To end 2011, I would like to recommend through this blog three of the books that I have had the pleasure of reading this year and whose reading I recommend to all lovers of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability. For each of these themes, lines that guide the Ateneo Naider blog, I have chosen the reading that I have been most passionate about this year:
INNOVATION
The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm. By Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman. In this book Tom Kelly, founder of IDEO, one of the most famous product design and innovation consulting companies in the US, exposes some of the keys and methodologies used in IDEO. This is a very useful book mainly for managers, team leaders, developers and managers of technology companies who want to promote creativity and innovation in their teams. Each and every page of this book offers invaluable lessons on how to innovate, how to boost creativity, ranging from concrete methodologies to insights into the art of creating a creative ecosystem. Indispensable.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The lean start-up by Eric Rise. This is the latest strategic revolution in Silicon Valley for start-ups. Eric Rise applies the principles of lean manufacturing (and lean thinking) to the creation of start-ups and offers a methodological framework for action based on continuous learning, elimination of the superfluous and speed. This is without a doubt a must-read book for entrepreneurs who want to create products and innovations in today’s hectic world. Not only for entrepreneurs in the strictest sense, but also for any large company or institution that wishes to undertake new projects for the development of innovations in a high-risk environment.
SUSTAINABILITY
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. In this ambitious book, the author carries out a historical review of some of the best-known collapses of ancient civilizations and the reasons that led to such an end. Throughout the book the reader can learn about some of the reasons that led to the disappearance of the inhabitants of Easter Island, the Scandinavians in Greenland or the classic Mayas and understand why on many occasions economic sustainability goes hand in hand with environmental sustainability. The book is a somewhat dense reading, but educational at the same time, due to the multitude of historical references included. The most thoughtful reader will undoubtedly serve to observe how many of the practices that our society has more imbricated can lead us to collapse as happened with ancient civilizations. They were not able to change certain traditions and ways of life, no matter how evident their infeasibility in the medium term was… like us?