New Ideas About New Ideas: Insights on Creativity from the World's Leading Innovators

Innovation--that elusive but vital ability to generate and foster new ideas--has been touted as the key to success in many a book, for many a year. But since the New Economy's nosedive and the market battering of some of the most loudly lauded "innovative" companies, the term's reputation has begun to seem a little tarnished. Not so fast, says Shira White in her revealing book New Ideas About New Ideas. Whether in good economic times or in bad, creativity is always the ultimate competitive advantage, and the repercussions of practicing innovation are often even more widespread and longer lasting in the latter. White's assertion that "we always need new ideas--and we need new ideas about how to get, grow, and better manage them" underpins valuable insights on where innovation begins; how ideas are developed, nurtured, valued, brought to life, and put into action; and even how an entire organization's culture can be imbued with innovation. Refreshing in its broad coverage, New Ideas is chock-full of the inspiring advice and experiences of leaders in business, science, technology, and the arts. Hot, hip, and happening is how White describes these innovators, and they include people like former AOL Internet Services president and current chairman of the organic foods company Acirca Inc. David Cole, physicist and author of The Elegant Universe Brian Greene, technology wizard Nathan Myrhvold, world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, and multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, as well as the movers and shakers at companies such as Corning Inc., Genzyme Corporation, Transmeta Inc., and Macromedia. Though references to Enron have been updated, its inclusion in this otherwise motivational collection of innovation adventures seems unfortunate; the former energy giant may still be smoking hot in one sense, but revelations postbankruptcy would seem to negate much of its previous brilliance. --S. Ketchum