Rating: 
Summary: Fresh thoughts on innovation in a story-telling bottle
Review: Andrew Hargadon is the intriguing intersection of a mechanical engineer, an industrial psychologist and an innovation story-teller. His book "How Breakthroughs Happen" will lead you across the junk piles of the IDEO industrial design firm -- he really worked there! -- gunnery improvements in the US Navy in the early 20th Century, and the origins of cubism. As this eclectic assorment of examples accumulates, a breath-taking theory of innovation begins to emerge, which Hargadon calls Technology Brokering. By the time you reach the more personal epilogue at the end, you realize the man is right. Innovation is an eternal recombining of what already exists. He goes on to outline an eminently practical process which eclipses traditional odes to maverick invention and other empty invitations to revolution or disruption.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh thoughts on innovation in a story-telling bottle
Review: Andrew Hargadon is the intriguing intersection of a mechanical engineer, an industrial psychologist and an innovation story-teller. His book "How Breakthroughs Happen" will lead you across the junk piles of the IDEO industrial design firm -- he really worked there! -- gunnery improvements in the US Navy in the early 20th Century, and the origins of cubism. As this eclectic assorment of examples accumulates, a breath-taking theory of innovation begins to emerge, which Hargadon calls Technology Brokering. By the time you reach the more personal epilogue at the end, you realize the man is right. Innovation is an eternal recombining of what already exists. He goes on to outline an eminently practical process which eclipses traditional odes to maverick invention and other empty invitations to revolution or disruption.
Rating:
Summary: The Paradox of Innovation
Review: For many who read this book, it may well be a "surprising truth" that innovation succeeds "not by breaking free from constraints of the past but instead by harnessing the past in powerful new ways." I am among those who agree with the prophet Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun; also with the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who asserted that everything changes...but nothing changes. I also agree with Hargadon's emphasis on the importance of an innovation strategy which seeks to take full advantage of what can be learned from the past inorder to create the future. His core concept is "technology brokering" which he introduces and then rigorously examines in Part I; next, in Part II, he describes the "networked perspective" of innovation, explaining how this strategy influences the innovative process within organizations, regardless of their size and nature; finally, in Part III, Hargadon provides specific and practical examples of how various organizations have designed and then implemented technology brokering strategies. Throughout the narrative, Hargadon explores in depth with rigor and eloquence his core premise: "that breakthrough innovation comes by recombining the people, ideas, and objects of past technologies." In this context, I am reminded of what Carla O'Dell asserts in If We Only Knew What We Know when discussing what she calls "beds of knowledge" which are "hidden resources of intelligence that exist in almost every organization, relatively untapped and unmined." She suggests all manner of effective strategies to "tap into "this hidden asset, capturing it, organizing it, transferring it, and using it to create customer value, operational excellence, and product innovation -- all the while increasing profits and effectiveness." Almost all organizations claim that their "most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each business day." That is correct. Almost all intellectual "capital" is stored between two ears and much (too much) of it is, for whatever reasons, inaccessible to others except in "small change....there is no conclusion to managing knowledge and transferring best practices. It is a race without a finishing line." I think this is precisely what Hargadon has in mind when insisting that the future is already here, that the "raw materials for the next breakthrough technology may [also] be already here [but probably] without assembly instructions," that decision-makers must find their "discomfort zones" rather than remain hostage to what Jim O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom," and that they should build a "bridge" to their own strengths but also to their weaknesses because, as they perform, so will their organization. I agree with Hargadon that innovation must unfold at the ground level, "in the minds and hearts of the engineers and entrepreneurs who are doing the work." Also, that -- meanwhile -- they and their associates must be guided and informed, not only by their own organization's "beds of knowledge" but also by external sources of information concerning prior successes and failures of the innovation process elsewhere. In the final analysis, there is good news and bad news. First the bad news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone." Now the good news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone."
Rating:
Summary: The Paradox of Innovation
Review: For many who read this book, it may well be a "surprising truth" that innovation succeeds "not by breaking free from constraints of the past but instead by harnessing the past in powerful new ways." I am among those who agree with the prophet Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun; also with the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who asserted that everything changes...but nothing changes. I also agree with Hargadon's emphasis on the importance of an innovation strategy which seeks to take full advantage of what can be learned from the past inorder to create the future. His core concept is "technology brokering" which he introduces and then rigorously examines in Part I; next, in Part II, he describes the "networked perspective" of innovation, explaining how this strategy influences the innovative process within organizations, regardless of their size and nature; finally, in Part III, Hargadon provides specific and practical examples of how various organizations have designed and then implemented technology brokering strategies. Throughout the narrative, Hargadon explores in depth with rigor and eloquence his core premise: "that breakthrough innovation comes by recombining the people, ideas, and objects of past technologies." In this context, I am reminded of what Carla O'Dell asserts in If We Only Knew What We Know when discussing what she calls "beds of knowledge" which are "hidden resources of intelligence that exist in almost every organization, relatively untapped and unmined." She suggests all manner of effective strategies to "tap into "this hidden asset, capturing it, organizing it, transferring it, and using it to create customer value, operational excellence, and product innovation -- all the while increasing profits and effectiveness." Almost all organizations claim that their "most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each business day." That is correct. Almost all intellectual "capital" is stored between two ears and much (too much) of it is, for whatever reasons, inaccessible to others except in "small change....there is no conclusion to managing knowledge and transferring best practices. It is a race without a finishing line." I think this is precisely what Hargadon has in mind when insisting that the future is already here, that the "raw materials for the next breakthrough technology may [also] be already here [but probably] without assembly instructions," that decision-makers must find their "discomfort zones" rather than remain hostage to what Jim O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom," and that they should build a "bridge" to their own strengths but also to their weaknesses because, as they perform, so will their organization. I agree with Hargadon that innovation must unfold at the ground level, "in the minds and hearts of the engineers and entrepreneurs who are doing the work." Also, that -- meanwhile -- they and their associates must be guided and informed, not only by their own organization's "beds of knowledge" but also by external sources of information concerning prior successes and failures of the innovation process elsewhere. In the final analysis, there is good news and bad news. First the bad news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone." Now the good news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone."
Rating: 
Summary: Concept of Innovation
Review: I agree with other reviewers, very repetitive, especially in the beginning few chapters. Originally, I thought this book was for other researchers. But it is more for non-researchers and people who have not read much about innovation. Any researcher or anybody who has read a few books about innovation definitely knows that no new creation comes overnight, it's always a product of combining the past with the present for the future. Edison's story has always been told in the 'lone inventor' mode in elementary schools, so every person has that myth in mind. Sure this book proves otherwise. But again, others who have been involved in innovation in some form, knows that innovation is always a compounded sum. When man first used a sharp stone as a tool, it didn't happen in one second from one person, it took many minds and many hundred years. It was definitely a breakthrough back then, gazillion times bigger than the invention of computers or light bulb. [alas, no patenting or internet back then!]
I'd also argue that the same applies to death of any creation/innovation. A successful product that rules the market cannot be killed overnight. [Example: I'd argue that Dinosours did not all get wiped out in a single day due to a meteor hitting Mexico 65 millions years ago. That is the perception we get. It would have taken hundreds, if not thousands of years for that to happen, even if the trigger was the meteor crash]. This is the whole truth about creation and destruction - it is seldom an effect of just one person or one factor that happens in a stroke of luck. Well.. I purposefully made this review repetitive :-). Don't get me wrong here...this is a decent book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and Boring
Review: I had high hopes for this book. There are too many parts that feel self-serving and pointless. I felt like I was reading the author's autobiography rather than reading a book on innovation. The material on IDEO could have so much better from a content perspective but it stopped short of providing practical information to the reader. I found the preface by one of the author's former professors to be the best part of the book. I would not recommend buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for managers and the MBA classroom
Review: I have already been using Hargadon's research in MBA-level electives in innovation and technology management for its valuable insights to the managerial audience. Hargadon shows how innovation is intrinsically a social and cultural process (rather than the act of the isolated genius), and as a consequence, innovation is something that must be managed. The main advantage of Hargadon's work for a general managerial audience is it provides a theory of innovation that is adaptable to a wide-range of industries and technological settings, but at the same time eminently actionable with concrete recommendations and compelling, vivid examples that facilitate learning. Unlike most research on innovation that is narrowly focused on high-tech industries, Hargadon explores innovation as a general social process that is as important in areas as varied as mass manufacturing processes, specialty consumer products, and professional services. The book helps managers understand the importance of social structure and cultural context to the innovation process. In the process of explaining innovation, the book also introduces managers to complex theoretical issues around social structure and culture in a clear way that can be usefully applied by managers to arenas other than innovation. I will be assigning the book in my class this year as it compiles the previous research and adds new insights and cases in a handy and interesting package for the student.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for managers and the MBA classroom
Review: I have already been using Hargadon's research in MBA-level electives in innovation and technology management for its valuable insights to the managerial audience. Hargadon shows how innovation is intrinsically a social and cultural process (rather than the act of the isolated genius), and as a consequence, innovation is something that must be managed. The main advantage of Hargadon's work for a general managerial audience is it provides a theory of innovation that is adaptable to a wide-range of industries and technological settings, but at the same time eminently actionable with concrete recommendations and compelling, vivid examples that facilitate learning. Unlike most research on innovation that is narrowly focused on high-tech industries, Hargadon explores innovation as a general social process that is as important in areas as varied as mass manufacturing processes, specialty consumer products, and professional services. The book helps managers understand the importance of social structure and cultural context to the innovation process. In the process of explaining innovation, the book also introduces managers to complex theoretical issues around social structure and culture in a clear way that can be usefully applied by managers to arenas other than innovation. I will be assigning the book in my class this year as it compiles the previous research and adds new insights and cases in a handy and interesting package for the student.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thesis, but terribly repetitive
Review: The main point of this book is well supported with examples from "innovative" organizations. However, I was continually under the impression that this was a 30 page research paper converted into a 200 page book. How did the author accomplish this feat? Repeat, repeat, repeat. This book is full of redundancies, repetitions, summaries, and introductions that are all superfluous. When you're done reading this book, you will know the examples of good innovators by heart because they are repeated in every chapter, sometimes multiple times.
Rating:
Summary: Good thesis, but terribly repetitive
Review: The main point of this book is well supported with examples from "innovative" organizations. However, I was continually under the impression that this was a 30 page research paper converted into a 200 page book. How did the author accomplish this feat? Repeat, repeat, repeat. This book is full of redundancies, repetitions, summaries, and introductions that are all superfluous. When you're done reading this book, you will know the examples of good innovators by heart because they are repeated in every chapter, sometimes multiple times.
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