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Over the years it’s been rewarding to see how many courses use one of my books. I write to…
Category: Innovation
Lessons from the Xerox-914: the first copy machine
A great innovation in business tech was announced on Sept. 16th in 1959 – The Xerox 914. It is…
iPhone vs. Light Switch: which invention is more impressive?
If you could only pick one, would you rather have power in your home or a working iPhone? We…
The Many Mothers of Invention
[This is an excerpt from chapter 3 of the bestseller, The Myths of Innovation] All the clichés about beginnings…
Why has innovation slowed down? (Or has it?)
I do not like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. My reason is that while it seems sensible, it’s largely made…
The Myth of Epiphany
One of the most provocative chapters of The Myths of Innovation is The Myth of Epiphany. Do you love…
Why Small Ideas Can Matter More Than Big Ideas
[Originally published at Harvard Business as Does Size Matter For Ideas?] Americans are preoccupied by the size of things: big…
How can Obama & Congress foster innovation in 2015?
Each week I take the top voted question from readers and answer it (submit one here). I jumped this one, submitted…
The Myths of Innovation: in 10 crazy acronyms?
A reader took their favorite ideas from The Myths of Innovation and made them into fascinating, but rather hard to…
Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem & The Myths of Innovation (NYTimes.com)
This essay in the NYTimes, Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem by Yiren Lu, is a kaleidoscopic essay on culture divide, and the…
The First Time I Saw The Web
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the web, here’s my story. I was a senior at CMU in…
Why Do Some Innovations Spread Slowly?
I’m a fan of Atul Gawande’s books (here’s my review of Checklist Manifesto). His essay in the New Yorker,…
The Meaninglessness of Google Glass
“The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” – J. B. Priestley [Update 1/16/15: Google…
Truths, myths and lies
There are two different uses of the word myth: A falsehood, as in “the weight loss myth” A story with…
The Best Definition of Innovation
For years I’ve studied use and abuse of the word innovation. In the business world, it’s often used as…
The 177 truths of innovation
In making the mega list of 177 innovation myths, I hoped the hours it took to research would pay…
The 177 Myths of Innovation & Creativity: Mega summary
The term Myths of Innovation has become popular on the web, but few articles on the subject link to…
The Top Women Innovators of All Time
Historical note: a disturbing element of history is its unfairness to women. The majority of our most famous inventors…
A class full of The Myths of Innovation
Many universities use The Myths of Innovation in courses on entrepreneurship or creativity, but David Burkus lined up his…
How to learn from a nuclear missile
One great way to learn is to study a field you know little about. By becoming a tourist, a…