Compiled by FRANK DILLON

The Little Black Book of Innovation

by Scott D Anthony

Harvard Business Review Press €17.95

INNOVATION IS much written about but little understood. In this book, Scott D Anthony tries to distil some of the key academic ideas on this subject and the lessons to be learnt from the small number of companies and individuals who successfully practise innovation. He succeeds in the task in a very accessible work.

Anthony draws biblical analogies to describe innovation’s seven deadly sins and suggests ways in which these can be avoided. Gluttony or the curse of overabundance which leads to slow efforts, for example, can be remedied by constraining resources to maximise creativity, he says.

The core of the book is a very practical 28-day programme on innovation. Anthony cuts through much jargon and sums up the key ideas and imperitives for those who wish to innovate. Written in a light-hearted and sometimes humorous style, it also draws on the authors own innovation journey including some early failures.

Inside Apple

by Adam Lashinsky

John Murray €16.99

While its products are ubiquitous and its founder’s genius beyond question, little is known about the Apple organisation. Here, Adam Lashinsky tries to pull the covers on the culture and internal mechanics of Apple. Utilising interviews with past and current employees, he provides an insight into this most secretive of business organisations, where employees operate on a strict “need to know basis”. The paradox of the organisation that “everyone outside wants to join and everyone insides wants to leave” is unravelled. Steve Jobs was a missionary who inspired devotion, yet was personally responsible for the creation of a harsh, bullying and demanding culture at Apple.

Paranoia is alive and well at Apple. Company folklore has it that a bar and restaurant near its HQ in Cupertino, California, is patrolled by plainclothes Apple spies, keen to catch-out employees with loose lips – the penalty for which is instant dismissal. The on-site shop sells T-shirts emblazoned with the legend “I visited the Apple campus but that’s all Im allowed to say”.

Lashinsky clearly enjoys dishing out some of the more salacious tales yet his respect for Jobs, his achievements and his enduring legacy, shines through clearly in this thoroughly readable work.

What Got You Here Wont Get You There

by Marshall Goldsmith

Profile Books €11.75

This slim volume, produced in the form of a comic strip book, contains a cover invitation to discover the 20 workplace habits you need to break. Readers will no doubt recognise overbearing bosses and irritating colleagues throughout its pages.

The publishers have assembled an impressive list of testimonials for Goldsmith including the CEOs at Ford, Getty Images and Allergen. He also ranks as one of the top 15 most influential business thinkers in the World in a study sponsored by The Timesnewspaper.

The book is a short graphic adaptation of a best-selling longer text but its publication in this unusual genre seems at odds with Goldsmiths reputation as a much valued and highly paid coach to many of the worlds top CEOs.

There are some interesting observations about arrogance and passiveness, and striking a balance between delegating effectively and shirking responsibilities. However, in the format presented, much of this comes across as just common sense and the comic strip presentation compounds the feeling of flicking through a Junior Cert Civics book.