IDEO, the widely admired, award-winning design and development firm that
brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera, the
Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services,
reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous
innovation.
There isn't a business in America that doesn't want to be more creative
in its thinking, products, and processes. At many companies, being first
with a concept and first to market are critical just to survive. In The
Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley, general manager of the Silicon Valley
based design firm IDEO, takes readers behind the scenes of this wildly
imaginative and energized company to reveal the strategies and secrets
it uses to turn out hit after hit.
IDEO doesn't buy into the myth of the lone genius working away in
isolation, waiting for great ideas to strike. Kelley believes everyone
can be creative, and the goal at his firm is to tap into that wellspring
of creativity in order to make innovation a way of life. How does it do
that? IDEO fosters an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas,
breaking the rules, and freeing people to design their own work
environments. IDEO's focus on teamwork generates countless
breakthroughs, fueled by the constant give-and-take among people ready
to share ideas and reap the benefits of the group process. IDEO has
created an intense, quick-turnaround, brainstorm-and-build process
dubbed "the Deep Dive."
In entertaining anecdotes, Kelley illustrates some of his firm's own
successes (and joyful failures), as well as pioneering efforts at other
leading companies. The book reveals how teams research and immerse
themselves in every possible aspect of a new product or service,
examining it from the perspective of clients, consumers, and other
critical audiences.
Kelley takes the reader through the IDEO problem-solving method:
- Carefully observing the behavior or "anthropology" of the people who
will be using a product or service
- Brainstorming with high-energy sessions focused on tangible results
- Quickly prototyping ideas and designs at every step of the way
- Cross-pollinating to find solutions from other fields
- Taking risks, and failing your way to success
- Building a "Greenhouse" for innovation
IDEO has won more awards in the last ten years than any other firm of
its kind, and a full half-hour Nightline presentation of its creative
process received one of the show's highest ratings. The Art of
Innovation will provide business leaders with the insights and tools
they need to make their companies the leading-edge, top-rated stars of
their industries.
