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IDEO, the world's leading design firm, is the brain trust that's behind some of the more brilliant innovations of the past 20 years--from the Apple mouse, the Polaroid i-Zone instant camera, and the Palm V to the "fat" toothbrush for kids and a self-sealing water bottle for dirt bikers. Not surprisingly, companies all over the world have long wondered what they could learn from IDEO, to come up with better ideas for their own products, services, and operations. In this terrific book from IDEO general manager Tom Kelley (brother of founder David Kelley), IDEO finally delivers--but thankfully not in the step-by-step, flow-chart-filled "process speak" of most how-you-can-do-what-we-do business books. Sure, there are some good bulleted lists to be found here--such as the secrets of successful brainstorming, the qualities of "hot teams," and, toward the end, 10 key ingredients for "How to Create Great Products and Services," including "One Click Is Better Than Two" (the simpler, the better) and "Goof Proof" (no bugs). But The Art of Innovation really teaches indirectly (not to mention enlightens and entertains) by telling great stories--mainly, of how the best ideas for creating or improving products or processes come not from laboriously organized focus groups, but from keen observations of how regular people work and play on a daily basis. On nearly every page, we learn the backstories of some now-well-established consumer goods, from recent inventions like the Palm Pilot and the in-car beverage holder to things we nearly take for granted--like Ivory soap (created when a P&G worker went to lunch without turning off his soap mixer, and returned to discover his batch overwhipped into 99.44 percent buoyancy) and Kleenex, which transcended its original purpose as a cosmetics remover when people started using the soft paper to wipe and blow their noses. Best of all, Kelley opens wide the doors to IDEO's vibrant, sometimes wacky office environment, and takes us on a vivid tour of how staffers tackle a design challenge: they start not with their ideas of what a new product should offer, but with the existing gaps of need, convenience, and pleasure with which people live on a daily basis, and that IDEO should fill. (Hence, a one-piece children's fishing rod that spares fathers the embarrassment of not knowing how to teach their kids to fish, or Crest toothpaste tubes that don't "gunk up" at the mouth.) Granted, some of their ideas--like the crucial process of "prototyping," or incorporating dummy drafts of the actual product into the planning, to work out bugs as you go--lend themselves more easily to the making of actual things than to the more common organizational challenge of streamlining services or operations. But, if this big book of bright ideas doesn't get you thinking of how to build a better mousetrap for everything from your whole business process to your personal filing system, you probably deserve to be stuck with the mousetrap you already have. --Timothy Murphy
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 Innovation for Fun as Well as Profit |
| Review Date: April 21, 2001 |
| Reviewer: Robert Morris, Dallas, Texas |
| There are dozens of excellent books which discuss innovation. This is one of the best but don't be misled by the title, "Lessons in creativity from IDEO, America's leading design firm." Unlike almost all other authors of worthy books on the same subject, Kelley does NOT organize his material in terms of a sequence of specific "lessons"...nor does he inundate his reader with checklists, "executive summaries", bullet points, do's and don'ts, "key points", etc. Rather, he shares what I guess you could characterize as "stories" based on real-world situations in which he and his IDEO associates solved various problems when completing industrial design assignments for their clients. "We've linked those organizational achievements to specific methodologies and tools you can use to build innovation into your own organization...[However, IDEO's] `secret formula' is actually not very formulaic. It's a blend of of methodologies, work practices, culture, and infrastructure. Methodology alone is not enough." One of the greatest benefits of the book is derived from direct access to that "blend" when activated. It is extremely difficult to overcome what James O'Toole characterizes, in Leading Change, as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." He and Kelley seem to be kindred spirits: Both fully understand how and why truly innovative thinking encounters so much resistance within organizations. Whereas O'Toole suggests all manner of strategies to overcome that resistance, Kelley concentrates on the combination ("blend") of ingredients which, when integrated and then applied with both rigor and passion, may (just may) produce what Jobs once referred to as "insanely great." What both O'Toole and Kelley have in mind is creating and sustaining an innovative culture, one from within which "insanely great" ideas can result in breakthrough products and (yes) services. "Loosely described", Kelley shares IDEO's five-step methodology: Understand the market, the client, the technology, and the perceived constraints on the given problem; observe real people in real-life situations; literally visualize new-to-the-world concepts AND the customers who will use them; evaluate and refine the prototypes in a series of quick iterations; and finally, implement the new concept for commercialization. With regard to the last "step", as Bennis explains in Organizing Genius, Apple executives immediately recognized the commercial opportunities for PARC's technology. Larry Tesler (who later left PARC for Apple) noted that Jobs and companions "wanted to get it out to the world." But first, obviously, create that "it." Kelley and his associates at IDEO have won numerous awards for designing all manner of innovative products such as the Apple mouse, the Palm Pilot, a one-piece fishing mechanism for children, the in-vehicle beverage holder, toothpaste tubes that don't "gunk up" in the cap area, "mud-free" water bottles for mountain bikers, a small digital camera for the handspring Visor, and the Sun Tracker Beach Chair. With all due respect to products such as these, what interested me most was the material in the book which focuses on (a) the physical environment in which those at IDEO interact and (b) the nature and extent of that interaction, principally the brainstorm sessions. In the Foreword, Tom Peters has this in mind when explaining why Kelley's is a marvelous book: "It carefully walks us through each stage of the IDEO innovation process -- from creating hot teams (IDEO is perpetually on `boil') to learning to see through the customer's eyes (forget focus groups!) and brainstorming (trust me, nobody but nobody does it better) to rapid prototyping (and nobody, but nobody does it better...)." Whatever your current situation, whatever the size and nature of your organization, surely you and it need to avoid or escape from "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Granted, you may never be involved in the creation of an "insanely great" product but Kelley can at least help you to gain "the true spirit of innovation" in your life. I join him in wishing you "some serious fun." |
Inside the Magic of Innovation
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| Review Date: January 27, 2001 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Prior to this one, the only books I've read in under two days were by J. K. Rowling (I'm over 30, mind you). Its hard to beat Rowling on her story-telling ability, but Kelley comes close in his vivid, engaging and living stories of that magical world called IDEO. This book is a business book, but it is unlike any I've read. It is based on the FACTS and real life experience of a company that is out there living and doing what they preach (and the preaching is so clearly secondary). This was a great read--the writing flows well, and is very conversational. Not every company can be IDEO, but one can dream... |
Innovate your way to greatness!
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| Review Date: February 13, 2001 |
| Reviewer: David Siegel, New York, ny United States |
| This book is a milestone -- not in technique or in philosophy -- but in the author's clear, readable style of communication with the reader. Tom Kelley brings the process of contextual design to life, with stories, annecdotes, and great illustrative examples of how sharp minds solve problems. He points out the simple things that make our lives easier, and the bonehead decisions companies make without asking customers how they'll really use their products. It's more than insight -- it's a guide you can use. No matter what business you're in, if you rely on creativity to improve your business, this book is a must-have tool. Few authors are as passionate, knowledgeable, and articulate on their subject matter as Tom Kelley. I look forward to his next book! |
On the management of design
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| Review Date: January 4, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Mark Wieczorek, Brooklyn, NY United States |
| I come to this book as a designer, manager, technologist, and cog in the wheel. I was very skeptical when I picked up this book. It's hard to summarize innovation or clearly articulate the techniques used to get there (many have tried and failed). By it's very nature, innovation goes against the status quo, and institutionalizing it and codifying it seems an impossible task. To find the balance between beauracracy and chaos is a fine talent. I was surprised to find that this book delivers. Yes, it's written from a management point of view, and talks about staffing and running meetings, issues involving acquring and laying out office space, etc. However, the insights into these activities are great. The chapter on "How to run a brainstorming meeting" is a real gem. Perhaps Peter Drucker laid out important rules for focused meetings in The Effective Executive, but here Kelly delivers rules for keeping everyone open, receptive, and creative. Some of the negative reviews of this book seem to be from a design/creativity point of view. People looking for the formula for creativity (we took widget "a" and put on our creativity caps and out came not only the solution to our problem, but an innovation that revolutionized the world). This book doesn't give you that. It does give you a method for constructing a company, or department, or even a meeting in a way that encourages experimentation, creativity, and excitement. I would recommend this book (along with the aforementioned Peter Drucker book) to anyone who manages people, or works with people and wants them to be more creative, more open, and more excited about their jobs. I'm slowly creeping these ideas into my corporate environment and fully expect spectacular results. |
Inspiring Innovation!
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| Review Date: February 13, 2001 |
| Reviewer: , |
| After decades of thinking otherwise, I now believe that "creativity" can be taught -- or, at the very least, inspired! Tom Kelley has written a magical book. Not often have I read a work of non-fiction in a single sitting; nor found myself chuckling (and at times laughing aloud) at what could easily serve as an Engineering or B-School text. Kelley "catches" the spirit of the creative process and seemlessly "pegs it" right back at the reader with the grace and fluidity of an allstar shortstop! This is an amazing book that will inspire anyone with problems to solve and victories to win! I strongly recommend it. |
Foster an environment that brings a creative, innovation force...
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| Review Date: August 9, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Cheap Shopper, Earth |
This book is NOT a step by step process on how to give your company an "IDEO Makeover". Not even close.
Instead, this is THE book to learn how to foster an environment that promotes creativity.
Whether you're in the "messy startup mode" or "established 3-piece suit mode", you'll be able to apply what you learn and bring a massive creative force in your business. Innovation will flow fluidly once you demolish barriers that contain creativity.
Tom Kelley's logic is basically this:
1. Bring together insightful, motivated people, regardless of disciplinary background.
2. Put them under deadline pressure, but pamper them in ways that reinforce a sense of community.
3. Challenge them to do innovative, creative work.
4. Then simply stand back as they blow you away with sideways solutions the likes of which the world has never seen.
What I learnt in this book helped our company come out with innovative products that blew the competition away.
I got my copy almost free using a coupon from UnderTag.com |
The Art of Innovation: Lessons for Everybody
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| Review Date: January 27, 2001 |
| Reviewer: , |
| I think Mr. Kelley has done a masterful job describing modern day industrial design in terms and examples we can all relate to. He makes it clear why innovation in our high tech world is as much art as science. And why his company delivers 'marketable products' for their clients and not 'products looking for a market'. I think there are lessons here for a wide spectrum of engineers, marketeers, and anybody responsible for a (successful!) product or service coming to market. The book is interesting and fun to read. |
Inspiring Innovation
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| Review Date: October 23, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Sean Dwyer, Zeeland, MI United States |
| This is an entertaining and accessible read. Tom Kelley lets us in on the IDEO philosophy and approach to innovation in product and service design. While there are more appropriate alternatives for studying the mechanics of new product development such as Cooper's "Winning at New Products, Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch", this book addresses the often-misunderstood need to create a culture of innovation. IDEO has figured out how to accelerate learning during the "fuzzy front end" of new product development. A great book for inspiring anyone involved in the new product development process. Kelly includes memorable labels such as the seven brainstorming steps,
1. Sharpen the Focus
2. Playful Rules
3. Number Your Ideas
4. Build and Jump
5. The Space Remembers
6. Stretch Your Mental Muscles
7. Get Physical He also includes wonderful examples and stories. The production quality is what you would expect from a design group-great photos and layout. Even the paper feels good. |
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