Innovation is word roughly as over-used in the information technology industry as change is in politics. Everyone talks about it, but few people actually implement it beyond a superficial level. It's a buzzword; it was the first term in the marketingspeak canon; it's what CEOs talk about when they don't have a crisis to manage. When I first got The Myths of Innovation in for review, I was intrigued by the first parts of it I read, so I interviewed the author, Scott Berkun and asked him some questions about innovation as it relates to open source software. It turns out that innovation can move beyond marketingspeak and ridiculous Steve Ballmer speeches and actually represent invention and improvement. The Myths of Innovation showcases a wide variety of useful ideas, processes, and methods that smart people can use to succeed as inventors, engineers, and managers. As the title implies, there is also a lot of talk about what not to do when trying to think of new ways to succeed. This is a truly inspiring book.
Writing analysis
Basically this is a book that provides inspiration through analysis of successful inventors. It teaches readers that innovation is a process, not an event, and that religiously mimicking the habits and idiosyncrasies of famous inventors will not likely yield similar results. Every factor that impacts innovation, from your work environment to your thought processes, habits, attitudes, and expectations. It spends as much time examining failure as it does success, which is a relief -- many books that teach similar concepts try to avoid focusing on "the negative," instead preferring to fantasize that failure never happens.
The Myths of Innovation reads like a really interesting, well-researched oral presentation -- something you might see at TED (which author Scott Berkun has not spoken at as far as I can tell, though he certainly should someday). As such, it is exceptionally easy to read and follow, though I thought the huge number of footnotes were a little distracting. The footnote information is useful for further research, and often entertaining, but it's annoying to have to remember your place on the page and skip down to the footnote, then scan back up. I think a better approach would be to do sidebars or margin notes, sort of along the lines of a Head First book, only toned down a bit.
I didn't discover any significant problems with the language in the book, though I think it's unnecessarily distracting to randomly replace the gender on third-person pronouns. I recently learned that this is actually O'Reilly editorial policy, even though it is against a long tradition of English grammar, and causes mild confusion in readers (not to mention the fact that it is occasionally against the wishes of the author). I find the female pronoun issue to be an annoying speed bump in my reading because it brings an unnecessary level of specificity to words that we're not supposed to give any thought to. If you're drawing attention to your pronouns, you're negatively impacting the reader experience.
Putting the book to the test
This is a quick read, in part because it is not very long, and in part because it is never boring. I think I would describe this as a "technology self-help" book. On the most obvious level, it serves as inspiration to everyone who works in information technology -- and not just the engineers and the rock-star CEOs. On a deeper level, The Myths of Innovation can affect the work habits and thinking patterns of literally anyone. At some time or another, we've all said, "There must be an easier way to do this!" The Myths of Innovation arms you with all of the necessary tools to make that sentiment into a starting point for invention.
Summary and conclusions
I definitely recommend The Myths of Innovation, not just to IT workers or inventors, but to anyone who wants to succeed through innovation. Don't let the fact of the author's Microsoft career turn you off -- though the author does relate a couple of stories from his time at Microsoft, there is nothing in this book that would offend or anger a Linux or Mac user.
I really enjoy the fact that O'Reilly publishes books like The Myths of Innovation from time to time. I wish they'd do more such books, but there are few authors out there who could successfully complete them -- or even conceive them.
For a good laugh, check out the colophon on the last page of the book.
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