This is an interesting book. I am writing this summary two days after Steve Job passed away. Here’s a man who epitomized innovation. This is what caught my attention with this book. Everyone thinks of innovation from the top down. This is true in some cases, but it is not true if you want to build your value to the organization you work for.
Why is this important to me?
I’m not going to waste your time. Let’s face it: most people work for someone else and this is where this book can really help you in your career. I will give a spin to the ideas and share with you how I act when my teammates demonstrate these traits. I can tell you that you are rewarded even if we disagree. I need unique thoughts, innovations, and opinions to keep our organization winning the game.
The number of people sleepwalking at work is heartbreaking. I do not wish that on my worst enemy because it is a waste of time and energy. A Towers Perrin study shows that only 21% of employees are engaged in the work they do and 38% are totally disconnected. This equates to below-average results, poor customer service, and no profit.
The cornerstone of innovation is a fairly simple idea and that is Eliminate. If you consider the design of the IPOD, you will see removal in action. Compare it to a standard Casio MP3 player and notice the differences in packaging, buttons, robustness, and ease of use. The iPod has a lot less and is worth a lot more.
Robert’s book is divided into 7 different innovations or I-Skills. For the sake of time, I am going to highlight three main points and give you an idea of why they are important from a business owner’s perspective.
1. Annoyances: Annoyances provide unlimited opportunities for innovation. Keep in mind that every time your customer calls with a complaint, there is an opportunity to think about the complaint and fix it so it doesn’t happen again. This is an iterative process that produces results. The key is to put a solution in place and implement it.
2. Eliminate: People buy for two reasons, either to eliminate pain or to obtain pleasure. To have more pleasure than eliminating what is not essential, it becomes critical. Creating value and focusing on value-oriented work is the basic element of a successful organization. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and eliminate meaningless work. The key is to schedule the time and take note of what you are doing. Think about these statistics: The average manager receives 150 emails per day, knowledge workers are interrupted on average every three minutes, and 25% of workers say their meetings, emails, and voicemails are unmanageable. How much of this hectic work really adds value? Answer that question and you can help make a great organization.
3. Action: Innovation is a way of thinking that simply requires you to act. Assuming that nobody cares or that nothing will ever change is an excuse to stay disconnected. I can tell you that if you show potential as an innovator, there is one person in the organization who will care and that is the one who signs your checks.
For your review, below are the Seven Skills of I. I won’t go into detail about them in the summary, but I want to share them to give you an idea of the book.
Embrace the opportunity mindset
Become a mugger of assumption
Cultivate the passion for the end customer.
Think ahead of the curve
Become an idea factory
Become a featured contributor
Create acceptance of new ideas
Innovation is really everyone’s business. Get involved in what most people don’t want and watch your career flourish. Henry Ford said: “Thinking is the hardest job there is, which is why so few are engaged in it. I hope this short summary has been helpful to you. The key to any new idea is to incorporate it into your daily routine until it is done. Become a habit Habits are formed in as little as 21 days One thing you can take out of this book is Eliminate Take an inventory of the things you do each day for a week and see where your time is going? investment side and your career and life will change.
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