For years people have been wondering ‘how they do it’ . The creative team behind the worlds leading Innovation Firm IDEO seems to come up with one genius idea after another and is now responsible for some of the most adopted product ideas in the world, starting with your computer mouse. In this book IDEO general manager Tom Kelley (brother of founder David Kelley) finally unwraps some of the secrets behind the success of IDEO.

The book talks about the ingredients of successful brainstorming, product launches, prototyping and the general joy of invention and tells it in an inspiring, motivating way without too much technobabble and ‘process flowcharts’. A great look behind the curtain, packed with anecdotes, stories and examples of how Great Ideas come to be.

Loved it because:

• Stories, stories, stories. Everything is beautifully illustrated with a story to tell you exactly what it is that made the idea special, and made it work.
• Proven Cases. IDEO’s trackrecord is impressive, and this book comes streight from the source. The experiences in there are real and invaluable.
• 10 really insightful tips for creating better products

You might not like it because:

• The book is written from a managers perspective. This makes sense given Tom Kelley’s responcibilities within the company as a general manager, but it makes most of his writing observations of best practises (such as ‘hot teams, perfect brainstorms and creating flaw-free products’) more descriptive rather than understanding the true nature of ‘why’ these processes worked so well for IDEO. This could be disappointing for people wanting to learn about the real thinking behind the IDEO innavation eco-system, but does not damage the practical uses of the book.

Design is no longer just the aesthetics of things – the ‘how things look’.  Design can be used to define vision, communicate your mission, training and guiding employees and much much more processes within any organization. Design is about interaction, connection humans to theory, abstracts or technology. The book ‘Design Management’ by Kathryn Best explores how to employ the power of design in every day processes of management an creative development of your company.

Loved it because:

• Beautifully designed book, well beyond my expections in presentation
• It doesn’t read to theoretical or scientific, its accessible to both designers as long-time organization managers
• Loads of images, practical tips & cases painting a clear picture of what design management can do
• Diverse content – there’s interviews, vision, step by step courses, case studies diagrams and book references
• Most complete book on Design Management I’ve encountered so far

You might not like it because:

• The book is huge and contains a lot of information to be absorbed in a few reading sessions

Written by leading creativity coach Eric Maisel, this book offers many ways to manage, train and maintain the ‘artist within’. Coaching the Artist Within provides ample examples and lessons of building and maintaining a creative lifestyle – one that is bound to create the inspiration you need, and provide meaning in your work. Eric Maisel writes well and makes this self education book into a useful program to nourish your right brain. Must read material for any aspiring artist or creative.

Loved it because:

• Practical tips and lessons that are meant to actively train and improve your creativity
• Eric Maisel is a well-recognized creativity coach, and brings the necessary experience to ensure these lessons deliver on their promise
• The book offers many insights into alternative forms of art such as dancing, acting, creating music, or any other creative field you may not be familiar with

You might not like it because:

• The book demands more than just reading, and when followed to the letter, will make an impact by doing minor daily exercises to build and maintain a creative lifestyle

Made to stick by brothers Dan and Chip Heath explains how to make sure your idea isn’t part of the 99% of ideas we observe but forget every day. The book presents some great formula’s for effective communication. The brothers get their inspiration from scientific theories such as sociology, anthropology and psychology and weaves it in to a perfectly readable story in a Malcom Gladwell’esque manner.

Loved it because:

• The book itself makes it case, by using good techniques to make you remember their ideas.
• Well researched theory – the Heath brothers have certainly done their homework on memory, motivation and observation
• Great stories and anecdotes, ranging from gruesome to heroic, from well known to intimate revelations.

You might not like it because:

• Other than entertainment and to put (new) words to existing knowledge the weathered marketer/PR person won’t find ‘Made to Stick’ overly useful. The book is a must read for managers, designers, inventors and people otherwise active in the creative industry.

Design: Tom Peters Essentials is part one of the ‘Tom Peters Essentials’ series, 4 books (design, leadership, talent and trends) taken from the best selling book ‘Re-Imagine!‘. In Toms typical mix of passion, anger and American ‘loud mouthiness’  he delivers some great insights and a convincing pitch for Design as an essential part of business and ideation.

Loved it because:

• Original and ‘outstanding’ presentation style – the typical Tom Peters style works just as well on print as on flashy powerpoint slides. Bright contrasts, chaotic typography and shouting headers that make Tom’s points very clear.
• Tom Peters is a man worth listening too. Good insights, years of experience and a proven visionary in world business affairs
• Emphasis on the importance of design in ideas, products, services, brands and businesses, not so much the application and certainly not the ‘how to’ design guide. It offers a great pitch if you need to sell design inside or outside your organization.

You might not like it because:

• Tom’s style is not for everyone. It took me some getting used to, its very American, loud and even well over the top but this just speaks for Toms passion for doing things right and getting his message across.
• It’s very light reading, another one-flight book that doesn’t go very deep but gives you some great points on why and how design matters.

“The best way to think of radical cultural changes in society is to think of them as viruses. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like they do.” is the big message of The Tipping Point by best-selling author and anthropologist Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell colorfully describes the factors involved in turning an idea into a cultural phenomena, defining clear roles for each part of the adoption curve, and the thing those small ideas with big impact have in common.

Malcolm Gladwell is also one of the best storytellers of our time. He sometimes he seems to research amusing anecdotes and stories even more than the presented theory itself, making the tales come alive and present his thoughts in nearly wrapped bits of entertainment.

Loved it because:

• Written by one of the best storytellers of the 21st century
• Defining the events that turn small ideas into big cultural changes
• Creating a mindset of being aware of the phenomena of ‘The Tipping Point’ and observing ideas in that fashion

You might not like it because:

• If you’re just looking to read about the theory of ‘Tipping Points’ (how and when small ideas become big cultural phenomena) you might find the sometimes long and abudance of stories and anecdotes a bit much.

Both the book and the author have surpassed the Guru status. In many ways, The Purple Cow was the book that started it all for marketing man of the century Seth Godin. A pruple cow has been adopted by marketeers as a remarkable idea, something that truly stands out from the crowd, and is therefor work ‘making a remark about’. The leightwieght bible for the new era of marketing contains loads of stories, anecdotes and inspirational insights in how to incorporate risk and remarkability into your ideas, as a designer, as a marketer, as a CEO, or anyone with a message.

Loved it because:

• Highly entertaining down-to-earth style of writing
• Quick but inspirational read (one-flight-book)
• One simple message packed in an inspirational book of examples and best practises
• A message that shook up the marketing world

You might not like it because:

• Critics of Seth Godin claim his ‘marketing for the masses’ is the hollywood for corporate strategy and marketing. Godin offers no real, practical advice on how to manage ‘remarkability’ or really transform your business into being remarkable other than to ‘go out and do it – be risky!’.