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 a bit repetitive, but totally worth reading May 27, 2008
this is a quick read on where real innovation comes from. johansson contends that there are two kinds of creativity and innovation. one is linear, staying within one field of study, one body of knowledge. most companies (and people) who are trying to innovate, attempt this directional innovation. like, an engineer who tries to think up a new way of building a bridge by surveying bridges already built and thinking of a refinement or change.
johansson contends that this kind of innovation is rare, and never substantial when it happens. we're too locked into our modes of thinking, and we put up barriers to potentially innovative influences from outside the field (because they're seen as a threat or a distraction).
the second kind of innovation is intersectional. it's the stuff that comes from the intersection of two different fields of study or bodies of knowledge. this is where - the author contends - all deep and significant innovation occurs. johansson gives dozens of helpful illustrations -- like, how a knowledge of the feeding patterns of african ants helped inform truck drivers trying to find the quickest route through the swiss alps at any given time.
anyone interested in being innovative should read this book. it's a great book for a team read and discussion.
The Road to Systematic Innovation? May 5, 2008
At first glance, "The Medici Effect" can seem like yet another quick-read business book that simply restates the obvious. The author's basic thesis is this: to spur innovation, we must bring people together from different backgrounds and disciplines.
Well, that seem true enough... Just visit Thomas Edison's complex at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, for an early example of this so-called "intersection of innovation." (Museum curators have done a fantastic job reconstructing his entire laboratory.)
What saves this book from the dust pile is the author's willingness to go beyond the easy answers. Brainstorming can often fail, says Johansson, and he spells out the most common pitfalls in great detail. Likewise, he says that building a culture of innovation must include both punishments and rewards for those involved -- even if those rewards are largely intangible. "Positive failure" is another powerful concept -- the idea that failure can be encouraged, managed and optimized for faster innovation.
Johansson illustrates his main point with a dozen or more entertaining anecdotes from a wide variety of fields, ranging from neurobiology at Brown University to video games to the restaurant business.
Along the way, he provides practical guidelines for team leaders and team members alike. Johansson knows that innovation isn't limited to PhD's in white lab coats or oddball geniuses with bad teeth. All of us are capable of (at least contributing to) breakthrough innovations, given the right support system and organizational attitude.
Of all the concepts Johansson presents, I found his section on "associative barriers" to be the most interesting. Here's a quick summary: As we become more knowledgeable about a particular field, we also begin to limit our cognitive freedom to make strange, unpredictable associations. For example, if I say "police," most people would associate that word with things like crime, violence, jail, justice or lawbreakers. Relatively few would jump to other associations, such as childhood disease or solar energy. By breaking down these associative barriers, we can see new connections and find new solutions to seemingly intractable problems.
If you don't have time to read the entire book (short as it is), I strongly recommend this section. The Medicis would certainly approve.
 Quick, Quick Delivery February 15, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
My daughter needed this book for a class in college. I paid extra for next day delivery and it was here the next day.
A great read January 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A great book on innovation and outside the box thinking. Many innovators may find that their thinking, curiosity, and intuitiveness are outlined in the pages of this book. Use it as a catalyst for new ideas and possibilities. Ideation, in today's world, must have a broader scope and more examination. This book will help spark the possibilities within you.
An excellent book about changing the way you think about creativity & innovation...& juxtaposition! November 17, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures
by Frans Johansson
Following my recent holiday trip to Italy, particularly my revisit to the Vatican Museums in Rome & the Uffizi Museum in Florence, I became fascinated by the great work of the Medici family.
I took the opportunity to reread the personally earmarked pages of the abovementioned book. I had, in fact, already read it for the first time about three years ago.
The book's title actually refers to an explosion of creativity and imagination that occurred in Florence during the Renaissance era, stretching from the late 14th century where it started right up to the early 17th Century, where it had spread to the rest of Europe, when the powerful & influential Medici banking family funded artists, artisans, painters, sculptors, and even thinkers and scientists from many different cultures and disciplines to come together to debate, discuss, and discover new ideas. [Out of 1,000 European artists, painters & sculptors during that period, about 350 of them had lived &/or worked in Florence, Italy.]
Through their generous patronage, we are able to speak of and admire the wonderful masterpieces & elegant work of Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Donatello, Raphael, Ghiberti and countless others.
The book is about how all or each of us can create our own "Medici Effect" by applying the concept of juxtaposition (I reckon the author likes to use 'intersection'; as for me, I think 'juxtaposition' is more appropriate word to describe the phenomenon) as expounded in the book.
It's all about how one can apply the juxtaposition of ideas, cultures, disciplines, and strategies in new and previously unexplored ways.
You can easily read about many interesting & practical examples of the application of juxtaposition in the book, which I don't need to repeat as you can read about them in other people's reviews on the website.
The idea behind this book is simple: When you step into a juxtaposition of fields, disciplines, or cultures, you can combine existing concepts into a large number of extraordinary new ideas."
In a nut shell, the author actively promotes the concept of a broad, all-rounded education and intellectual curiosity, combined with open mind and acceptance of diversity & risks as prerequisites to breakthrough innovation.
Here is a quick overview of the book's contents:
Part 1:
The Intersection: The Intersection - Your Best Chance To Innovate;
The Rise of Intersections
Part 2:
Creating the Medici Effect: Break Down the Barriers Between Fields;
How to Make the Barriers Fall;
Randomly Combine Concepts;
How to Find the Combinations;
Ignite an Explosion of Ideas;
How to Capture the Explosion
Part 3:
Making Intersectional Ideas Happen: Execute Past Your Failures;
How to Succeed in the Face of Failure; Break Out of Your Network;
How to Leave the Network Behind; Take Risks and Overcome Fear;
How to Adopt a Balanced View of Risk;
Step into the Intersection
The book may be somewhat long-winded in many areas, especially in the beginning pages, & does not actually offer the reader with specific implementation strategies, it does, however, provide the reader with many real world examples &/or processes.
I reckon Dr James Garvin, Lead Scientist, NASA's Mars Exploration Program, more or less sums up quite well about the book:
"As I look at the exploration of Mars through the lens "The Medici Effect" offer, I see pathways ahead that were previously invisible, and possibilities that we must consider. Any book that has this effect on anyone is far more than a good read. Let the sleeper awake!"
For me, it's an excellent book about changing the way you think about creativity and inovation...& juxtaposition.
I fully concur that juxtaposition of different and diverse fields, disciplines & cultures, is a prerequisite for breakthrough innovation.
The Amazon website is one good example, as one reviewer puts it.
MacDonalds is another, combining fast food, nutrition, family lifestyle, teenaged consumers, workforce trends, cultural/ethnic preferences & more importantly, real estate as well as logistics.
As a matter of fact, Tom Kelley, brother to the brain (David Kelley)behind the IDEO outfit, has shared his company's successful innovative experiences with this phenomenon in his many books.
The US-based Global Business Network (GBN), as the world's foremost scenario planning consultancy, often juxtaposes expert (as well as naive) insights from members with diverse fields of exposure, varied professional backgrounds &/or multi-disciplinary practices to paint probable future scenarios for multi-national companies as well as governments around the world (Singapore is one of them).
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