Book review: The Art of Innovation

I have just recently finished The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley. The book is a case study of innovation at IDEO, “America’s Leading Design Firm.”

I found the book very interesting as a case study. IDEO seems like a fascinating place where creativity thrives. The author gives numerous descriptions of various IDEO principles, and the book is pepperred with beautiful pictures of IDEO-designed products (I think I could look through a portfolio of their products with fascination for hours). The book would have benefitted from more pictures.

While the book shines as a case study, don’t look for a boiled-down, take-it-and-run set of principles on how to kick-start innovation at your company. The book has a few sections with explicit take-to-work lessons on corporate innovation. My favorite is “The Perfect Brainstorm,” a chapter that includes a list of “Seven Secrets for Better Brainstorming” and “Six Ways to Kill a Brainstormer.” I think the tips in this chapter alone are worth the price of the book for anyone interested in brainstorming.

I’d recommend the book to anyone who is interested in learning about the innovation process at IDEO in particular — just don’t expect an executive summary of how to increase innovation at your company.

On a side note, Tom Peters wrote the Foreward.