Innervation: Redesign Yourself for a Smarter Future (Paperback)

~ (Author) "For the last century or so, technology has been mass producing products, jobs and human beings..." (more)
Key Phrases: undefended hills, people with experience, Jack Welch, Charlie Cheesecake

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; illustrated edition edition (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.com Sales Rank: #1,174,547 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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 (REAL NAME)

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 Talmadge (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 (REAL NAME)

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.