The best 100 Innovation books

Where Good Ideas Come From (2011) examines the evolution of life on Earth and the history of science. This New York Times bestseller highlights many parallels between the two, ranging from carbon atoms forming the very first building blocks of life to cities and the World Wide Web fostering great innovations and discoveries.

In addition to presenting this extensive analysis, replete with anecdotes and scientific evidence, Johnson also considers how individual and organizational creativity can be cultivated.

• Anyone interested in the history of science and innovation, especially tantalizing anecdotes of great discoveries.
• Anyone who wishes to be more creative and innovative, or hopes to foster such traits on an organizational level.
• Anyone interested in the evolution of life on Earth.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2006) demonstrates how to be innovative and reveals strategies that create customers for your innovation. It shows how entrepreneurship can be learned and implemented by anyone and how entrepreneurial skills can be used not just in new ventures but in established corporations.

• Entrepreneurs and anyone interested in entrepreneurship
• Senior managers in large companies
• Anyone with a great idea for a new product or service

The Myths of Creativity debunks our common misconceptions of how creativity works. It provides practical insight and valuable advice on how to generate new ideas and let them flourish, and it gives real-world examples from history and recent well-known creatives.

• Anyone who would like to increase his or her creativity
• Anyone running a business or organization

Steal Like an Artist (2012) will help you unlock the secret to creating great art: theft. No artist creates their work in a vacuum: all art is influenced by the art that came before it. Steal Like an Artist teaches you how to “steal” from the work of your heroes, and use it to create something new and unique. It also provides important advice on using the internet to launch your career, so others can enjoy your creativity!

• Artists or other creative types
• Anyone struggling to find inspiration
• Any artist who needs advice on launching their career

Change by Design (2009) presents a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to designing solutions to address any sort of innovation challenge. In following this step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to more creatively develop the stories and inspirations that will lead to tomorrow’s innovations.

• Anyone whose job requires creativity and innovative thinking
• Anyone interested in finding a better way to address problems in society
• Business leaders who want to inspire creativity and innovative thinking

Strategy Rules (2015) explores the business strategies and leadership styles of three hyper-successful tech CEOs: Bill Gates of Microsoft, Andy Grove of Intel and Steve Jobs of Apple. These blinks break down the strategic expertise necessary to build a competitive business and ensure long-term success.

• Businesspeople who want to learn from the success of Microsoft, Intel and Apple
• CEOs looking for a strategic boost
• New entrepreneurs looking to develop a vision for their ideas

Moore's Law (2015) tells the story of Gordon Moore, a chemist from San Francisco who helped revolutionize the technology industry. Over the years, Moore’s innovations have fundamentally changed all kinds of electronic technology, from digital watches and personal computers to the internet and Facebook.

• Enthusiasts of technology or Silicon Valley
• Anyone interested in the history of computers
• People curious about the life of Gordon Moore

The Innovator’s Prescription (2008) is a guide to applying business concepts to the field of health care and, in the process, revolutionizing the industry and making it more affordable and accessible. These blinks explain how health care has become mired in its old ways and how disrupting stagnant business models can make the field run like new.

• Anyone interested in health care systems
• Medical practitioners and business owners
• People interested in creative business models

The Customer Service Revolution (2015) reveals the real secrets of brilliant customer service. These blinks provide a practical guide for taking your customer service to the next level, helping to create an extraordinary experience for your customers and forge an enthusiastic vision-driven workforce.

• Managers who want to boost their team’s customer service
• Employees looking to improve their people skills
• Leaders curious about why customer service is so important

A new kind of business has emerged during the last decade. Facebook, Airbnb, YouTube, Twitter have exploded in popularity – but what do these companies have in common? They’re all platforms: they gather millions of users and achieve billion-dollar valuations, but instead of products, they offer something very different. Platform Scale (2015) offers an insightful analysis of the mechanisms that drive this new platform business model, and how it achieves skyrocketing growth.

• Business students eager to learn about the new economy
• Aspiring entrepreneurs, interested in the do’s and don’ts of a platform strategy
• Social media users curious about the secrets of their favorite platforms

This book (2014) outlines the F.I.R.E. method to jumpstart innovation, a guaranteed process that will stimulate you and your team by streamlining resources and creativity. At its core, F.I.R.E. is about setting restrictions so you can produce much greater results.

• Project managers or team leaders
• Start-ups looking to jumpstart innovation
• Entrepreneurs seeking the latest in team management

Meaningful (2015) is a guide to making customers central to your business. These blinks, by teaching you how to produce a product that truly matters to and empowers your customers, will perfectly align your brand with the demands of the twenty-first century.

• Entrepreneurs looking to boost business
• Innovators
• Marketing managers who want a broader perspective

In Originals (2016), Adam Grant taps into the field of original thinking and explores where great ideas come from. By following unconventional rules, Grant gives us helpful guidelines for how we can foster originality in every facet of our lives. He also shows that anyone can enhance his or her creativity, and gives foolproof methods for identifying our truly original ideas – and following through with them.

• Creatives struggling to find support for their ideas
• Employees looking to change their workplace for the better
• Anyone interested in what it takes to make genius solutions a reality

Will It Fly (2016) is a guide to testing your business ideas and achieving the smoothest possible flight to success. These blinks will help you critically examine the validity of your ideas, research your market and get to know your future customers.

• Entrepreneurs who feel unsure about a business idea
• Business owners who want to expand their companies and attract new customers

Getting Real (2011) offers a comprehensive breakdown of the challenges facing entrepreneurs in the market for web applications. These blinks are full of hard facts and solid advice about what to do and not to do when starting your new app business.  

• Developers, programmers and marketers
• Entrepreneurs eager to develop a “big idea” app
• Managers looking for optimal ways to organize teams

The Myths of Innovation (2007) addresses common misconceptions about what it takes to become a successful innovator. Borrowing real-life examples from both recent business history and the arts, Berkun reveals where good ideas really come from.

• Managers who want to support innovation in the workplace
• Those looking to increase the success of their innovative ideas
• Creative people struggling with inspiration

Whiplash (2016) explains the new rules of our fast-changing world. The current moment is defined by emergent technologies and innovative ideas, and the only way to stay afloat is to adapt. Forget the principles of yesterday and start developing strategies that work today.

• People with an interest in technology and digital developments
• Entrepreneurs and start-up owners
• Anyone who wants to learn about business strategies

Scale (2017) is a glimpse into the hidden and fascinating world of the mathematical relationships that tie the world together. The blinks describe how such laws connect everything from microscopic organisms to international metropolises, and what they can tell us about the behavior of complex systems.

• Physicists, biologists, mathematicians and economists
• City planners, company owners and innovators
• Environmentalists and anyone interested in sustainable development

WTF? (2017) documents the recent history and developments of modern digital technologies, and explains why, far from being harmful in and of themselves, these technologies only do damage to business and society when misunderstood by humans. Instead of fearing for the future, we should embrace it and use the attendant technological developments in ways that bring society up rather than push costs down.

• Business leaders seeking to understand and implement digital technologies
• Technophobes who want their fears pacified
• People interested in the recent history of technology

Adaptability (2012) examines a skill that’s becoming ever more important in today’s fast-paced and highly fickle business environment: the ability to adapt. It’s what makes the difference between successful innovators who go on to thrive and stick-in-the-muds who struggle to survive – or simply go under. Packed with illuminating portraits of both, these blinks analyze adaptability in action everywhere from the golf course to the battlefield and the boardroom.

• Entrepreneurs and self-starters
• Managers and strategists
• Marketplace Machiavellis

The Loop Approach (2019) presents a systematic approach to the transformation of organizations. Its toolkit of ideas and methods is designed to help even the largest organization change its bad habits, thus enabling it to adapt to the challenges of the future. 

• Business leaders looking for ways to update their company structures
• Teams aiming to work more effectively as a group
• Entrepreneurs wishing to establish organizations that are forward-looking

The Rule of Logistics (2016) delves into the intricate and extensive network of the infrastructure that makes your local Walmart come to life. Pulling in elements of history, economics, and architectural theory, this intriguing account traces how a retailer from Arkansas became one of the largest corporations in the world and transformed the American landscape in the process.

• Big-picture thinkers interested in global systems
• Entrepreneurs curious to super-size their businesses
• Anyone who has ever shopped at a big-box store

Happy Accidents (2011) explores the invaluable role that false assumptions, unlikely circumstances, and sheer dumb luck have played in some of medicine’s biggest discoveries. From antibiotics to antidepressants, heart surgery to chemotherapy, some of today’s most important drugs and treatments are the result of serendipity — stumbling across one thing while looking for another. Radiologist Morton A. Meyers reveals some of the incredible true stories of medicine’s luckiest findings.

• Science nerds interested in medicine and pharmacology
• History buffs interested in how great minds make big discoveries 
• Readers who enjoy stories with a good plot twist

How Innovation Works (2020) presents a provocative view of history in which innovation takes center stage. This detailed account of human ingenuity explains how innovation happens and why it is important.

• History buffs interested in the roots of today’s technology
• Futurists eagerly anticipating the next big invention
• Anyone curious about how and why the world changes

The Serendipity Mindset (2020) offers a practical guide to welcoming more positive and fortuitous outcomes in your life. It explains how subtle shifts in your attitude and perception can lead to dramatic differences in your ability to persevere and get positive results.

• People eager for more “luck” in their lives
• Managers and executives who want to create a better company culture
• Anyone who’d like to get the most out of life

Conscious Leadership (2020) reveals what it takes to lead a purpose-driven business that sees beyond the bottom line. Drawing on his experience as CEO of one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, John Mackey shows how leaders can shape their businesses to become more innovative, competitive, and socially responsible.

• Organizations seeking their purpose
• Business coaches who want to help strengthen leaders, teams, and enterprises
• HR departments looking to improve their hiring practices

The Scrum Fieldbook (2019) is a practical, hands-on guide to the scrum organizational framework within the Agile mindset. This concise manual recaps how scrum works to increase work velocity and to ensure any team delivers the right impact for the business. It also explains how to implement Scrum in any organization across all industries from software to home renovation and even to the military.

• Small companies looking for big results
• Managers aiming to streamline their team
• Anyone interested in cutting-edge organizational techniques

Resilient (2021) is an intimate account of entrepreneur Sevetri Wilson’s journey from self-funding her first company to securing ongoing capital for her second. It provides early-stage founders insight into every step of building a business – from initial concept to securing the finances needed to scale.

• Aspiring entrepreneurs
• Innovators looking to turn their ideas into marketable solutions
• Startup founders who need to raise capital

Alien Thinking (2021) is a simple guide to having great ideas. Rather than simply waiting for inspiration to strike, it lays out five key skills that enable anyone to innovate on demand.

• Disruptors hungry for new ideas
• Business leaders eager to cultivate innovation
• Anyone who wants more eureka moments in their lives

Solving the Productivity Puzzle (2020) is a guide for people management professionals. It covers topics such as learning and development, motivation of the workforce, and planning strategies. It’s essential reading for HR professionals who want to build a culture in which people can thrive.

• HR managers interested in change programs
• Those looking for the perfect job
• Managers who want to improve their employee productivity

Radical Product Thinking (2021) lays out a step-by-step approach to developing game-changing products. Taking aim at the iteration-led approaches to product development that have become popular in recent years, it provides an inspiring, vision-driven alternative. 

• Product developers 
• Entrepreneurs 
• Change-makers

Rogue Waves (2021) is a playbook for steering your company through stormy seas. Drawing from real-world business cases, it shares actionable tips for staying afloat amid drastic change.

• Business leaders who don’t want to leave their future up to chance
• Executives looking to instill a culture of innovation
• Anyone seeking to understand the undercurrents of modern civilization

Why Design Matters (2022) is a collection of some of the best interviews from Debbie Millman’s long-running podcast of the same name. It collects over 50 interviews from over 15 years’ worth of conversations. These talks not only explain why design matters, they also show how the principles of design extend to creativity in general and the ways in which we communicate and express ourselves.

• Anyone interested in the creative process
• People fascinated by design and marketing
• Artists looking for inspiration

Lessons from the Titans (2020) tells the stories of ten industrial companies in the United States. From General Electric to Boeing, Honeywell to United Rentals, it looks at which strategic decisions led to success and which disastrous missteps created new obstacles. By analyzing the past performance of such legendary businesses, it offers greater insight into which companies today will stick around – and which won’t. 

• Business gurus fascinated by economic shifts
• Entrepreneurs looking to future-proof their companies
• Economists curious about market shifts

Self-Made Boss (2022) is a practical starter kit for anyone looking to start a small business. It’s packed with advice and case studies looking at small businesses from across the United States, with step-by-step instructions for turning your great idea into a successful business. 

• Small business owners
• Aspiring entrepreneurs
• Anyone curious about how brands are built from the ground up

Make No Small Plans (2022) is the inside story of how a group of young entrepreneurs created one of the world’s most exciting platforms for global events and conferences – the Summit Series. This isn’t just a chance for them to recount their company’s history, though. Packed with actionable takeaways and business wisdom, this is a book designed to inspire readers on their own entrepreneurial journeys.

• Recent graduates unsure which path they should follow
• Entrepreneurs and self-starters looking for inspiration
• Anyone interested in building better business relationships

The Innovator’s Dilemma explains why so many well-established companies fail dismally when faced with the emerging markets they create. This Blink focuses on one of the book’s central themes: disruptive innovation.

• Anyone interested in why big companies are so vulnerable to disruptive technologies
• Business executives
• Anyone who wants to take advantage of technological innovations

The Journey Beyond Fear (2021) is a guide to overcoming fear and reaching your full potential. During his 40-year career in Silicon Valley, Hagel has identified three practical tools that anyone can benefit from. Here, he explains exactly how to use them, so you can make the most of exciting new opportunities in your professional and personal life.

• Business people looking for motivation, inspiration or direction
• People who want to overcome fear to achieve their full potential
• Anyone interested in the opportunities offered by learning platforms

The Metaverse Handbook (2022) provides insight into a new technology platform that offers huge commercial potential to digital professionals, creatives, and business leaders. It explains what the Metaverse is, how it works, and ways to integrate it into business strategies to capitalize on its offerings.

• Forward-thinking business leaders who want to capitalize on tech developments
• Entertainers, artists, and designers looking to expand their audiences
• Tech geeks ready to be pioneers in the latest frontier

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety (2020) is a practical handbook for creating and maintaining psychological safety in the workplace. In order for employees to take risks, ask questions, challenge the status quo, and make mistakes – all while learning and growing – they have to feel included and safe. This book shows how leaders can reduce social friction while encouraging collaboration and innovation.

• Managers and CEOs trying to boost employee well-being and productivity
• Leaders tired of dusty corporate hierarchies
• Anyone interested in practical approaches to workplace inclusion

Awaken Your Genius (2023) is a straightforward yet philosophical guide to releasing the aspects of yourself that don’t suit your growth. Through a five-step process, it shows readers how they can find their way back to their unique and authentic genius selves.

• Anyone who feels stuck in a rut
• People contemplating a major life change
• Those looking to live more creative lives

Essentially Less (2023) isn’t a Blink based on a book, it is the book. In a time when our attention is becoming a crucial and contested resource, it makes a case for the importance of focusing on what’s essential. It’s a joint production by journalist Dirk von Gehlen and Blinkist’s editors.

• Anyone who believes that less is more
• Fans of short culture
• Those interested in the future of reading and writing

The DevOps Handbook (2016) offers a roadmap on how to catapult your technology operations into a realm of world-class agility, reliability, and security. Dive deep into the heart of the DevOps philosophy, equipping you with insights to bridge gaps between development and operations, while fostering unmatched efficiency.

• Technology professionals seeking to enhance organizational efficiency
• Business leaders navigating digital transformation initiatives
• Aspiring IT managers and DevOps enthusiasts

The Song of Significance (2023) is business thinker and creativity expert Seth Godin’s manifesto for leveraging teamwork and collaboration to build radically meaningful workplaces. Traditional models of work are under threat from encroaching AI technologies – why not dismantle them altogether, Godin asks, and build something better in their place? 

• Employees feeling disillusioned by the 9-to-5 grind
• Bosses who want to inspire their teams but don’t know how
• Thoseready to carve out space for significance in their professional lives

Disruptive Thinking (2023) is a guide to unlocking your potential and turning adversity into opportunity. By learning to understand and leverage disruption, you can kickstart your most profound personal and professional metamorphosis yet.

• Leaders seeking to pave the way with care
• Community champions doing God’s work
• Trailblazers looking to grow their career

Play Nice But Win (2021) takes you into the thrilling world of tech entrepreneurship, offering a front-row seat to a saga of innovation, resilience, and reinvention. From humble beginnings to industry-shaping breakthroughs, you'll uncover invaluable lessons within the rollercoaster journey of one of technology's biggest disruptors. It's a riveting exploration that strikes the perfect balance between playing nice and winning big in business, and in life.

• Aspiring entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts
• Business students and academics
• Tech industry professionals and corporate leaders

Jobs to Be Done (2016) offers an up-to-date look at one of the most respected strategies for creating sought-after, innovative products. This methodology is laser-focused on customer research and understanding what they need in order to get jobs done.

• CEOs looking for new ideas
• Marketing and design fanatics
• Research and development teams

Leadership on the Line (2002) explores the challenges and risks inherent in leadership roles, with a focus on leading through significant and often contentious change. Through numerous examples and metaphors, it offers strategies for leaders to enact meaningful change, practice adaptive leadership, and maintain resilience in any scenario.

• Managers seeking to implement transformative change within their teams 
• Emerging leaders looking to develop strategic insights into handling new leadership roles
• Educators aspiring to instill leadership principles and adaptive problem-solving skills in their students

Competing Against Luck (2016) challenges you to rethink innovation and growth through what is known as the jobs to be done theory. This transformative concept invites you to understand on a deeper level why customers make the choices they do, thereby helping you shape how you develop and market your products or services. Dive into a world where success hinges not on luck but on a profound comprehension of your customer’s true needs and desires.

• Business leaders seeking innovative growth strategies
• Entrepreneurs exploring customer-centric product development
• Marketing professionals interested in consumer behavior insights

LIT (2024) is a guidebook for anyone looking to ignite their inner potential and make a positive impact on their lives and the world around them. It’s designed to help people snap out of their rut, find inspiration, cultivate humility, and harness the transformative power of curiosity and compassion. 

• Anyone interested in personal growth
• People curious about productivity and inspiration
• Distracted minds looking for some calm and focus

Emotional Design (2003) delves into how emotions influence our interactions with everyday objects. It explores the three levels of design – visceral, behavioral, and reflective – and how they affect our perceptions, use, and memories of products. This book reveals the importance of these elements in creating designs that not only function well but also create emotional connections with users.

• Design enthusiasts
• Marketing professionals
• Product developers

No-Excuses Innovation (2022) offers a transformative approach for small- and medium-sized enterprises looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. It uncovers the secrets of design thinking and emotional design to deepen customer connections and drive innovation. It also emphasizes the importance of continuous renewal, strategic innovation management, and understanding customer needs to navigate challenges and steer your business towards sustained success and industry leadership.

• Owners of small- or medium-sized enterprises
• Product designers
• Innovation strategists

Make Possibilities Happen (2023) is filled with practical strategies to turn your dreams into realities through hard work, vision, and perseverance. Through approachable storytelling and actionable advice, it empowers you to take control of your life and pursue your biggest goals and ambitions.

• Dreamers who want practical advice on getting their ideas off the ground
• Do-ers who leap into new projects but struggle to finish them
• Anyone who wants to reach their full creative potential

All-in On AI (2018) unpacks the critical interplay between human skills and artificial intelligence in driving successful business transformation. It contends that organizational culture, leadership, and talent are equally, if not more, crucial as technology.

• Business transformation leaders 
• AI enthusiasts 
• People interested in organizational culture

Power And Prediction (2018) explores the impact of AI's advancements in prediction on decision-making processes, where AI handles the predictive elements and human judgment is important in their interpretation and application.

• AI enthusiasts
• Business leaders
• Career strategists

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1935) is a pioneering examination of how mechanical reproduction – particularly via photography and film – transformed the nature, value, and perception of art. It explores the concept of the "aura" of a work of art and how this aura diminishes in a reproduced work.

• Art history students
• Modern artists and critics
• Scholars interested in media theory

Elon Musk (2023) chronicles the life and work of one of the most influential tech entrepreneurs of the twenty-first century. Covering Musk’s ambitious ventures in electric cars, space exploration, and renewable energy, it provides a rare detailed look into Musk’s unique approach to innovation, as well as the private and professional challenges he’s faced along the way.

• Entrepreneurs and startup founders seeking inspiration
• Students of technology and innovation management
• Fans of Tesla, SpaceX, and Elon Musk

Designing Brand Identity (2003) breaks branding down into a simple five-step process that helps teams build a clear and confident identity. It shows how research, strategy, design, touchpoints, and long term management fit together, and it uses real examples to make the ideas feel practical and doable. It gives anyone working with a brand a straightforward way to bring focus and consistency to their work.

• Brand managers seeking a structured process
• Designers building or refreshing identities
• Entrepreneurs clarifying how their brand should show up

Escaping the Build Trap (2018) highlights how companies often become fixated on delivering features instead of addressing real customer problems, resulting in wasted resources and missed opportunities. It advocates for a shift toward a product-led approach, where the focus is on creating value and driving meaningful business outcomes. Through the strategies and frameworks presented, organizations can better align product development with customer needs and long-term company goals, fostering sustainable growth and innovation.

• Product managers wanting to build smarter, not just faster
• Leaders looking to boost team effectiveness
• Anyone frustrated by wasted effort on non-essential features

Brave New Words (2024) delves into the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on various aspects of our lives, from education and work to healthcare and scientific research. It navigates the ethical challenges surrounding advanced AI while presenting an optimistic outlook on its potential to drive innovation and improve the human condition.

• Curious minds interested in the future of learning and the potential impact of AI on education
• Those pondering how AI may reshape the job market, and what skills are needed to thrive
• Anyone interested in the potential  long-term impacts of AI on humanity

The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills (2017) offers expert insights into and practical guidance to a specific approach to leadership that can help to unleash your team’s creativity, resulting in a more innovative and successful organization.

• Leaders
• People interested in a more innovative approach to business
• All those who want to learn how to think more creatively

Anatomy of a Breakthrough (2024) uncovers the secrets to overcoming obstacles and creative blocks by looking at human nature and the habits of successful performers, thinkers, and creatives. It offers practical strategies that will break through barriers and transform your own habits by mastering the balance between experimentation and action.

• Anyone suffering from a creative block
• Individuals seeking practical strategies to overcome career obstacles
• Those interested in developing resilience and finding innovative solutions to life's greatest challenges

Do Bigger Things (2024) explores the concept of ecosystem innovation, emphasizing the need to rethink entire systems and processes to address complex challenges in a rapidly evolving world. It provides a structured approach to achieving large-scale innovation by combining ambitious thinking with actionable strategies, helping individuals and organizations make a significant impact through systematic, disciplined efforts.

• Entrepreneurs looking to scale and innovate their businesses
• Business leaders navigating complex industry disruptions
• Change-makers tackling global challenges like climate change

The Innovation Mindset (2022) provides a strategic framework for transforming creative sparks into market-ready products – challenging the notion that groundbreaking ideas alone guarantee success. Exploring the critical elements of innovation, from cultivating a problem-solving culture to supporting diverse voices in entrepreneurship, it offers a practical roadmap for navigating the complex journey from concept to market breakthrough.

• Entrepreneurs and start-up founders looking to turn their ideas into successful products
• Product developers and designers seeking a structured approach to innovation
• Business students wanting to understand the realities of bringing new ideas to market

The Upside of Disruption (2024) explores how rapid technological advancements and shifts in corporate models are reshaping industries and societies. It delves into the opportunities created by disruption, highlighting how organizations and leaders can adapt to thrive in an unpredictable, fast-evolving world. The best way for businesses and individuals to unlock innovation and create competitive advantages can be summed up in two words: embrace change. 

• Business leaders and entrepreneurs  
• Consultants focused on future-proofing organizations 
• Individuals interested in trends shaping the future of work

Non-Obvious Thinking (2024) introduces a practical four-step method designed to help you break free from conventional thinking and uncover hidden opportunities. The SIFT framework – Space, Insight, Focus, and Twist – teaches you how to become more observant, creative, and flexible in your approach to problem-solving. Through engaging stories and actionable lessons, it shows how shifting your perspective can unlock the potential of your best ideas.

• Creative thinkers looking to break away from conventional ideas
• Professionals seeking innovative solutions to everyday challenges
• Problem-solvers interested in spotting hidden opportunities

Pivot or Die (2024) offers a framework for leaders to navigate rapid changes and challenges in the technology and business world. It explains how embracing different types of pivots – whether in response to failure, success, or unforeseen circumstances – can help organizations stay agile and competitive. Through case studies and lessons, it highlights the critical role of adaptability in achieving long-term success.

• Technology entrepreneurs looking to withstand industry disruptions
• Startup founders seeking strategies for growth and pivoting
• Professionals involved in change management or strategic planning

24 Assets (2017) presents a roadmap for building a business that holds lasting value by identifying and cultivating 24 critical assets across key categories like intellectual property, branding, and systems. It emphasizes creating a scalable and enjoyable enterprise that thrives in today’s fast-changing digital landscape. With a focus on long-term growth and resilience, it provides actionable steps to help businesses become valuable, impactful assets in themselves.

• Entrepreneurs seeking to scale their businesses effectively
• Investors interested in asset-based business growth strategies
• Startup founders looking for sustainable business frameworks

Liminal Thinking (2016) shows how you can create lasting change by understanding and reframing your beliefs. Drawing from interviews with experts in various fields, it offers six principles and nine practices to help you shape your reality and take control of your life.

• People looking to grow by challenging their limiting beliefs
• Leaders wanting to create change through new perspectives
• Problem solvers seeking fresh approaches to difficult situations

Never Play It Safe (2024) explores the idea that playing it safe can hinder personal growth and creativity, advocating instead for embracing risk and uncertainty. It provides practical tools like leveraging intuition, managing failure, and fostering play to unlock potential and live authentically. Through relatable stories and actionable strategies, it inspires a bold, creative approach to achieving fulfillment and success.

• Aspiring creatives seeking inspiration and actionable strategies
• Professionals aiming to overcome fear of failure
• Students interested in unlocking their creative potential

A Year of Creativity (2024) shows how to bring more creativity and fresh ideas into professional life with practical strategies. It provides 52 weekly lessons to help spark innovation, improve teamwork, and tackle challenges in dynamic business environments. By encouraging a shift from routine methods to creative thinking, it inspires readers to create meaningful change and achieve lasting success. 

• Ambitious professionals seeking to enhance workplace creativity
• Dynamic teams looking to improve collaboration skills
• Curious learners exploring practical approaches to innovation

The Money Trap (2024) is a gripping memoir that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the high-stakes world of global business and technology investing. It recounts Alok Sama’s journey from veteran Morgan Stanley banker to chief dealmaker at SoftBank, navigating mega-deals, billionaire CEOs, and the visionary but eccentric leadership of Masayoshi Son.

• Finance professionals interested in high-stakes tech dealmaking
• Tech enthusiasts curious about transformative tech investments
• Entrepreneurs ready to learn about scaling and disruption

Invention and Innovation (2023) examines the complex history of human invention, offering a sober analysis that distinguishes between genuine innovation and overhyped promises. It explores various categories of inventions – those that failed to dominate as promised, those that turned disastrous, and those long-promised but not yet realized – along with a pragmatic wish list of inventions urgently needed to address 21st century challenges.

• Cautious technology investors seeking realistic market assessments
• Curious historians studying technological development patterns
• Anyone interested in technology’s past and future

7 Principles of Transformational Leadership (2017) explores the mindset shifts necessary for leaders to inspire passion, innovation, and growth within their organizations. It focuses on  seven key principles that help individuals and teams break free from complacency and achieve remarkable results. Drawing from real-world business experiences, it offers clear, practical strategies for building a culture of continuous improvement and high performance.

• Aspiring leaders seeking to inspire growth and innovation
• HR professionals focused on leadership development strategies
• Anyone striving for personal and career growth

Ideas Are Your Only Currency (2017) equips you with creative exercises that develop adaptability in a rapidly changing world where traditional skills quickly become obsolete. It challenges conventional thinking through 100 chapters of provocative activities designed to strengthen imagination and generate innovative solutions. By fostering interdisciplinary thought and flexible perspectives, this guide prepares you to navigate an unmapped future where creativity remains the most enduring competitive advantage.

• Recent grads who need adaptable thinking to succeed in an unpredictable job market
• Professionals ready to future-proof their career paths through creativity
• Artists, designers, and innovators seeking a hit of inspiration

The Shape of Things Unseen (2025) challenges the myth that imagination is used only in creative endeavours, illustrating how we use our imaginative capacities constantly, whether anticipating, reminiscing, hypothesizing or daydreaming. It draws on the latest cognitive science to show how imaginative thought is embedded in our development, our interactions, and our biological and perceptual processes.

• Psychologists interested in the neuroscience of mental imaging
• Artists interested in uncovering the scientific foundation of their creativity
• Parents hoping to understand their child’s developing imagination

The Thinking Machine (2025) pulls back the curtain on the company that is powering the current revolution in AI, cloud computing, cryptocurrency and more. It’s the unlikely story of a company that made its name in PC gaming chips, only to turn itself into the most valuable business in the world.

• Tech enthusiasts
• People interested in ethics and philosophy
• Business leaders and entrepreneurs

The Creativity Choice (2025) dismantles the myth that creativity is a fixed trait and shows that it’s a series of choices anyone can learn to make. Grounded in decades of scientific research, it explains how creativity emerges through motivation, mindset, and deliberate action – and offers practical strategies for turning ideas into real outcomes in every area of your life.

• Anyone looking to boost creativity in their daily work
• Leaders aiming to foster innovation on their teams
• Creatives feeling stuck or uninspired

Visual Thinking for Design (2025) turns years of neuroscientific research into practical advice for anyone who creates visual information. Bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and real-world design challenges, this guide will help you understand exactly how people see and process what they’re looking at – giving you the tools you need to make your work truly effective.

• Graphic designers and visual communicators who want to understand the science behind effective visual design
• UX/UI designers looking to create interfaces that work with how people naturally process visual information
• Students and educators who need to present complex information in ways that enhance understanding

Feminine Intelligence (2025) challenges traditional definitions of power and leadership by elevating qualities like empathy, intuition, and emotional presence as essential tools for transformation –⁠ both personal and organizational. It offers a roadmap for integrating so-called “feminine” traits into business and life, not as gendered attributes but as vital capacities for navigating complexity, building trust, and leading with purpose.

• Leaders and managers looking for fresh approaches to workplace culture
• Women in leadership seeking strategies for embracing their natural strengths
• Self-development enthusiasts interested in tools that integrate head, heart, and body

The Illusion of Innovation (2024) challenges the widespread corporate obsession with efficiency, arguing that relentless focus on optimization stifles true innovation. It explores how organizations can break free from incrementalism by operating against the org chart, embracing experimentation, and leveraging long-term thinking to drive radical progress. 

• Corporate leaders 
• Startup founders and entrepreneurs 
• Innovation consultants and strategists

Empire of AI (2025) chronicles the evolution of OpenAI from an idealistic nonprofit into a $157 billion empire. It details the messy power struggles, untold human tragedies, and backroom partnerships that defined the unlikely race to build ChatGPT. This explosive goes beyond the hype and helps you to understand the real power dynamics shaping the technology that could very well define your future.

• Users of ChatGPT curious about how the technology came into being
• Anyone concerned with the hidden ethical costs of new technologies
• Tech enthusiasts who love stories of Silicon Valley power

Unruly (2025) is about recognizing that rules, which are often seen as rigid boundaries, are actually starting points within which there’s room to maneuver and create your own path to success. It guides how to understand, ethically bend, or even reshape conventional norms – using tools from psychology, law, business, and military leadership – to turn fear and imposter syndrome into strengths and navigate toward authentic, personalized achievement. 

• Ambitious mid-career professionals seeking leadership growth
• Frustrated corporate employees navigating rigid systems
• Anyone interested in redefining success

The Maruti Story (2010) chronicles the remarkable project to transform India’s automotive landscape through an ambitious public-private partnership. Drawing on inside knowledge, it details how one company created India’s first affordable mass-market vehicle — establishing manufacturing capabilities, meeting regulatory requirements, and bringing product to market on a seemingly impossible timeline of just two years.

• Students of public policy interested in successful models of public-private partnership
• Business leaders and entrepreneurs seeking strategies for scaling manufacturing operations
• Anyone interested in business history and India’s economic transformation

Innovators (2025) explores why some people make their greatest contributions early in life while others peak much later. It presents a groundbreaking theory of creativity, distinguishing between conceptual innovators who revolutionize fields with bold new ideas and experimental innovators who achieve success through gradual refinement over time. Drawing on extensive research, it analyzes patterns of innovation across art, science, business, and beyond.

• Ambitious young creatives seeking early breakthroughs
• Thoughtful professionals refining skills over time
• Anyone interested in how innovation works

Deep Future (2025) argues that the tech industry has focused too narrowly on software and digital disruption while neglecting the fundamental physical industries that sustain human life: energy, manufacturing, food, and infrastructure. If we think bigger, we can enter an era of "Deep Tech," where advanced technologies will finally tackle these massive, previously ignored challenges that affect everyone on Earth. 

• Entrepreneurs who want to solve real problems instead of just launching apps
• Engineers who want to apply their technical skills to meaningful challenges
• Investors who want to identify paradigm-breaking opportunities

Scaling Innovation (2025) shows you how to architect a business that doesn’t just launch, but lasts. You’ll move beyond the flawed, single-engine strategies that doom most startups and discover a balanced approach toward true profitable growth. You’ll also master the critical decisions around pricing, packaging, and retention that turn your initial traction into enduring market leadership.

• Startup founders creating their initial business model
• Scale-up leaders needing to unlock the next growth phase
• Product managers defining pricing, packaging, and value propositions

Seeing What Others Don’t (2013) explores how people generate insights that transform their understanding of problems and possibilities. It outlines three pathways to insight – connections, contradictions, and creative desperation – offering practical ways individuals and organizations can leverage each for enhanced decision-making and innovation. 

• Anyone interested in cultivating insight and critical thinking skills
• Teams seeking to improve collective decision-making
• Business leaders and entrepreneurs pursuing industry innovation

The Accidental Network (2025) chronicles the invention of the cable modem by LANcity and how it revolutionized residential internet access by transforming it from slow dial-up connections to the broadband service we use today. It details the industry shifts and technological innovations that together gave rise to this revolutionary new technology.

• Tech enthusiasts curious about how the internet got faster
• Entrepreneurs seeking inspiration from startup success stories
• Anyone wondering how broadband transformed modern life

The Fax Club Experiment (2025) begins with a simple question: What happens when a hundred strangers slow down, stay anonymous, and answer one deep question a week for a year? It’s a quiet rebellion against noise – a story about curiosity, courage, and rediscovering what it means to truly connect. If you’ve ever craved real conversation in a world of constant chatter, this is the experiment you’ll wish you’d joined.

• Creative professionals
• Fans of social experiments
• Seekers of slower living

Playful (2025) argues that free, open-ended play is a mindset and daily practice that unlocks creativity, lowers stress, and strengthens connection. Drawing on psychology, design, and lived examples, it offers practical prompts and environments to help individuals and teams build playful habits at home and at work.

• Overworked team leaders seeking playful innovation methods
• Curious parents and educators building open-ended creativity
• Stressed people wanting lighter, more joyful routines

Unstoppable Entrepreneurs (2025) outlines seven distinct paths to entrepreneurial success, drawn from the diverse stories of successful founders. It provides practical frameworks for launching a  business, introduces the key ingredients for entrepreneurial success and shares strategies for overcoming funding obstacles and navigating setbacks.

• Budding entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas
• Business owners looking to scale their enterprise
• Employees who want to drive innovation in their organizations

Your Life Is Manufactured (2025) examines the hidden manufacturing processes behind everyday products we use and purchase, tracing their complex journeys from production to consumption. It reveals how manufacturing has profoundly shaped both human society and the natural environment in ways we rarely consider. When these invisible systems are made visible, we’re empowered to make more sustainable and equitable choices.

• Consumers ready to make more considered choices
• Environmentalists who want to learn how manufacturing and sustainability can coexist
• Manufacturers committed to creating more ethical supply chains

The Fountainhead (1943) dramatizes the violent conflict between the individual creator and the collective soul of society through the life of a brilliant, intransigent architect. The narrative asks whether the moral purpose of life is to serve others or to achieve one’s own happiness through productive work. It stages the triumph of the independent ego over the machinery of compromise and mediocrity.

• Individualists seeking a philosophical defense of their ambition
• Creatives struggling to maintain integrity in commercial industries
• Critical minds curious about this controversial author’s philosophy

The Innovative Leader (2024) investigates how industry-leading executives develop themselves and their organizations into consistent innovators rather than relying on one-time breakthroughs. Grounded in interviews with 50 innovative leaders and decades of professional experience, it offers step-by-step guidance to help you innovate whether that’s in a business, government, or nonprofit setting.

• C-suite executives seeking to build sustainable innovation cultures
• Chief innovation officers and innovation team leaders
• Anyone looking to build their leadership practice in fast-paced industries or shifting global markets

Lateral Thinking for Every Day (2023) teaches how to tackle everyday problems through imaginative approaches that rethink conventional problem-solving methods. Drawing on real-world examples and case studies, it presents practical frameworks and techniques to help you build stronger reasoning skills and enhance creative problem-solving abilities. Through these methods, you can develop fresh perspectives and discover original solutions to your most challenging situations.

• Business leaders and entrepreneurs seeking innovation
• Team managers handling organizational challenges creatively
• Anyone seeking fresh solutions to persistent problems

• Nostalgic Nintendo fans exploring company history
• Aspiring game designers studying creative innovation
• All those interested in video game culture

The AI-First Company (2021) argues that businesses which deliberately build AI into their core operations from the start – rather than bolting it on later – are the ones poised to dominate their industries. It walks you through how to identify valuable data, build the right teams, integrate AI into existing workflows, and reinvest the gains from automation to keep compounding a competitive edge.

• Business owners looking to stay ahead of competitors
• Product managers seeking smarter, data-driven growth
• Strategy-focused professionals tired of empty AI hype

Muskism (2026) offers an in-depth analysis of the many facets of “Muskism” – the worldview represented by Elon Musk. It traces Musk’s trajectory from apartheid South Africa all the way to the government of the United States, covering SpaceX, Tesla, Grok, and other ventures, showing how they’ve contributed to forming the man we see today.

• Fans or foes of Elon Musk
• Students of society and its evolution over time
• Budding entrepreneurs looking for insights into the world’s richest man