Customer Reviews

The Map of Innovation: Creating Something Out of Nothing

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of my best business innovation, entrepreneur, start up books.

Each page is packed with practical wisdom for the new business startup, and the established business.

His information on how to innovate was very good. The author believes in always adding technology to a need. I thought his methods of creativity were somewhat simplistic. But the way he applied them to searching for business solutions was excellent.

The most important advice that I received from the book was in hiring. He suggests that you "Hire Smart At......". You'll be surprised with his recommendation. I had always thought that A. David Silver's advice on start up entrepreneur's was right on (find someone with a hurt), but O'Connors is closer to what I was trying to elucidate but couldn't.

Highly recommended, one of my current favorites.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

...that innovation can be forced. That is, that there is an actual template you can follow to come with better products and services.
If a consultant posed the premise, I'd have my doubts. But this is written by a guy who has started a series of successful companies and who is actually in the business of being an entrepreneur (and not writing books.)
Well worth your time.

I admit I read this book with a good bit of skepticism. I read Twyla Tharp's new book on creativity with even more. How does one "teach" innovation and creativity? It has to happen organically, doesn't it? Well, this book shows exactly how to create an environment in which product development can evolve naturally. The author has a number of major products, services, and companies under his belt, and there are really sound checklists for encouraging a workplace in which creativity and innovation can happen - and be recognized and rewarded.

I really liked this book 4.5 stars. It is written by one of the founders of DoubleClick, Kevin O'Connor. He takes you through the steps he believes are necessary to go from and an idea which are easy to come up with to a business which is difficult. He lays on the line how difficult it will be. The proof in the pudding is if anyone following his advice can create a successful business. There is a lot of good wisdom in this book. Some people may think it's obvious but for me, I'm an Excel-VBA software developer with 100's of ideas and my own business, it's great advice and hopefully I'll follow it and make it big time some day.

The book includes many pearls of wisdom. He steps you through the details of his main ideas which are:
1. How to come up with a large # of ideas
2. How to Pick the right idea to pursue
3. How to create a business plan
4. How to get funding
5. How to hire great people

Other reviewers claimed he was self-aggrandizing but this didn't bother me at all.

He includes his business plan for DoubleClick in the appendix.

The only downsides to this book is that it's a little dated, due to the current economic crisis, Mar. 2009, good luck in trying to go public and he doesn't talk about other ways to grow your business without funding from a boot-strap method.

I bought this book on the advice of a good friend--a friend whose recommendations have been uniformly spot-on; until now.

I found the book trite, pat and predictable. It felt like Kevin O'Connor wanted to show off his past companies' successes while also proving to the poor reader that he was just a "normal" guy--that if he [Mr. O'Connor] could do it, anyone can.

Or maybe I was just put off by the two grammatical errors I noticed in the first 10 pages.

I hope folks reading this review realize that there is no "secret recipe" for business success. I wonder how many people who have read The Map of Innovation have subsequently achieved significant business success; my guess is: zero.

In any case, to my friend's dismay, I couldn't even finish the book. I hope my experience with it helps others to avoid wasting their money and time on it. I wish I could recommend another book in its stead, but I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with this genre in general.

I almost threw up on the intro and the first chapter with the amount of praise the author heaped on himself. All the while I was thinking that I have never heard of his companies ICC or ISS, and I routinely block the 'doubleclick plague' from all my web browsers, so what has this guy really done? I almost threw in the towel when he claimed he invented the internet but didnt do anything about it.
Also heaping praise on Ford, Edison and bill gates for creativity, when it is generally accepted that these people used others' ideas albiet with good marketing.
Anyway there are some good suggestions in here if you can force yourself to read through it. Im glad I didnt buy the book and got it from the library.
I doubt the author is going to come up any anything substiantial due to his self-aggrandizement, which also also undoubtly make this book far less than a best-seller.