Overcoming Inventoritis: The Silent Killer of Innovation (Paperback)

~ Peter Paul Roosen (Author), Tatsuya Nakagawa (Author) "Thomas Edison is an American hero..." (more)
Key Phrases: overcoming inventoritis, innovation audit, corporate innovators, The Silent Killer of Innovation, General Motors, Henry Ford (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Overcoming Inventoritis, a largely psychological disorder, is important to anyone involved in the innovation process interested in obtaining better returns from resources applied to innovation. Innovation through researching, developing or inventing new or improved products and bringing them to market effectively is a perilous process with the odds of success worse than those faced by a typical blackjack player. Those who need their invention or product to become a commercial success should follow the lead of Thomas Edison, the World's Greatest Product Marketer who maintained a healthy perspective, built an empire from his ideas, lived long and prospered. Be wary of taking a lead from the great scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla who unfortunately suffered from inventoritis and died lonely and broke.

People with untreated inventoritis have an amazing ability to disrupt sound marketing processes, often impacting their career opportunities and any chance of venture success. People and companies that effectively deal with inventoritis greatly improve the odds of enjoying a positive financial experience from their efforts. Learn how to identify, manage and overcome the debilitating inventoritis condition and become an effective product marketer in the process.

Steve Wozniak, Inventor of the personal computer and co-founder of Apple says that "As a tinkerer and inventor my whole life, this book addresses a topic that is near and dear to my heart. At Apple, Steve and I were successful because we followed the path outlined by Peter and Tats in this book and didn't fall prey, at least not too often, to inventoritis. I've learned over time that getting inventions to the marketplace is at least as important as the product itself. It was much harder to get people to accept the concept of a computer into their homes and lives than to design it. Too many inventors fall prey to the 'field of dreams' syndrome. This book will drill home the importance of getting your product to market. It's a must read for any inventor."

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Happy About (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600050417
• ISBN-13: 978-1600050411
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,060,377 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars This Book in a Paragraph, November 4, 2009

By	D. Kimball - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book can be summarized in a single paragraph:

Thomas Edison was a marketer first, and an inventor second. Nicola Tesla was an inventor first, and a marketer not at all. Edison lied, cheated, and stole his way to wealth and power; Tesla was lied to, cheated, and stolen from, most notably by Edison. Therefore, Edison was right, Tesla was wrong, and your company should be more like the former.

Summarized this way, both this book's merits and its flaws should be clear -- and I just saved you twenty bucks.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not much useful here, May 25, 2008

By	Todd Wynia (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First the guy never really defines Inventoritis. I guess you can kind of figure it out by reading the book, but it's really left up to the reader to define it in their own minds. Second, the examples he gives seem to contradict themselves. In one case an inventor is portrayed as being tenaciousness and in another example an inventor exhibits the same qualities and he's portrayed as having inventoritis. I did learn a bit more than about Edison than I knew before, but that's all I got out of the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Will your product succeed? Read this book!, April 9, 2008

By	Bruce Wolff (Detroit, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A terrific new insight into why new products / inventions succeed or fail. Roosen and Nakagawa introduce a new measure of product development spending priorities and back it up with several historical and modern examples tying these priorities to the effect on real-life products - and companies.

"Overcoming Inventoritis" goes beyond Clayton Christensen's concept of Disruptive Technology in "The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials)". Roosen and Nakagawa show how even companies as complex and well-established as Kodak and the large integrated steel makers (the latter among Christensen's examples of supposedly doomed industries) have the ability to succeed in the face of new lower-quality but improving competitors. The key is to keep your internal strengths aligned with the market's external demands, rather than focusing internally on unguided innovation.

This strategy sounds easy. How can it be accomplished? "Overcoming Inventoritis" lays out twelve distinct ways to break with unsuccessful innovations and increase your products' chances of profitability. My favorite of the twelve? The first: Assume your product is terrible. Don't laugh - it actually makes sense the way Roosen and Nakagawa explain it.

Among many examples of inventoritis-free successes and inventoritis-plagued failures, one example from a century ago stands out. The comparison between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla is as clear an example of opposing attitudes toward innovation - and radically differing outcomes - as you will ever find. Even if you think you know the story behind either of these great minds, you will come away with a profound new perspective.

"Overcoming Inventoritis" is a must for any executive, marketer or engineer who wants to ensure successful product releases and drive up profitability.