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The Innovation Paradox : The Success of Failure, the Failure of Success
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780743225939
ISBN: 0743225937
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 144
Publication Date: July 02, 2003
Publisher: Free Press
Studio: Free Press
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Editorial Review:
Precious few of us--and that includes Hall of Fame achievers like J. Paul Getty and Bill Gates--ever travel a straight line to the winner's circle. Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins, by Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes, builds on this basic assumption to suggest that some failures may not only be inevitable on our road to success, but might actually help us attain it. In earlier books, Farson (Management of the Absurd) and Keyes (Chancing It) wrote separately about risk taking and reexamining assumptions. Here, they jointly proclaim that in the age of Oprah it might truly be counterproductive to accept the traditional meaning of business yin and yang. "Relying on conventional, outmoded ideas about success and failure stands in the way of your ability to innovate, compete and stay ahead of the curve in a changing economy," they write. While slim, their book goes on to make a compelling case for "managing in the postfailure era" by supporting the type of traditionally discouraged behavior that resulted in breakthrough creativity over the years at firms like 3M, Monsanto, and Apple. Since crises, setbacks, and adversity help shape and advance our lives, the authors argue, why can't enlightened managers also turn them into forward movement in the workplace? Contrarian food for thought. --Howard Rothman
In The Innovation Paradox, Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes argue that failure has its upside, success its downside. Both are steps toward achievement, and the two extremes are not as distinct as we imagine. In today's business economy, it's not success or failure -- it's success and failure that lead to genuine innovation. History's great innovators, from Thomas Edison and Charles Kettering to Bill Gates and Jack Welch, saw failure as an important stepping-stone -- and with this groundbreaking book, you too can learn how to become more failure tolerant, more risk friendly, and therefore more innovative. Today's most prominent businesspeople agree that The Innovation Paradox has the formula for failure and success down to a science,
Make no mistake: If you're looking to reinvent yourself, your ideas, or your business model, this book is your sure-fire way to start.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Paradign Changing Book
Farson and Keyes offer a book that will change the way you view success and failure. The authors convincingly argue that neither of these two phenomena are necessarily what they appear to be - success, as typically defined, often comes with its own burdens; failure, as usually understood, is often the catalyst that leads to positive results. So what should one strive for? In a sense, neither, the authors would argue. The value comes in being engaged in life, focused on the process rather than ... Read More
Rating: - The Limits of the Concepts of Success and Failure
Making mistakes is a key part of succeeding at anything, the authors believe. Mistakes educate, and education leads to success. They tell the story of Thomas Watson's early loss of company resources at IBM, and his inital expectation that it would lead to his firing, so he offered to resign instead. "You must be kidding," he was told. "We've just invested $10 million in your education."
Those who play it safe can avoid making mistakes, but they do so at a cost of a lack of genuine ... Read More
Rating: - Uncommon Common Sense
Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes are unique thinkers whose refreshing insights and reflections on how we live our lives - what we bring to our workplaces and relationships -are paradoxically simple and complex. On page 129 they caution about "learning how not to be shattered by the humiliation of failure or unnerved by the stress of success," a running theme. They see the two, failure and success, as two sides of the same coin. The primary focus of The Innovation Paradox is on business but the lessons ... Read More
Rating:  - Philosophical and inspirational! Quite zen!
Recently I had read three great books on mistakes:- "Will your next mistakes be fatal? by Robert Mittelstaedt", "Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes? by Sydney Finkelstein", and "In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters by Merrill R. Chapman". To prevent myself from being too risk aversive (just kidding!) I dig into Amazon to get an antidote. Now I am writing a review of it.
Beyond expectation, positively, this book is highly ... Read More
Rating: - Fantastic!
This is the best business book I've ever read- and I've read tons already! It lets you completely re-imagine your attitude toward success, failures and LIFE. Very deep and wise.
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