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Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America's Greatest Inventor
Michael Gelb, bestselling author of How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, and Sarah Miller Caldicott, translate the genius of Edison into a revolutionary new success system for innovation.
Thomas Edison is the greatest innovator in American history. Edison’s focus on practical accomplishment set the stage for America’s global leadership in innovation. Now, for the first time ever, Innovate Like Edison translates the best practices of this supreme American inventor into contemporary terms to help today’s leaders harness their own innovative potential.
With their unique insight and expertise, Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott introduce a carefully researched, easy-to-apply system of five success secrets inspired by the creative methods of Edison himself. Presented in a step-by-step fashion, Innovate Like Edison provides the tools and strategies you need to compete and win in the business world and in everyday life. Whether you’re an amateur or an executive, Innovate Like Edison is an indispensable tool that will enable you to revamp and revitalize your own creative genius and thrive in today’s culture of innovation.
Thomas Edison is the greatest innovator in American history. Edison’s focus on practical accomplishment set the stage for America’s global leadership in innovation. Now, for the first time ever, Innovate Like Edison translates the best practices of this supreme American inventor into contemporary terms to help today’s leaders harness their own innovative potential.
With their unique insight and expertise, Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott introduce a carefully researched, easy-to-apply system of five success secrets inspired by the creative methods of Edison himself. Presented in a step-by-step fashion, Innovate Like Edison provides the tools and strategies you need to compete and win in the business world and in everyday life. Whether you’re an amateur or an executive, Innovate Like Edison is an indispensable tool that will enable you to revamp and revitalize your own creative genius and thrive in today’s culture of innovation.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published October 25, 2007
30 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
About the author
Michael J. Gelb
38 books173 followersThe world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development, Michael J. Gelb is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, innovative leadership and executive coaching. His clients include DuPont, Emerson, Genentech, KPMG, Merck, Microsoft, Nike and YPO.
Michael is a Senior Fellow at The Center for Humanistic Management and a member of the Leading People and Organizations Advisory Board at the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business. Michael was also awarded a Batten Fellowship in Innovation from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, and he co-directed the acclaimed Leading Innovation Seminar there for more than 10 years. Michael was honored as “Brain of the Year” (1999) by the Brain Trust Charity – other recipients include Steven Hawking, Garry Kasparov and Edward De Bono.
Michael is the author of 17 books including How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Discover Your Genius, Innovate Like Edison, and The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship Building Skills Every Leader Needs Now.
Michael’s books have been translated into 25 languages and have sold more than one million copies. Recent releases include The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business to Help Save the World, co-authored with Prof. Raj Sisodia, and Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: 8 Secrets to Transform Fear and Supercharge Your Career.
FUN FACTS
Author, Speaker, Consultant, Juggler!
A professional juggler who performed with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, Gelb introduced the idea of teaching juggling to promote accelerated learning and team-building. He is the author of The 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggling Your Way to Success.
A passionate wine lover, Gelb is the originator of a unique and enjoyable approach to teambuilding as expressed in Wine Drinking For Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices.
Michael trained as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, (the method taught at The Juilliard School for cultivating commanding stage presence), while completing his Masters degree. His thesis became his first book – Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique.
A fifth degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido, Gelb is co-author with Grandmaster Raymond Keene, of Samurai Chess: Mastering Strategic Thinking Through the Martial Art of the Mind.
Michael is a Senior Fellow at The Center for Humanistic Management and a member of the Leading People and Organizations Advisory Board at the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business. Michael was also awarded a Batten Fellowship in Innovation from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, and he co-directed the acclaimed Leading Innovation Seminar there for more than 10 years. Michael was honored as “Brain of the Year” (1999) by the Brain Trust Charity – other recipients include Steven Hawking, Garry Kasparov and Edward De Bono.
Michael is the author of 17 books including How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Discover Your Genius, Innovate Like Edison, and The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship Building Skills Every Leader Needs Now.
Michael’s books have been translated into 25 languages and have sold more than one million copies. Recent releases include The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business to Help Save the World, co-authored with Prof. Raj Sisodia, and Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: 8 Secrets to Transform Fear and Supercharge Your Career.
FUN FACTS
Author, Speaker, Consultant, Juggler!
A professional juggler who performed with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, Gelb introduced the idea of teaching juggling to promote accelerated learning and team-building. He is the author of The 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggling Your Way to Success.
A passionate wine lover, Gelb is the originator of a unique and enjoyable approach to teambuilding as expressed in Wine Drinking For Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices.
Michael trained as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, (the method taught at The Juilliard School for cultivating commanding stage presence), while completing his Masters degree. His thesis became his first book – Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique.
A fifth degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido, Gelb is co-author with Grandmaster Raymond Keene, of Samurai Chess: Mastering Strategic Thinking Through the Martial Art of the Mind.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 18, 2009
I'll briefly paraphrase Innovate Like Edison here. --- Edison was incredibly brilliant. Here's something Stephen Covey wrote about. Edison wasn't just incredibly brilliant, he was sooooo coooool. Here's a quote from Malcolm Gladwell's latest book. Edison was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! That's from Mary Poppins.
Innovate Like Edison is a sycophantic, superficial history of Edison mixed with cursory highlights from the business and self-help literature. The fawning descriptions of Edison were outright painful to listen to by the end of the book. The added barrage of worthless jargon, e.g. "super-value", brought me close to chucking my mp3 player out the car window many times.
I bump my rating up to two stars, "it was ok", because I did learn a few things from the book and Rick Adamson's reading for the audiobook was very good. But I stop at two stars because when I was done, I wish I had spent those 5 & 1/2 hours on any of the books quoted by Innovate Like Edison rather than on the book itself.
Innovate Like Edison is a sycophantic, superficial history of Edison mixed with cursory highlights from the business and self-help literature. The fawning descriptions of Edison were outright painful to listen to by the end of the book. The added barrage of worthless jargon, e.g. "super-value", brought me close to chucking my mp3 player out the car window many times.
I bump my rating up to two stars, "it was ok", because I did learn a few things from the book and Rick Adamson's reading for the audiobook was very good. But I stop at two stars because when I was done, I wish I had spent those 5 & 1/2 hours on any of the books quoted by Innovate Like Edison rather than on the book itself.
June 14, 2011
If you need a creative boost, this is a good book to read. I loved to read about the way Edison would only invent thing people would buy.
May 31, 2018
No wonder why Edison was so successful. He was not only a great inventor and innovator, but also emphasized networking, marketing, building an innovative environment, and creating value. Although he often was the first to conceive of an idea (as evidenced by his many patents), sometimes, he wasn't always the first, but he was able to brilliantly market and innovate to create value for customers. He believed strongly in persistence and learning from "failures". Gelb outlines many principles to follow in order to imitate Edison's success. The book focused on Edison and might've worshiped Edison a bit much, but, the title makes you expect that.
Good read to get an overview of how Edison created businesses with his inventions. Inventors and tech business people should familiarize themselves with the principles in this book.
Good read to get an overview of how Edison created businesses with his inventions. Inventors and tech business people should familiarize themselves with the principles in this book.
February 23, 2020
Gelb's work definitely contains some valuable "self-help" nuggets that can be applied to general problem-solving. One such nugget involves Edison's use of mind-maps that help individuals physically "chart" strategies for tackling problems. The book focuses on how "failure" is often critical to future success and how optimism can shape results. It also explores some of Edison's well-known mantras (example: make everything as simple as possible -- but no any simpler). In all candor, some of the book was a bit dry and seemed unnecessarily redundant in a few spots -- and I'm a big fan of business books. But overall, I'm glad I took the time to read it.
May 3, 2021
Through my childhood, I learned that Edison was the person who brightened the whole earth with his invention of the light bulb, at that time I was wondering how a person could do this great work and move the whole humanization from darkness to brightness.
I believe in the value of making an effect on human lives as Edison and others did, and I think the book " Innovate Like Edison" is an inspiring beginning in the innovation journey and for everyone who wants to do so. The book contains Edison's five competencies of innovation, it's worth going through.
I believe in the value of making an effect on human lives as Edison and others did, and I think the book " Innovate Like Edison" is an inspiring beginning in the innovation journey and for everyone who wants to do so. The book contains Edison's five competencies of innovation, it's worth going through.
July 10, 2021
كتاب فكر كمبتكر على طريقة أديسون
نظام الخطوات الخمس لتحقيق النجاح المهني البارز.
للكاتب: مايكل غلب وسارة ميلر كالديكوت
يتطرق الكتاب لحياة المخترع الشهير توماس أديسون،
يضع بعض صفاته وطبيعته وطريقة تعامله، ثم يقتبس منها، من أجل استخراج مقومات المبتكر الناجح، الكتاب جيد بشكل عام،
وطال قليلًا، نتطلع لمطالعة كتاب آخر للمؤلفين.
نظام الخطوات الخمس لتحقيق النجاح المهني البارز.
للكاتب: مايكل غلب وسارة ميلر كالديكوت
يتطرق الكتاب لحياة المخترع الشهير توماس أديسون،
يضع بعض صفاته وطبيعته وطريقة تعامله، ثم يقتبس منها، من أجل استخراج مقومات المبتكر الناجح، الكتاب جيد بشكل عام،
وطال قليلًا، نتطلع لمطالعة كتاب آخر للمؤلفين.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2023
Edison was inspiring. The authors’ method based on Edison were just a little too clunky for me. 25 areas are way too many areas to focus on and SMARTEDISON is at least double the amount of steps you need to set a goal.
June 23, 2021
الكتاب جيد فقط، مجرد كتاب اخر من كتب تطوير الذات، ليس كما توقعت منه، ولكن يمكن تصنيفه بانه جيد.
December 8, 2023
Fascinating factual information; however, a single-sided narrative makes it feel like I'm reading a piece of propaganda.
August 10, 2018
This is my assessment of the book Innovate like Edison according to my 6 criteria:
1. Related to practice - 3 stars
2. It prevails important - 3 stars
3. I agree with the read - 4 stars
4. not difficult to read (as for non English native) - 4 stars
5. too long and boring or every sentence is interesting - 3 stars
6. Learning opportunity - 3 stars
Total 3.3 stars.
1. Related to practice - 3 stars
2. It prevails important - 3 stars
3. I agree with the read - 4 stars
4. not difficult to read (as for non English native) - 4 stars
5. too long and boring or every sentence is interesting - 3 stars
6. Learning opportunity - 3 stars
Total 3.3 stars.
August 4, 2011
Michael Gelb’s follow-up to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci could have easily been called, How to Think like Thomas Edison. If you want to learn about how the brain works and how you can apply time-tested principles that lead to innovation, Innovate like Edison is the first book that you should read.
Just as Edison released his inner genius, Gelb and Caldicott’s five principles provide a framework for releasing your own. Through a Solution-Center Mindset, readers discover the power of focusing the mind. Kaleidoscopic Thinking conveys the importance of making connections and identifying patterns between seemingly unrelated items or processes. Full-Spectrum Engagement, perhaps even more important today than in Edison’s time, teaches how to balance multiple priorities both at work and in life. Master Mind Collaboration demonstrates that two brains are better than one and addresses the critical need for teamwork. Super-Value Creation keeps the innovator focused on creating something that satisfies a current or projected needed.
On a personal level, as an author and speaker on the DISC behavioral styles, Gelb and Calidicott helped me to better understand a person with the rare combination of big-picture, out-of-the-box thinking with a detail-oriented, logical and analytical mind. In DISC lingo, I learned that Edison embodies the Interactive-Conscientious (IC) style.
Just as Edison released his inner genius, Gelb and Caldicott’s five principles provide a framework for releasing your own. Through a Solution-Center Mindset, readers discover the power of focusing the mind. Kaleidoscopic Thinking conveys the importance of making connections and identifying patterns between seemingly unrelated items or processes. Full-Spectrum Engagement, perhaps even more important today than in Edison’s time, teaches how to balance multiple priorities both at work and in life. Master Mind Collaboration demonstrates that two brains are better than one and addresses the critical need for teamwork. Super-Value Creation keeps the innovator focused on creating something that satisfies a current or projected needed.
On a personal level, as an author and speaker on the DISC behavioral styles, Gelb and Calidicott helped me to better understand a person with the rare combination of big-picture, out-of-the-box thinking with a detail-oriented, logical and analytical mind. In DISC lingo, I learned that Edison embodies the Interactive-Conscientious (IC) style.
August 31, 2009
I loved how Edison framed his work, balanced work with play, and read everything. This book is really a blueprint for critical . I am trying to incorporate a few changes at a time. I want to embrace keeping a journal-so far I am wildly unsuccessful.
December 1, 2008
Interesting but read too much like a textbook.
August 30, 2013
Great insight into Edison's methods and personality. I am going through the blueprint now.
January 27, 2016
Highly recommended for anyone who aims to be more innovative in his professional or personal life. Many practical tips, useful references for further reading and nice storytelling about Thomas Edison
March 30, 2013
A should-read book on creative frameworks in self development for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
January 7, 2014
"People who are having fun are more efficient, productive, and innovative." That quote sums up a lot of this book...
February 26, 2014
Lots of interesting and inspiring material with a few dry spots. Enjoyed it much and a worthwhile motivational book.
September 1, 2016
Pretty much a knock off of Think Like Leonardo. A few new Ideas.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews