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In this new paperback edition of the classic bestseller, you'll be taken on a hilarious, fast-paced ride through the history of ideas. Author Scott Berkun will show you how to transcend the false stories that many business experts, scientists, and much of pop culture foolishly use to guide their thinking about how ideas change the world. With four new chapters on putting the ideas in the book to work, updated references and over 50 corrections and improvements, now is the time to get past the myths, and change the world. You'll have fun while you learn: Where ideas come from The true history of history Why most people don't like ideas How great managers make ideas thrive The importance of problem finding The simple plan (new for paperback) Since its initial publication, this classic bestseller has been discussed on NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, and at Yale University, MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Google, Amazon.com, and other major media, corporations, and universities around the world. It has changed the way thousands of leaders and creators understand the world. Now in an updated and expanded paperback edition, it's a fantastic time to explore or rediscover this powerful view of the world of ideas. About the Author Scott Berkun was a manager at Microsoft from 1994-2003, on projects including v1-5 (not 6) of Internet Explorer. He is the author of three bestselling books, Making Things Happen, The Myths of Innovation and Confessions of a Public Speaker. He works full time as a writer and speaker, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes magazine, The Economist, The Washington Post, Wired magazine, National Public Radio and other media. He regularly contributes to Harvard Business and BusinessWeek, has taught creative thinking at the University of Washington, and has appeared as an innovation and management expert on MSNBC and on CNBC. He writes frequently on innovation and creative thinking at his surprisingly popular blog: scottberkun.com and tweets at @berkun. His ambition in life is to fill the above bookshelf, which is by his writing desk, with books he has written. If he were smarter, he’d have picked a smaller shelf. He’s based in Seattle, WA, but speaks often all around the world speaking about creativity and other topics he’s written about. If you’d like to hire him to speak at an event, head over here: www.scottberkun.com. You can watch videos of him in action and get in touch. Table of Contents Chapter 1 The myth of epiphany     Ideas never stand alone Chapter 2 We understand the history of innovation     Why does history seem perfect?     Evolution and innovation Chapter 3 There is a method for innovation     How innovations start     The seeds of innovation     The challenges of innovation     The infinite paths of innovation     Finding paths of innovation Chapter 4 People love new ideas     Managing the fears of innovation     Negative things innovators hear     The innovator’s dilemma explained     Frustration + innovation = entrepreneurship?     How innovations gain adoption: the truth about ideas before their time Chapter 5 The lone inventor     The convenience of lone inventors     The challenge of simultaneous invention     The myth of the lone inventor     Stepping-stones: the origins of spreadsheets and E=mc2 Chapter 6 Good ideas are hard to find     The dangerous life of ideas     How to find good ideas     Ideas and filters Chapter 7 Your boss knows more about innovation than you     The myth that managers know what to do     Five challenges of managing innovation Chapter 8 The best ideas win     Why people believe the best wins     The secondary factors of innovation     Space, metrics, and Thomas Jefferson     The goodness/adoption paradox Chapter 9 Problems and solutions     Problems as invitations     Framing problems to help solve them     The truth about serendipity Chapter 10 Innovation is always good     Measuring innovation: the goodness scale     Innovations are unpredictable (DDT, automobiles, and the Internet)     Technology accelerates without discrimination     The good and bad, the future and the past Chapter 11 Epilogue: Beyond hype and history     The simple plan Chapter 12 Creative thinking hacks     Kill creative romance     Combinations     Inhibition     Environment     Persistence     Creative thinking hacks Chapter 13 How to pitch an idea     All ideas demand change Chapter 14 How to stay motivated     The big motivations Appendix Research and recommendations     Annotated bibliography     Ranked bibliography     Other research sources Appendix Photo credits     Chapter openers     Figures Appendix Acknowledgments     For the paperback edition     For the original edition Appendix How to help this book: A request from the author Colophon