Running Lean - Ash Maurya

Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works
We live in an age of unparalleled opportunity for innovation. 
We're building more products than ever before, but most of them fail--not because we can't complete what we set out to build, but because we waste time, money, and effort building the wrong product.
What we need is a systematic process for quickly vetting product ideas and raising our odds of success. 
That's the promise of Running Lean.

In this inspiring book, Ash Maurya takes you through an exacting strategy for achieving a "product/market fit" for your fledgling venture, based on his own experience in building a wide array of products from high-tech to no-tech. 
Throughout, he builds on the ideas and concepts of several innovative methodologies, including the Lean Startup, Customer Development, and bootstrapping.

Running Lean is an ideal tool for business managers, CEOs, small business owners, developers and programmers, and anyone who's interested in starting a business project.

Get to know how to:

• Find a problem worth solving, then define a solution
• Engage your customers throughout the development cycle
• Continually test your product with smaller, faster iterations
• Build a feature, measure customer response, and verify/refute the idea
• Know when to "pivot" by changing your plan's course
• Maximize your efforts for speed, learning, and focus
• Learn the ideal time to raise your "big round" of funding

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com  ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.07 out of 5 (5,970 Ratings; 141 Reviews - As on March 31 2017)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments:  Nice cook book to jump start your Lean Startup process !
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101 Design Ingredients to Solve Big Tech Problems by Eewei Chen

One page, one ingredient. 101 reasons to become more successful at solving those big technology problems. 
101 Design Ingredients will help your technology team identify problems, share responsibilities, and work better together.

In parts 1 through 4, you'll find 101 problem-solving ingredients grouped into project stages, to help you apply the right ingredient at the right time. 
Start at any point and page through the humorously illustrated ingredients until you find one that matches your needs best. 
The ingredients cover the spectrum your business needs to be successful, with tips on team-building, creating a business model, product launch, productivity, and much more. 
Each ingredient includes three practical suggestions to get you started right away.

In part 5, you'll see examples of how companies can blend some of the ingredients used in this book to solve specific business requirements for investment, innovation, leadership, and more. Each recipe shows how a company fine-tuned six of the ingredients to build their own unique solution. 
You'll learn how to mix and match ingredients to create your own recipes for success, tailored to your company's needs.

The ingredients and recipes in this book can be applied by beginners starting out on their first technology project, as well as seasoned professionals who have been tackling the same big problems for years and need a fresh new approach to problem solving.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.03 out of 5 (30 Ratings; 5 Reviews - As on December 25 2016)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments: Has got nice cartoons and lots of links which may be of interest. Content wise just OK.


Buying Options 
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Simplicity - Edward de Bono

Simplicity is the classic work about making the complicated simple, from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono. 
From confusing manuals to uninterpretable jargon to bureaucratic red-tape, modern life can be highly complicated and frustrating. 
For many of us it is almost impossible to make sense of. 
In Simplicity, lateral-thinking guru Edward de Bono shows us how to bring simplicity into our increasingly complicated lives. 
Through his ten rules of simplicity, he encourages us to be creative and break down the complex into manageable and recognisable parts. 
By making the complicated simple, you will free up time, reduce stress and make better decisions.
[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.7 out of 5 (297 Ratings; 23 Reviews; as on Aug 13 2016)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments: Though there are no path breaking techniques taught in this book, the concept of Simplicity and the general approaches to achieve is well explained in a concise manner. 
The book is "Simple" and light read, living up to its title. 
Liked it more than than the previous book of Edward de Bono  (Lateral Thinking) which was rather an insipid read, though the technique "Lateral Thinking" was path breaking.


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The Innovator's Toolkit - David Silverstein, Philip Samuel, Neil DeCarlo

50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth

The Innovator's Toolkit is an essential companion for every innovator, innovation team leader, operations manager, and corporate change agent who needs to drive organic growth. 
Written and presented in an easy-to-use reference format, the book helps users understand why, when, and how to apply each technique for maximum benefits and results. 
The fifty-plus tools and techniques in this book are organized around a framework for identifying innovation opportunities, generating new and unusual ideas, selecting the best ideas for further refinement, and implementing new solutions that better meet customer expectations.
This revised second edition includes significant updates to nearly two dozen techniques.
Also offers several brand new techniques, including Idea Harvesting and Treatment, Seventy-six Standard Solutions, and Six Thinking Hats
This updated and revised edition of The Innovator's Toolkit simply helps innovation leaders, managers, and specialists do their jobs better than ever before giving them more confidence, greatly reducing the chance of expensive failures, and packing more practical innovation knowhow under one cover than ever before.

 [Book Description Source: www.amazon.com]

Goodreads Rating - 3.84 out of 5 (56 Ratings, 6 Reviews)

My Rating:  4 out of 5. 

Buying Options 
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Buy the Kindle  version
(Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.)
 

Lateral Thinking - Edward de Bono

A Textbook of Creativity

THE classic work about improving creativity from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono.
In schools we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. 
This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. 
What then? 
Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination.
Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways. 
Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. 
You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.

 [Book Description Source: www.amazon.com]

Goodreads Rating - 3.83 out of 5 (1841 Ratings, 96 Reviews)

My Rating:  2 out of 5.  A path-breaking technique, but a very insipid treatment of the subject.

Buying Options 
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Buy the Kindle  version
(Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.)

India Inside by Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam

Why doesn't Indian businesses come out with  products like Google, iPod, and Viagra  ? 
Is India a laggard in business innovation? 
No, say the authors of this book Prof. Nirmalya Kumar and Prof. Phanish Puranam of London Business School who are experts on business in India.
The point they make through this book is  - a considerable innovation does take place in India but it is invisible to end consumers around the world.

Such invisible innovations from India as discussed in this book are of  four types:
1. Globally segmented innovation led primarily by major multinational corporations that have set up "captive" innovation and R&D centers in India.
2. Outsourcing innovation to Indian firms where R&D  services are provided on contract to support new product development for consumers in the developed world.
3. Process innovation in Indian firms  as a result of low-paid yet highly skilled young Indians using their ambition to inject innovation into jobs that their Western counterparts would perceive as "dead ends"
4. Management innovation of the global delivery model to effectively bring global scale and cost efficiencies to previously locally clustered service processes.

In addition to the above invisible innovations, the authors also discuss visible innovations from India which manifest through "frugal engineering" of products and services. Frugal engineering is the uniquely Indian ability to develop using limited resources, consumer offerings that are low-cost, compact, efficient and robust.

The book also acknowledges and analyzes several constraints  to innovation in India. But based on their extensive research, the authors  believe  that despite these impediments, for the kind of innovations mentioned above, India's potential to become a significant force in the world can't be ignored. They provide several potential responses and recommendation for the MNCs and Western policy makers to deal with India's invisible-innovation and frugal engineering challenge and benefit  from it.

Well organized and well written book though slightly academic for a lay reader.
This book definitely offers an interesting perspectives on India's innovation capabilities.
A good read for professionals from any industry !

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Links

• Goodreads Ratings and Reviews -  Average Rating 3.36 / 5; 11 ratings;

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50 Best Business Ideas of the Last 50 years by Ian Wallis (Editor)

As the title mentions this book offers a selection of 50 business ideas which according to the editor are the best ones over the last 50 years.
Each of these business ideas are described in a seperate chapter in a structured manner  as per the following sections -
The Background,  Commercial Impact, What Happened Next


The ideas are categorized as per the decades as follows:

1960s (18 chapters) - The Pill, The Disposable Nappy, Contact Lenses, Sattelite Television, Biometrics, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), The Ring Pull, Touch-tone Phones, Equal Opportunities Policy, Video Conferencing, The Fax Machine, The Plastic Bag, The Microwave Oven, The Smoke Alarm, Kevlar, Aerosol Deodorant, Computer-aided design (CAD),The Internet

1970s (14 chapters) - The Pocket Calculator, Budget Airlines, Email,The Automated Teller Machine (ATM),The Computer Game, Just-in-Time Inventory Management, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI),VHS,The Barcode, Electronic Point-of-sale (EPOS) Technology, The Global Positioning System (GPS), Fibre Optics, The Electronic Spreadsheet,The Walkman

1980s (9 chapters) - The Personal Computer (PC),Infrared Remote Controls,The Post-it Note,

The Compact Disc (CD), The 20-70-10 Rule,The Digital Camera, Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) Systems, Dyson (Dual Cyclone Vacuum Cleaner), Tablet Computers
1990s (7 chapters) -  International Overnight Courier Services,The Smartphone, Search Engines, Pay-per-click Advertising, Pay-by-swipe Technology,The Hybrid Car,The MP3 Player

2000s (2 chapters) - Google's 20% Innovation Time,The E-reader

Many writers (too many to be named) have contributed to the chapters in the book. But apart from the fact that there are some interesting facts you can find here and there in bits and pieces, none of the chapters could keep me engaged. The narration and discussions lack depth and vitality. It is just overloading the reader with facts.
You can make note of the ideas from the above list and look them up in the internet. Or you can collate all the Wikipedia articles about these ideas in one place. They will certainly make  a better read and provide you more depth in the subject matter.

But if you want some quick facts about  the 50 ideas in a handy and compact form, then this book may serve some purpose.

Links

• Goodreads Ratings and Reviews -  Average Rating 3.5 / 5;  2 ratings;

 [Please feel free to leave your comments below or bookmark/share this post]

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Authors:    John Bessant and Joe Tidd 
Published: 2007
Publisher:  John Wiley & Sons Ltd. ;
Paperback: 478 pages

The authors who are experienced academicians have written this book to provide an accessible and highly structured introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship for students of business and management.
A very comprehensive text book which admirably serves the purpose for which it has been written ! 
Read more about this book at my professional website.

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