Truth About Innovation, The

Max McKeown is a new breed of management guru. Brilliant, young, original and entertaining, he could become the most listened-to British business thinker of the new era. He works as a strategic adviser for four of the five most admired companies in the world and is a well-known speaker on subjects including innovation, engagement, human potential, customer experience, marketing, team building, and competitive advantage. He has been elected to the Customer Service Hall of Fame, been nominated as a Star of Human Resources by Personnel Today, and been featured on national and international radio, television, and newspapers. Max has written six books, including E-Customer; an insight into evolving customer behaviour, Why They Don't Buy; an end-to-end guide to building profitable customer relationships across multiple channels and Unshrink, featuring the myths that stop people doing their best work and a set of new principles to engage their interest and ability.

"This excellent guide to implementing new ideas comprises 55 'truths' to get you thinking about what innovation actually means.- Management Today Three of A Kind (this voted best of it's kind) Nov 2008 (readership 303,000)

• PREFACETRUTH 1:  INNOVATION IS NEW STUFF THAT IS MADE USEFULTRUTH 2:  A BEAUTIFUL IDEA IS NEVER PERFECTTRUTH 3:  A CRISIS IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTETRUTH 4:  A GREAT INNOVATION DESERVES A GREAT NAMETRUTH 5:  ANY FOOL CAN DO EITHER, GENIUS DOES BOTHTRUTH 6:  ALL NEW IDEAS ARE MADE OF OLD IDEASTRUTH 7:  BET SMALL TO WIN BIGTRUTH 8:  BETTER TO ASK FORGIVENESS THAN PERMISSIONTRUTH 9:  CREATIVITY IS A PROCESS NOT AN ACCIDENTTRUTH 10: CREATIVITY IS ITS OWN REWARDTRUTH 11: CROWDS ARE MAD, BAD AND ADVANTAGEOUS TO KNOWTRUTH 12: CUT INNOVATION SOME SLACKTRUTH 13: CURE APATHY BY SHARING PURPOSETRUTH 14: DO WHAT YOUR COMPETITION WON’TTRUTH 15: DON’T GET LOST IN TRANSLATIONTRUTH 16: DIFFERENT STRUCTURAL STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKSTRUTH 17: EVEN USELESS CAN BE USEFULTRUTH 18: EVERY COMPANY NEEDS AN IDEA MARKETTRUTH 19: EVERYONE CAN LEARN TO THINK BETTERTRUTH 20: FIND THE BUZZ THAT WORKS FOR YOUR PEOPLETRUTH 21: FREE YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE SOMEONE EATS THEMTRUTH 22: GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROWTRUTH 23:GOT TO SHARE MORE TO GET MORETRUTH 24:HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE TALENT SPURNEDTRUTH 25:HIRE FOR HOW THEY LEARN, NOT WHAT THEY KNOWTRUTH 26:HOW MUCH IS THE FUTURE WORTH?TRUTH 27:IDEAS ARE FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARETRUTH 28:INNOVATE YOUR WAY OUT OF RECESSIONTRUTH 29:INNOVATION CAN BE MEASUREDTRUTH 30: INNOVATION IS NOT EVERYWHERETRUTH 31:IT’S A CULTURAL THINGTRUTH 32:JUST ENOUGH DISUNITY FOR PROGRESSTRUTH 33:LEADERS GET THE INNOVATION THEY DESERVETRUTH 34:LITTLE DIFFERENCES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCETRUTH 35:LOOK OUTSIDE FOR A BIGGER BRAINTRUTH 36:MADONNA KNOWS MORE THAN YOUR BOSSTRUTH 37:MEETING OF MINDS NOT MINDLESS MEETINGSTRUTH 38:MOST THINGS WILL FAIL, GET OVER ITTRUTH 39:NOT ALL NETWORKS ARE CREATED EQUALTRUTH 40:OPEN SPACES, OPEN MINDSTRUTH 41:PEOPLE JUDGE YOU FIRST, THEN YOUR IDEASTRUTH 42:POWER IS ORIGINALITY’S BEST FRIENDTRUTH 43:QUICK FIXES CAN LEAD TO GREAT INNOVATIONSTRUTH 44:REINVENTING THE WHEEL IS A GOOD THINGTRUTH 45:SECOND CAN BE BETTER THAN FIRSTTRUTH 46:SOME IDEAS ARE EASIER TO SWALLOWTRUTH 47:SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GAMBLE EVERYTHINGTRUTH 48:SUCCESS IS AN S-SHAPED CURVETRUTH 49:THE IDEAL DESIGN IS THE SIMPLEST DESIGNTRUTH 50:THIS IS GOING TO HURTTRUTH 51:UNDERSTAND CHANGE TO MAKE PROGRESSTRUTH 52:WELCOME TO THE INNOVATION FACTORYTRUTH 53:WHAT YOU KNOW CAN HURT YOUTRUTH 54:WHO THE HELL CARES WHERE IT WAS BUILT?TRUTH 55:YOU CAN’T CONTROL THE WAVES SO LEARN TO SURFREFERENCESACKNOWLEDGEMENTSABOUT THE AUTHOR