Innervation: Redesign Yourself for a Smarter Future [Paperback]

Guy Browning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 2003

In the new economy you are in charge of your own career. You have more opportunities than ever before, but in order to take full advantage of them you must learn a vital new skill-personal innovation. Innervation shows you how to master this essential skill and thrive in a world of continuous change.Momentum books are for people who want to make things happen in their career and their life, who want to work at something they enjoy and that's worthy of their talent and their time. Momentum people have values and principles. They question who they are and what they do. Wherever they work, they want to feel that what they do has meaning.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author and consultant Browning (Double Your Salary, Bonk Your Boss, Go Home Early) here offers a workplace manifesto for the New Economy. Browning's observations of modern office culture are trenchant, and he infuses his project with plenty of humor and offbeat sensibility. But it's a challenge to figure out what this book is trying to be, with its bizarre structure and uber-hip pretensions. Ultimately, the author seems to aim towards an explanation of how to "make a success of life in the new economy and be happy at the same time." And so he skips energetically between subjects like dealing with "bastards," branding yourself, managing your boss, behaving at company meetings and even eating grapefruit for breakfast. Technology is indeed changing the way we work and interact, and any advice for career reinvention is always a popular topic. But to achieve that total personal redesign, readers might need a bit more than this quirky guide.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"You'll want to read every sentence, and how often can you say that of a book?" "The Daily Mail "This book makes you feel better about everything, and that's the first reason to read it." " Amazon.com "Enter Innervation, which plays havoc with this division "[between self-help believers and cynics]"in all sorts of artful and witty ways. What it is is a very funny, very observant reflection on working life. Even cynics will be persuaded by the sheer levelheadedness of the writing. " "The Leeds Guide --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (March 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206601
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206608
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,154,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Some good ideas on thinking and doing, June 5, 2009

By 

Eric Kassan (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Innervation: Redesign Yourself for a Smarter Future (Paperback)

This book is broken into 3 sections - being, thinking, and doing. The first section is rather slow and contains content of dubious value- as an example the author presents about 50 "top lessons" he has learned from experience, and many of them are poor (such as "never work with friends") and others are mutually exclusive (such as "constantly communicate upwards" and "keep your mouth shut"). I would recommend skipping this section.

The second section deals with thinking (creatively versus rationally), and I found useful content and perspectives here. In particular he gives a good process to force one to think in new directions. Also the method of mapping situations that he calls (I think inappropriately) mapping the human heart is a useful way of looking things, one that was new to me.

The third section deals with actually doing, and making positive change in one's life. While some good ideas are presented here, it is not well explained how to implement them. The same principles are much better illustrated in the book The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris.

Overall, the book is well written with a fair amount of humor, and it reads quickly (especially if you skip the first section). Even if one has already read "The Four Hour Work Week", the repetition in the third section will help reinforce the lessons there.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a quick airplane read, March 3, 2007

By 

Patrick (Des Moines, WA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Innervation: Redesign Yourself for a Smarter Future (Paperback)

Innervation by Guy Browning is a very good book. The book made me rethink several points in my life. This book gave me several tools I can use in every day life.

Guy Browning is a straight shooter. He gets right to the point and says it like it is. If you are looking for a good quick read I would recommend Innervation.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, June 29, 2004

By 

Mr. Nathaniel Singer (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Innervation: Redesign Yourself for a Smarter Future (Paperback)

I'll start by saying that I've read a fair amount of books in my day. This book, for its genre, is probably the best (second would probably be The Circle of Innovation by Tom Peters) that I've read.

I'm honestly AMAZED by how concisely he communicates points in a matter of paragraphs that would take other authors entire books.

There also haven't been all that many books where I've started to laugh out loud in the middle of. I really like this guy's way of getting straight to the point.