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Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results Paperback – June 10, 2014

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Drew Boyd (Author)
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Jacob Goldenberg (Author)
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4.7 out of 5 stars 40 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (June 10, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1451659296
  • ISBN-13: 978-1451659290
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsI Like Structured Approaches, and This Provides One!
By Loyd Eskildson HALL OF FAME on June 15, 2013
Format: Hardcover
The authors have found that CEOs rate the importance of innovation very high - usually a 9 or 10. Without fail, however, most give a low rating to their level of satisfaction with innovation in their firm. The traditional view of creativity is that it is unstructured and doesn't follow rules or patterns. Thus, you need to brainstorm, think outside the box, make wild analogies, and stray far afield to come up with a breakthrough idea. These authors take the opposite perspective, derived from studying hundreds of successful products.

The majority of new, inventive, and successful products result from following five templates - subtraction, division, multiplication, task unification, and attribute dependency. These templates comprise an innovative method called 'Systematic Inventive Thinking' (SIT) that makes creativity accessible to anyone. The bulk of the authors' book is devoted to explaining these methods, along with helpful examples.

The "Subtraction' method usually have had something removed that was previously thought to be essential. Hence, discount airlines, 'ear buds' instead of traditional headphones, and Philips Electronics using the 'Subtraction' technique to simplify DVD controls and displays. Remove a bicycle's rear wheels and you get an exercise bike. The original Sony Walkman was a cassette recorder that had the recording function subtracted.

'Division' utilizes taking a component out of an earlier version and placing it somewhere else. Examples include remote controls, separating the ink cartridge from computer printers to allow easy replacement, allowing travelers to print their boarding pass at home.

'Multiplication' involves copying a component, while changing it in some way.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsPadding the text obscures the ideas
By Thad McIlroy on August 6, 2013
Format: Hardcover
I think that Boyd and Goldenberg have some genuinely new and valuable ideas about creativity. Unfortunately they accepted the idea that semi-scientific business concepts need to be padded out to 250 pages to make the book saleable. The actual actionable ideas are buried in tons of dross, endless anecdotes that do little to illuminate.

The Wall Street Journal ran an excerpt on June 14, 2013 that makes for a better read than the puffery in this volume. The authors are apparently working on an app, which I look forward to testing when it appears.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCreativity is best when it builds on something you already know and has been proven in the market!
By Craig Matteson HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER on June 12, 2013
Format: Hardcover
The best business books usually put forward a simple idea in a memorable way. Too many, far too many, are really put out to sell a consulting gig for its authors. Sometimes, they take a fresh look at a business cliché and try to help us see a common problem with fresh eyes and a new mental approach. They are rarely as innovative, earth shattering, or as universally applicable as the authors claim, but if they help you get a handle on what you are facing and give you some mental hooks on how to deal with a certain class of business situations, it is likely worth the time and money you spend on the book.

I think that even the most mind bending ideas can eventually become dead as doornail clichés that cause thinking to stop whenever they are invoked. One of those is "thinking outside the box". We have all been outside the box so long we have forgotten why the box has an inside in the first place: it's because that's where most of the good stuff is. We use boxes to store, package, ship, and use stuff we value. Sure, sometimes there is treasure to be found, outside the box, but what about making sure we are using the stuff inside the box as creatively and as efficiently as we can, first!

This book, from Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg, both experienced marketing guys, provides you with tools to systematically examine what you have in the box and think about how to creatively use it to find new products, new approaches, new value, and life in the products, technologies, and brands you already have. Sure, you might have to eventually head out into the wild blue, but why not start with the stuff you already know, have, and own?Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsHo-hum!
By Spauthy on May 29, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
No argument that the short stories add some flavor to the reading. But there is nothing new or creative here that differs from the SCAMPER process (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/distort, Put to other purposes, Eliminate, Rearrange/Reverse) that you can find through an Internet search. And you save the $28.00+ purchase price of the book.
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2.0 out of 5 starsRead for work - would want a refund if I paid actual money for this book.
By A. Lewis on February 10, 2015
Format: Paperback
I read this book for work. I found it boring and uninspiring. The techniques provided are not new or creative, but seemed to be based on the observation of how "innovation" occurs. Most of the examples given seem to be chosen because they fit into the author's preconceived innovative technique. Many of the examples given are old - this book was published in 2013 and ~10% of the examples are from the 21st century. The Division technique is breaking down an object or service into multiple parts and then reworking the individual parts into something new. An example provided of this technique is Les Paul who experimented with "multitrack" recordings in the 1930s. The Multiplication technique involves copying internal components and then devising new uses for the copy. One example given is about the panoramic camera developed and patented in 1859.

The bottom line is that this book had the potential to be really worthwhile, but the authors felt the need to spread it out over 226 pages and include all sorts of "examples" that fit into their specific techniques. The book would have been better if it was written in a concise matter with a few clear examples.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsGood innovation tactics

Good insights. Excellent examples.

Published 4 months ago by LESprinkle
5.0 out of 5 starsPractical manual to sharpen your creativity. Unbeatable!

This book really teaches you how to discipline your brain and sharpen your senses to spot innovation opportunities around you "in your closed world". Read more

Published 8 months ago by Ignacio De Leon
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome Book! I created a new business after I ...

Awesome Book! I created a new business after I finish "Inside the Box." I found it very helpful!

Published 8 months ago by Laura L. Bokar
5.0 out of 5 starsI've read it twice.

I have read the book twice - one of those few that I've read twice for the past 10 years. I believe the 5 Thinking Tools or SIT work because (1) they are derived from TRIZ, (2) the... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Melchor Pasikatan
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book well explains the power of inside-the-box thinking and ...

This book well explains the power of inside-the-box thinking and the applications of Structured Inventive Thinking. Read more

Published 12 months ago by A Reader from PA
5.0 out of 5 starsTurns thinking about innovation inside-out

"Inside the Box" turns thinking about innovation inside-out, and I can recommend it. It's helpful to remember that the expression "thinking outside the box" is now... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Kevin S. Gray
5.0 out of 5 starsEXCELLENT READ for anyone interested in improving things around them

EXCELLENT READ for anyone interested in improving things around them, from products to processes. Adopting and applying it with my group of software product managers. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Adam Petersen
5.0 out of 5 starsThe best practical "innovation tool" book in my library. Great for...

There are many books on innovation, and most of them are long of selective retrospective analysis and short on tool that can be applied. Read more

Published 14 months ago by DrInnovation
5.0 out of 5 starsBest book on practical innovation I've read

A colleague recommended this book to me. She grabbed my attention by asking what the following entities shared in common: Amazon. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Melanie
5.0 out of 5 starsGet ready to be inspired in new and creative ways!

Exceptional read that takes a different, and more effective approach to idea generation than the traditional "outside of the box" thinking that many have been trained on. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Michael R. Dusold

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