innovation is ugly, funny, and eye-opening, but it sure isn't what most of us have come to believe.With this book, Berkun sets us free to try and change the world..." —Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art ofthe Start The Myth s of Innovation Scott Berkun Expanded and revised O'REILLY8 with four new chapters Praise for The Myths of Innovation Since its initial publication, The Myths of Innovation has been discussed at or on NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, Yale University, MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Google, Amazon.com, as well as othermajormedia, corporations, anduniversities aroundthe world. "The naked truth about innovation is ugly, funny, and eye-opening— but it sure isn't what most of us have come to believe. With this book, Berkun sets us free to try to changethe world unencumbered with misconceptions about how innovation happens." —Guy Kawasaki, authorof The Art of the Start and Rules for Revolutionaries "Brimming with insightsand historical examples, Berkun's book not only debunks widelyheldmyths about innovation,it alsopoints the ways toward making yournew ideas stick. Even in today's ultra- busy commercial world, reading this book will be time well spent." —Tom Kelley, GM, IDEO; authorofThe Ten Faces of Innovation "No word in the current business arena is more used with incorrect applicability than the word innovation. Scott'stome is understand able, thoughtful, often contrarian, and a greatread." —Richard Saul Wurman, author of Information Anxiety; creator ofthe TED conference "Berkun unravelsthe misconceptionsof where ideascome from with wit, realism, and authority. This book will change the way you think about invention—permanently." —Lifehacker.com "It's an easy read that is hard to put down. What's more it's really motivating. After reading this book you will want to dig right back into those crazy ideas." —Slashdot.org "It's an entertaining and thought-provoking read." —London Book Review "A book that belongs on the same shelfwith ThomasKuhn,Howard Gardner, and Eric Von Hippel, The Myths of Innovation will chal lenge your assumptions about theroots of breakthrough ideas, and inspire you to come up with a few of your own." —Steven Johnson, author ofThe Ghost Mapand Everything Bad Is Good For You "The Myths of Innovation isinsightful, inspiring, evocative, andjust plain fun to read. And on top of that, it goes to the heartof innova tion and its many challenges. It's totallygreat." —JohnSeelyBrown, Former Director,Xerox Palo Alto Research Center(PARC) "Would-be trailblazers and worldchangers should stopwaiting for lightning to strike their laptops and studythe wisdom Scott Berkun has gathered instead. Methodically and entertainingly dismantling the cliches that surround the process of innovation,Berkunreminds usthatthere are no shortcuts to breakthroughs—and thatcreativity is its own reward." —ScottRosenberg, author of Dreaming in Code; cofounder ofSalon,com "I love this book! Wise, witty, packed with fascinating history, com pelling anecdotes, and priceless ideas" —Richard Farson, President, Western Behavioral Sciences Institute; authorof Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership "Most of what business schools teach aboutinnovationqualifies as urban legend. This book is the remedy: a fun, smart tour of the entrepreneurial spirit, in myth and reality." —William Poundstone, author ofHow Would You Move Mount Fuji? "Will inspire you to come up with breakthrough ideas of your own." —Alan Cooper, father of VisualBasic andauthor of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum "How I ran a startup without reading this book baffles the mind." —Richard Stoakley, CEO, Overcast Media, Inc. "If youcareabout being innovative, whether for yourself, yourcom pany, or yourstudents, youneed to know where the truth lies— what the myths are. Scott Berkun's book dispels the mythswhileprovidingsolid advice about the practice. All thisin an eminently readable, enjoyable style that delights as it informs. Small, simple, powerful: an innovative book about innovation." —DonNorman, Nielsen Norman Group; author of Emotional Design and The Design of Everyday Things "This book cuts through the hype, analyzeswhat is essential, and more importantly,what is not. You willleave with a thorough understanding of what really drives innovation." —Werner Vogels, CTO, Amazon.com "This book shatters the sacred cows of innovation myths and gives real-world innovators insight into making innovations that matter." —Jim Fruchterman, CEO, Benetech; 2006 MacArthur Fellow "Berkun shows us what innovation isn't, challenging our precon ceived notions of what innovation means. Whether you agree or dis agree with Scott, this book will make you think." —Gary William Flake, PhD, FoundingDirector, Microsoft Live Labs "Mythology:innocentstorytelling or damaginglies? Berkunlooks into innovation myths and revealshow they can damage true organiza tionalcreativity. He reveals the myths but alsoprovides an incredibly useful framework for goingforward—this is an awesome book." —TaraHunt, Founder, Citizen Agency "The most useful way to think of epiphany is as an occasional bonus of working on tough problems,' explains Berkun in his book, The Myths ofInnovation." —Janet Rae-Dupree, The New York Times "TheMyths of Innovation is not just funny, perceptive, and useful— it's downright inspiring!" —ErinMcKean, Editor, Oxford American Dictionary "A touching intimacy marks Berkun's look at the stories we weave around our technologies...anyone frustrated by the public's fear of new ideas will learn how far moresubtle than its mythologies the creative process really is." —John H. Lienhard, author of HowInventionBegins;voiceof National Public Radio's The Enginesof Our Ingenuity "As individuals,corporations, and nations struggle to master the increasingtechnologicaland socialcomplexities of the modern world, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of innovation is requiredto make effective policy and businessdecisions. Berkun's approachable and fast-paced book providesan excellent introduc tion to the issues involved while demolishing common misconcep tions and leaving the reader hungry to learn more." —Cory Ondrejka, CTO, LindenLab, creators of Second Life "A quick and engaging read. Exposes the realities faced by successful inventors, debunks silver-bullet solutionsothers wish were true, and offers realapproaches for making things that transform our lives." —Bo Begole, Manager, Ubiquitous ComputingLab, PARC Research "I loved this book. It's aneasy-to-read playbook for thosewantingto lead and manage positive change in their business." —Frank McDermott, Marketing Manager, EMI Music "Berkun's guide to innovation is straightforward,succinct, and highlyengaging. Useonce and be glad. Useregularly and dramati cally increase your odds of success." —Douglas K. Smith, coauthor of Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer "Berkun's book is a readable analysis of the history of innovation and popular misconceptions. His myth debunking will help innova tors, managers of innovative teams, or funders of innovative activi ties. I'm buying copies for my entire lab." —Michael N. Nitabach, Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular Physiology, Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine the myths of innovation the myths of innovation scott berkun O'REILLY8 Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Koln • Sebastopol • Tokyo The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun Copyright © 2010 Scott Berkun. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. Published by O'ReillyMedia,Inc.,1005 Gravenstein HighwayNorth, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business,or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most tides (http://my.safaribooksonline.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected]. Editor: Mary Treseler Indexer: Ellen Troutman Zaig Production Editor: Cover Designer: Mark Paglietti Rachel Monaghan Interior Designer: Ron Bilodeau Copyeditor: Marlowe Shaeffer Illustrator: Robert Romano Proofreader: Sada Preisch Printing History: August 2010: First Edition. This paperback edition is updated and expanded from the 2007 hardcover version, also published by O'Reilly. Nutshell Handbook,the Nutshell Handbooklogo,and the O'Reillylogoare registered trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. TheMyths ofInnovation and related trade dress are trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations usedbymanufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.Wherethose designations appear in this book, and O'Reilly Media, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. Whileeveryprecaution has beentaken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. ISBN: 978-1-449-38962-8 [LSI] [2010-12-10] Contents Commitment to research accuracy xiii Preface for the paperback edition xv Chapter 1 The myth of epiphany Chapter 2 We understand the history of innovation .. 17 Chapter 3 There is a method for innovation 35 Chapter 4 People love new ideas 53 Chapter 5 The lone inventor 69 Chapter 6 Good ideas are hard to find 83 Chapter 7 Your boss knows more about innovation than you 97 Contents Chapter 8 The best ideas win 111 Chapter 9 Problems and solutions 127 Chapter 10 Innovation is always good 139 Chapter 11 Epilogue: Beyond hype and history 153 Chapter