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A Biography of Innovations: From Birth to Maturity
Overview
R. Gopalakrishnan, the bestselling author of The Case of the Bonsai Manager, explores how concepts turn into ideas, which then become prototypes, models and products. Defining thought as the ancestor of innovation; as without thought, there could be no innovation, he explores the impending questions such as - What happens next? How can you take on challenges and keep your ideas relevant? The Biography of Innovation is the definitive book on the life cycle of new ideas and transformations.
About the Author
R. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty-two years. He has a wealth of practical managerial experience, initially in Unilever and more recently in Tata. He has lived and worked in India, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and has travelled extensively all over the world. He began his career in 1967 as a computer analyst with Hindustan Lever after studying physics in Kolkata and electronic engineering at IIT Kharagpur. He has attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He worked initially in computer software, later in marketing, before moving to general management. During his Unilever career, he was based in Jeddah as chairman of the Arabian subsidiary; later, he was managing director, Brooke Bond Lipton India and then vice chairman of Hindustan Lever. He has been president of the All India Management Association. Currently, he is executive director, Tata Sons, based in Mumbai. He also serves on the boards of other companies. He is married with three children.
R. Gopalakrishnan, the bestselling author of The Case of the Bonsai Manager, explores how concepts turn into ideas, which then become prototypes, models and products. Defining thought as the ancestor of innovation; as without thought, there could be no innovation, he explores the impending questions such as - What happens next? How can you take on challenges and keep your ideas relevant? The Biography of Innovation is the definitive book on the life cycle of new ideas and transformations.
About the Author
R. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty-two years. He has a wealth of practical managerial experience, initially in Unilever and more recently in Tata. He has lived and worked in India, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and has travelled extensively all over the world. He began his career in 1967 as a computer analyst with Hindustan Lever after studying physics in Kolkata and electronic engineering at IIT Kharagpur. He has attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He worked initially in computer software, later in marketing, before moving to general management. During his Unilever career, he was based in Jeddah as chairman of the Arabian subsidiary; later, he was managing director, Brooke Bond Lipton India and then vice chairman of Hindustan Lever. He has been president of the All India Management Association. Currently, he is executive director, Tata Sons, based in Mumbai. He also serves on the boards of other companies. He is married with three children.
- GenresIndia
256 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2017
12 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
R. Gopalakrishnan
56 books21 followersR. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty years. He has a wealth of practical managerial experience, initially in Unilever and more recently in the Tata Group. He has lived and worked in India, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and has travelled extensively all over the world. He began his career in 1967 as a computer analyst with Hindustan Lever after studying physics at Kolkata and electronics engineering at IIT, Kharagpur. He worked in the marketing function before moving to general management. During his years with Unilever, he was based in Jeddah as CEO of the Arabia unit; later, he was managing director of Brooke Bond Lipton India and then vice-chairman with Hindustan Lever. He has been president of the All India Management Association. Currently, he is the executive director of Tata Sons based in Mumbai. He also serves on the boards of other companies.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 18, 2020
This book explains the life cycle of innovation process - starting from conception of an idea, idea refinement, product development and product obsolescence.
The good part is that it has compared the life of idea to life of a human being which makes reading interesting but examples covered in the book are not very structured and places at random places. Some concepts go out of the flow and structure and one wonders about the fitment of the same in the chapter.
It could be a read if you want to know more about the innovation process in general.
The good part is that it has compared the life of idea to life of a human being which makes reading interesting but examples covered in the book are not very structured and places at random places. Some concepts go out of the flow and structure and one wonders about the fitment of the same in the chapter.
It could be a read if you want to know more about the innovation process in general.
August 17, 2024
The book title is intriguing and make us wonder what does the journey of an innovation looks like.
Gopalakrishnan has defined the journey of an innovation as analogous to the lifespan of a human being. Right in the beginning of the book he explains us the difference between invention and innovation which sounds quite similar to us.
The implantation of an idea is affected by the environment, upbringing, our knowledge and our life experiences. All of these factors affect the quality of the idea. Then the idea is developed and starts developing through imagination like a fetus in the mother's womb. After the birth or you can say a model is built and after that it is turned into a prototype. When the innovation is introduced in the market that is analogous when a person after education jumps into the real world where he or she to survive. The person evolves and make changes so as to survive in the world and so does the innovated new product has to undergo changes according to the customers needs. And finally that innovative idea which was never existing now propagates and go on living itself.
My key takeaways are:
1. Young people bring much needed freshness and agility to a business . Older folks bring experience and wisdom
2. The world generally remembers and applauds the one who is the face of the innovation and made it available for public use.
3. To be inventor, a person has to see what everyone else sees, but think what nobody else thinks - Albert von Szent Gyorgyi (Noble Prize Winner)
4. All successful new ventures resemble one another, but every unsuccessful new venture is unsuccessful for its own special reason
5. Innovation involved commercialization and not just a new idea.
6. Like how success has many fathers, well -known innovations, too, has many fathers. Unlike human beings, for whom paternity can be clearly established through DNA testing, paternity in matters of innovation is complex to establish.
The are many incidents and experiences that are being shared by the author so as give an explanation to his analogies and theories.
Overall a good read.
Gopalakrishnan has defined the journey of an innovation as analogous to the lifespan of a human being. Right in the beginning of the book he explains us the difference between invention and innovation which sounds quite similar to us.
The implantation of an idea is affected by the environment, upbringing, our knowledge and our life experiences. All of these factors affect the quality of the idea. Then the idea is developed and starts developing through imagination like a fetus in the mother's womb. After the birth or you can say a model is built and after that it is turned into a prototype. When the innovation is introduced in the market that is analogous when a person after education jumps into the real world where he or she to survive. The person evolves and make changes so as to survive in the world and so does the innovated new product has to undergo changes according to the customers needs. And finally that innovative idea which was never existing now propagates and go on living itself.
My key takeaways are:
1. Young people bring much needed freshness and agility to a business . Older folks bring experience and wisdom
2. The world generally remembers and applauds the one who is the face of the innovation and made it available for public use.
3. To be inventor, a person has to see what everyone else sees, but think what nobody else thinks - Albert von Szent Gyorgyi (Noble Prize Winner)
4. All successful new ventures resemble one another, but every unsuccessful new venture is unsuccessful for its own special reason
5. Innovation involved commercialization and not just a new idea.
6. Like how success has many fathers, well -known innovations, too, has many fathers. Unlike human beings, for whom paternity can be clearly established through DNA testing, paternity in matters of innovation is complex to establish.
The are many incidents and experiences that are being shared by the author so as give an explanation to his analogies and theories.
Overall a good read.
July 12, 2020
This book tells us about how an idea in our mind finds its way to become an innovation.
The author has compared the life of idea to life of a human being which makes reading interesting but examples covered in the book are not very structured and placed at random places.
Some concepts go out of the flow and one wonders about how things fit in their place.
The author has compared the life of idea to life of a human being which makes reading interesting but examples covered in the book are not very structured and placed at random places.
Some concepts go out of the flow and one wonders about how things fit in their place.
December 10, 2017
The book is rich in Indian anecdotes, making it all the more interesting and knowledgeable but I feel the packaging or the story line connecting the entire learning, some of which are very good for young professionals could have been bettered than Resembeling it with stages of life.
August 29, 2020
There were excellent examples in the book but i felt they were not organized well. Was hard for me to get a flow. Some examples seemed out of place from what was being discussed. However, the research that had gone into the book is commendable.
May 6, 2020
Innovative book.
May 24, 2020
A fine read !!
Liked the set of examples from across the world.
The references from different studies, books and talks were also very helpful.
Liked the set of examples from across the world.
The references from different studies, books and talks were also very helpful.
June 19, 2021
Though the book discusses a lot about innovation with an analogy of a human growth, I found it to be quite prosaic. Can be avoided easily.
January 20, 2022
An interesting perspective to personify innovations.
December 16, 2017
some great case studies and guidelines in here for young professionals
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews