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Against the Odds: An Autobiography
How did a maverick English inventor manage to design, market and make money from his own invention, toppling market leaders in the process? This inspirational autobiography tells the remarkable story behind James Dyson and his most successful invention to date — the Dual Cyclone. This revolutionary (bagless) vacuum cleaner has taken the market by storm, but not without years of personal struggle and crises for its inventor. Faced with little or no support at every turn, Dyson's extraordinary story shows how his unswerving optimism and self-belief has brought him spectacular success.
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First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
James Dyson
24 books64 followersSir James Dyson is a British industrial designer and founder of his company called Dyson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 2, 2009
dyson is an inventor, designer, engineer, entrepreneur, and iconoclast. he invented the dyson vacuum cleaner (amongst other products). dyson pulls no punches, and his candor is refreshing - there are no sound bites here. i found myself laughing out loud at least once a chapter. if you're into thinking differently about the "proper" way of doing anything (running a company, building a product, etc etc), i'd recommend this book. i wanted to give it 4.5 stars (otis, half stars please :) but gave it 5 because I LOL'ed like a n00b AOLer so often.
my notes:
Dyson:
7: it is only be remaining as close as possible to the pure function of the object that beauty can be achieved.
7: Anyone can become an expert in anything in six months.
7: After the idea, there is plenty of time to learn the technology.
38: the only way to make a genuine breakthrough is to pursue a vision with a single-minded determination in the face of criticism.
39: the mere fact that something had never been done before presented no suggestion that doing it is impossible.
42: in a world of spreadsheets and accountants, advertising and shiny-suited businessmen, we are growing timid, afraid of our potential for creation.
48: Brunel would wake up and say to himsef, "i want to design the first ocean-going vessel with a screw propeller, it'll look great, be hugely efficient, and change the world." he didn't wake up and think "i think i'll try mixing a few more oats in with the horse's feed and see if it makes the cart go faster."
56: the root principle was to do things your way. it didn't matter how other people did it. it didn't matter if it could be done better. the trick is not to keep looking over your shoulder at others, or to worry, even as you begin a project, that it is not going to be the best possible example of its kind. as long as it works, and it is exciting, people will follow you.
126: there is no such thing as a quantum leap. there is only dogged persistence - and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap. ask the japanese.
168: the japanese put no faith in individualists, and live in an anti-brilliance culture. they know full well that quantum leaps are very rare, but that constant development will result, in the end, in a better product.
176: i am constantly amazed at the way businessmen seem quite happy to treat designers, an approach they would never take with, say, accountants or lawyers. they seem to perceive design as some sort of amateur indulgence, a superfluous frippery in which everyone can chuck in their opinions and to hell with the designer.
195: the thing about inventing is that it is a continual and continuous process, and it is fluid. inventions generate further inventions. in fact, that is where most inventions come from. they very rarely come out of nothing.
203: the edisonian principle: keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. you may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. they can only tell you what *has* happened. no research can tell you what is *going* to happen.
253: companies are built, not made.
259: a man in jeans and a t-shirt has nothing to hide behind - and will not feel compelled to hide behind conformity in anything else.
261: people wear a suit because if you look the part, if you look efficient, look sober and reliable, people will assume that you are, and you can get away with being inadequate. show up for a marketing meeting in your underpants, though, and you have to be pretty damned impressive to pull it off. i want people to make their judgements abut me for deeper reasons than what i wrap myself in to keep out the cold.
my notes:
Dyson:
7: it is only be remaining as close as possible to the pure function of the object that beauty can be achieved.
7: Anyone can become an expert in anything in six months.
7: After the idea, there is plenty of time to learn the technology.
38: the only way to make a genuine breakthrough is to pursue a vision with a single-minded determination in the face of criticism.
39: the mere fact that something had never been done before presented no suggestion that doing it is impossible.
42: in a world of spreadsheets and accountants, advertising and shiny-suited businessmen, we are growing timid, afraid of our potential for creation.
48: Brunel would wake up and say to himsef, "i want to design the first ocean-going vessel with a screw propeller, it'll look great, be hugely efficient, and change the world." he didn't wake up and think "i think i'll try mixing a few more oats in with the horse's feed and see if it makes the cart go faster."
56: the root principle was to do things your way. it didn't matter how other people did it. it didn't matter if it could be done better. the trick is not to keep looking over your shoulder at others, or to worry, even as you begin a project, that it is not going to be the best possible example of its kind. as long as it works, and it is exciting, people will follow you.
126: there is no such thing as a quantum leap. there is only dogged persistence - and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap. ask the japanese.
168: the japanese put no faith in individualists, and live in an anti-brilliance culture. they know full well that quantum leaps are very rare, but that constant development will result, in the end, in a better product.
176: i am constantly amazed at the way businessmen seem quite happy to treat designers, an approach they would never take with, say, accountants or lawyers. they seem to perceive design as some sort of amateur indulgence, a superfluous frippery in which everyone can chuck in their opinions and to hell with the designer.
195: the thing about inventing is that it is a continual and continuous process, and it is fluid. inventions generate further inventions. in fact, that is where most inventions come from. they very rarely come out of nothing.
203: the edisonian principle: keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. you may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. they can only tell you what *has* happened. no research can tell you what is *going* to happen.
253: companies are built, not made.
259: a man in jeans and a t-shirt has nothing to hide behind - and will not feel compelled to hide behind conformity in anything else.
261: people wear a suit because if you look the part, if you look efficient, look sober and reliable, people will assume that you are, and you can get away with being inadequate. show up for a marketing meeting in your underpants, though, and you have to be pretty damned impressive to pull it off. i want people to make their judgements abut me for deeper reasons than what i wrap myself in to keep out the cold.
October 20, 2018
"Engineering is a state of mind, or at least a method of working. You can become expert on anything in six months, but steer clear of projects that require too much maths, and stick to empirical things. You can achieve major breakthroughs by a bit of lateral thinking, and this approach will often lead to new inventions being born of each other (just as, for example, the Dual Cyclone came out of the Ballbarrow).
Keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. You may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. They can only tell you what has happened. No research can tell you what is going to happen." (James Dyson, Against the Odds, Page 205)
Interesting book by billionaire inventor James Dyson. Perhaps, you have seen his vacuum cleaners in Walmart or his hand dryers in your local loo (British for Bathroom!). Recently, I see he is getting into hairdryers and fans.
He took design in school, and after graduating, started with a mentor and inventor, who got him to take on a project that was called the sea boat. It was a boat that could drive on dry land and then be put on the water. Apparently, a war vehicle. Dyson designed this sea boat and then kept redesigning it to fit his target market. He not only designed it, but was responsible for getting orders for it.
He got most of his ideas by working around his house and finding products that were not working as efficiently as they could. For example, his first invention, called the Ballbarrow, that was basically, a wheelbarrow, that had a ball in front instead of a wheel, came about when he was pushing his wheelbarrow around his house doing landscaping. It was digging into his lawn and hitting up the side of the house making damages when going into the house with it (don't ask me why he was going into the house with it!). So he created a wheelbarrow with a ball in front of it, that would not dig itself into the dirt and made the housing of a special plastic, so it would not damage things when it hit against things.
His second invention came about the same way, he was vacuuming around his house and became frustrated when he put a new bag on his Hoover vacuum cleaner and an hour or so later the vacuum would lose it suction power. He theorized that it was because the bag pores were being clogged. Hence, came his bag less vacuum cleaner idea and the invention of the cyclone. The cyclone was something he seen on top of a building that sucked all the debris from the building without the use of a bag.
He then goes into his trials and tribulations of trying to sell his idea to the fat cat corporations including Amway, Hoover, Black & Decker...He basically tried them all. There was legal battles too. Getting to almost the end of the book, he found a company in Japan who wanted to take it market. Success financially proceeded from there and he could focus on what he really wanted to do, which was engineering, designing and R & D (Research & Development).
On the second last chapter, he shares the steps to his philosophy of business. He believes that business people should not be the head of manufacturing organizations, but it should be the creative people, the engineers and designers. I have another book by him on my bookshelf that I will read soon called James Dyson's History of Great Inventions. It looks very interesting. This book shows, he is definitely a student of great inventors and their inventions. In his book he mentions Edison and how when he invents something he uses the Edisonian approach, which is basically, inventing something by the trial and error approach, rather than a systematic theoretical approach.
This book will help one tap into the inventor's mind and some sage advice of success and failure in the inventor's world.
Keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. You may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. They can only tell you what has happened. No research can tell you what is going to happen." (James Dyson, Against the Odds, Page 205)
Interesting book by billionaire inventor James Dyson. Perhaps, you have seen his vacuum cleaners in Walmart or his hand dryers in your local loo (British for Bathroom!). Recently, I see he is getting into hairdryers and fans.
He took design in school, and after graduating, started with a mentor and inventor, who got him to take on a project that was called the sea boat. It was a boat that could drive on dry land and then be put on the water. Apparently, a war vehicle. Dyson designed this sea boat and then kept redesigning it to fit his target market. He not only designed it, but was responsible for getting orders for it.
He got most of his ideas by working around his house and finding products that were not working as efficiently as they could. For example, his first invention, called the Ballbarrow, that was basically, a wheelbarrow, that had a ball in front instead of a wheel, came about when he was pushing his wheelbarrow around his house doing landscaping. It was digging into his lawn and hitting up the side of the house making damages when going into the house with it (don't ask me why he was going into the house with it!). So he created a wheelbarrow with a ball in front of it, that would not dig itself into the dirt and made the housing of a special plastic, so it would not damage things when it hit against things.
His second invention came about the same way, he was vacuuming around his house and became frustrated when he put a new bag on his Hoover vacuum cleaner and an hour or so later the vacuum would lose it suction power. He theorized that it was because the bag pores were being clogged. Hence, came his bag less vacuum cleaner idea and the invention of the cyclone. The cyclone was something he seen on top of a building that sucked all the debris from the building without the use of a bag.
He then goes into his trials and tribulations of trying to sell his idea to the fat cat corporations including Amway, Hoover, Black & Decker...He basically tried them all. There was legal battles too. Getting to almost the end of the book, he found a company in Japan who wanted to take it market. Success financially proceeded from there and he could focus on what he really wanted to do, which was engineering, designing and R & D (Research & Development).
On the second last chapter, he shares the steps to his philosophy of business. He believes that business people should not be the head of manufacturing organizations, but it should be the creative people, the engineers and designers. I have another book by him on my bookshelf that I will read soon called James Dyson's History of Great Inventions. It looks very interesting. This book shows, he is definitely a student of great inventors and their inventions. In his book he mentions Edison and how when he invents something he uses the Edisonian approach, which is basically, inventing something by the trial and error approach, rather than a systematic theoretical approach.
This book will help one tap into the inventor's mind and some sage advice of success and failure in the inventor's world.
November 5, 2017
This is a surprisingly great book.
I was entertained all along with dry witty English humor but also inspired and motivated to seek excellence and be wise and never stop trying.
Dyson won me over a long time ago as a kid when I heard him say in his commercials "I just think things should work properly."
In his book he shows you all the circumstances in his life that helped create him and the thinking behind all of his decisions, even as a boy, which helped him achieve greatness.
This is what I think is most valuable--you get a really good tutorial on what your mentality should be like if you want to succeed. It's no wonder he succeeded. It was only a matter of time thanks to his attitude, ability to network, work ethic, and perseverance.
I'm keeping this in my home library and will encourage my kids to read when they're teenagers.
I was entertained all along with dry witty English humor but also inspired and motivated to seek excellence and be wise and never stop trying.
Dyson won me over a long time ago as a kid when I heard him say in his commercials "I just think things should work properly."
In his book he shows you all the circumstances in his life that helped create him and the thinking behind all of his decisions, even as a boy, which helped him achieve greatness.
This is what I think is most valuable--you get a really good tutorial on what your mentality should be like if you want to succeed. It's no wonder he succeeded. It was only a matter of time thanks to his attitude, ability to network, work ethic, and perseverance.
I'm keeping this in my home library and will encourage my kids to read when they're teenagers.
November 30, 2019
Fantastic book about a maverick visionary, designer, innovator & entrepreneur turned (highly) profitable businessman. It’s a doozy at 290 pages - but well worth it, since it provides such a goldmine of content and countless hard-earned lessons from the trenches – all in the name of building a better mousetrap.
This is by far one the best business books I’ve read, right up their with Little Black Stretchy Pants and Shoe Dog – coming straight from the horse’s mouth of a man who built a mega successful company from the ground up over many years – which is in stark contrast to the fad app development Startup unicorns, or overnight YouTube millionaires in the world today. What surprises me most is Dyson’s brutal honesty in his recollection (Phil Knight waited until he retired to lay it all out in the open). I’ve respected the Dyson brand for quite some time - not only for their engineering excellence, but for their brave NASA inspired design aesthetic as well. Many dismissed them as just a passing fad for a niche market, to their own demise.
P.S. the brand has now seemed to have reached household “Apple” name recognition & status, ever since releasing their hair dryer line for women.
This is by far one the best business books I’ve read, right up their with Little Black Stretchy Pants and Shoe Dog – coming straight from the horse’s mouth of a man who built a mega successful company from the ground up over many years – which is in stark contrast to the fad app development Startup unicorns, or overnight YouTube millionaires in the world today. What surprises me most is Dyson’s brutal honesty in his recollection (Phil Knight waited until he retired to lay it all out in the open). I’ve respected the Dyson brand for quite some time - not only for their engineering excellence, but for their brave NASA inspired design aesthetic as well. Many dismissed them as just a passing fad for a niche market, to their own demise.
P.S. the brand has now seemed to have reached household “Apple” name recognition & status, ever since releasing their hair dryer line for women.
January 26, 2022
Such a riveting read! I loved hearing from James Dyson as this cross between a designer, engineer and businessman (more so the first two). The history behind his own upbringing and the founding of the Dyson company (and the Dual Cyclone vacuum model) was also suspenseful read. The man really is in his own words, made of 'doggedness'.
This book made me realise that engineering and design need not be so mutually exclusive. Indeed, design in particular is far more broad than what my narrow view of it was. Then there's Dyson's trial and error 'Edisonian approach' of empirical learning - investigating from a hands on and first principles approach. A person could potentially learn all they needed to of an area of invention by tinkering around themselves rather than first studying heavy theory. This was pretty inspiring.
Dyson is quite critical of British industry throughout the book but I could see many of the criticisms relevant to most of the world. Among them paramount are: of businesses' financial fixation with 'short term-ism' rather than long term incremental advancement, and the problematic cultural enamourment with 'flashes of brilliance' rather than long steady diligent hard work or 'doggedness'. Considering it's been 25 years, I wonder how things have changed in his view.
I wanted to read this primarily to gain inspiration and understanding of entrepreneurship from a product, engineering and mechanical confluence. On this front, the book was outstanding. Definitely recommend to those who are interested in any of these areas. My next read Inshallah will be Mr Dyson's newly published Invention: A Life and I'm hopeful it'd be just as great.
This book made me realise that engineering and design need not be so mutually exclusive. Indeed, design in particular is far more broad than what my narrow view of it was. Then there's Dyson's trial and error 'Edisonian approach' of empirical learning - investigating from a hands on and first principles approach. A person could potentially learn all they needed to of an area of invention by tinkering around themselves rather than first studying heavy theory. This was pretty inspiring.
Dyson is quite critical of British industry throughout the book but I could see many of the criticisms relevant to most of the world. Among them paramount are: of businesses' financial fixation with 'short term-ism' rather than long term incremental advancement, and the problematic cultural enamourment with 'flashes of brilliance' rather than long steady diligent hard work or 'doggedness'. Considering it's been 25 years, I wonder how things have changed in his view.
I wanted to read this primarily to gain inspiration and understanding of entrepreneurship from a product, engineering and mechanical confluence. On this front, the book was outstanding. Definitely recommend to those who are interested in any of these areas. My next read Inshallah will be Mr Dyson's newly published Invention: A Life and I'm hopeful it'd be just as great.
December 13, 2025
the understanding that obsession and dogged determination is vital for success is reserved for the real ones
April 15, 2023
Against the Odds is a remarkable story of adversity and grit. I don’t think I’ve come across a founder’s story that I would characterise as “easy”, but Dyson’s story stands out as uniquely arduous. He was no stranger to tragedy; at the age of nine his father died of cancer, devastating his family – though he believes that this event encouraged him to think and behave differently from his classmates. He was a serial inventor who was serially screwed over by his business partners; prior to the famous vacuum cleaner, he invented a new type of wheelbarrow that sold very well, before his brother-in-law staged a corporate coup to wrest control of the company from him.
At the age of 31, inspired by seeing an industrial cyclone in a sawmill, he had a vision for a different type of vacuum cleaner. Now we get to the ridiculous part: it took him 14 years to get from this flash of insight to a perfect product. 14 years! 5127 prototypes! And even at the end of these 14 years, it’s not like money started flowing in automatically. He had to go out and sell it, which involved further patent litigation and corporate backstabbing. I really struggle to understand the self-belief required to stick at something for 14 years without getting external feedback that what you’re doing is working. 14 years!
There is certainly some amount of righteous bitterness in the book. Because of his bad experiences with business partners, he is a firm believer in maintaining equity control and patent protection. Because of the lack of domestic support during his product development, he is scathingly critical of the British innovation environment. Yet there is also a thoughtful maturity about the sacrifices he made: “I regret that now, in a way. I saw my own son having a whale of a time at college, going out clubbing, drinking, never seeing daylight and doing all his work at the last minute. It is perhaps the only thing that I actually regret not having conformed with”.
An incredible read – Dyson deserves every bit of the success he now enjoys.
My highlights here
At the age of 31, inspired by seeing an industrial cyclone in a sawmill, he had a vision for a different type of vacuum cleaner. Now we get to the ridiculous part: it took him 14 years to get from this flash of insight to a perfect product. 14 years! 5127 prototypes! And even at the end of these 14 years, it’s not like money started flowing in automatically. He had to go out and sell it, which involved further patent litigation and corporate backstabbing. I really struggle to understand the self-belief required to stick at something for 14 years without getting external feedback that what you’re doing is working. 14 years!
“Very few people can be brilliant. Those who are, rarely do anything worthwhile. And they are over-valued. You are just as likely to solve a problem by being unconventional and determined as by being brilliant”.
There is certainly some amount of righteous bitterness in the book. Because of his bad experiences with business partners, he is a firm believer in maintaining equity control and patent protection. Because of the lack of domestic support during his product development, he is scathingly critical of the British innovation environment. Yet there is also a thoughtful maturity about the sacrifices he made: “I regret that now, in a way. I saw my own son having a whale of a time at college, going out clubbing, drinking, never seeing daylight and doing all his work at the last minute. It is perhaps the only thing that I actually regret not having conformed with”.
An incredible read – Dyson deserves every bit of the success he now enjoys.
“there is no such thing as a quantum leap. There is only dogged peristence – and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap”.
My highlights here
September 6, 2023
Glad i came across this book.
March 20, 2017
The undying spirit of bringing his design to fruition for over a decade.
His nuggets of wisdom on business from designer's point of view and his arduous journey.
Highly worth the read!
His nuggets of wisdom on business from designer's point of view and his arduous journey.
Highly worth the read!
September 20, 2023
Persist!
April 6, 2020
This autobiography of the man most famous for his eponymous range of vacuum cleaners was co-written with Giles Coren. Entertaining and breezy the book concentrates on the development of the vacuum cleaner and in particular the difficulties faced not so much in design and engineering but rather the financing and marketing of the product. Although the reader knows how the story ends with the success of both the company and the product Dyson takes us on an interesting journey through the challenges faced in making the company a success.
Indeed the story of the company and the development of the vacuum is less interesting then the frequently aimed asides at various groups, organisations and corporations which Dyson considered stood in the way of his success. Amongst the targets for his criticism are the educational system, Americans, venture capitalists, the British government (under Thatcher) and a few others besides.
Dyson sees himself not as predominantly a business-person but rather as an engineer and a designer. Indeed it is the fact that often art and science are seen as two very distinct and separate areas that causes much of Dyson’s ire. Rather than the system inculcating the recognition that both form and function are important and need to be seen together Dyson complains that the school system rigourously separates arts from science. Even with regard to science course Dyson argues that they completely ignore the practical side of actually making things and instead such courses as woodwork are ‘taught in the sheds round the back for thicko’s’. Dyson claims to be guided by the great engineer/designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and argues that if Britain wanted to retain its status as a centre for creativity and manufacturing excellence then a return to valuing both design and manufacturing is required.
As well as covering the vacuum business the book briefly goes through Dyson’s childhood and some of his earlier inventions (the ballbarrow and a shallow water boat). However it is the tales of working on the ‘double cyclone vacuum’ which takes up the bulk of the book. Dyson’s trials and tribulations in getting investors and other manufacturers to recognise the value of his new technology are entertaining. The story of how British industry totally ignored him, American firms tried only to take advantage of him and how it was left to the Japanese to actually get behind the product and manufacture it in significant numbers has broader implications regarding future competitiveness especially in manufacturing industries. The chapter on working with the Japanese while displaying an undercurrent of racism does acknowledge that their tendency to work towards quality through gradual improvements is a far superior methodology to the Brits who are forever dependent on the lucky quantum leap.
Overall a book more interesting than one might have perhaps expected. The cover blurb suggests that the book would be interesting reading for those entrepreneurs who may be guided and inspired by the tale of how this lone inventor took on the multinationals and succeeded. However, to the non-practitioner it is Dyson’s outspoken comments on the lack of support for designers and manufacturers within modern industry that makes for the most thought-provoking elements of the book.
Indeed the story of the company and the development of the vacuum is less interesting then the frequently aimed asides at various groups, organisations and corporations which Dyson considered stood in the way of his success. Amongst the targets for his criticism are the educational system, Americans, venture capitalists, the British government (under Thatcher) and a few others besides.
Dyson sees himself not as predominantly a business-person but rather as an engineer and a designer. Indeed it is the fact that often art and science are seen as two very distinct and separate areas that causes much of Dyson’s ire. Rather than the system inculcating the recognition that both form and function are important and need to be seen together Dyson complains that the school system rigourously separates arts from science. Even with regard to science course Dyson argues that they completely ignore the practical side of actually making things and instead such courses as woodwork are ‘taught in the sheds round the back for thicko’s’. Dyson claims to be guided by the great engineer/designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and argues that if Britain wanted to retain its status as a centre for creativity and manufacturing excellence then a return to valuing both design and manufacturing is required.
As well as covering the vacuum business the book briefly goes through Dyson’s childhood and some of his earlier inventions (the ballbarrow and a shallow water boat). However it is the tales of working on the ‘double cyclone vacuum’ which takes up the bulk of the book. Dyson’s trials and tribulations in getting investors and other manufacturers to recognise the value of his new technology are entertaining. The story of how British industry totally ignored him, American firms tried only to take advantage of him and how it was left to the Japanese to actually get behind the product and manufacture it in significant numbers has broader implications regarding future competitiveness especially in manufacturing industries. The chapter on working with the Japanese while displaying an undercurrent of racism does acknowledge that their tendency to work towards quality through gradual improvements is a far superior methodology to the Brits who are forever dependent on the lucky quantum leap.
Overall a book more interesting than one might have perhaps expected. The cover blurb suggests that the book would be interesting reading for those entrepreneurs who may be guided and inspired by the tale of how this lone inventor took on the multinationals and succeeded. However, to the non-practitioner it is Dyson’s outspoken comments on the lack of support for designers and manufacturers within modern industry that makes for the most thought-provoking elements of the book.
September 5, 2016
I really enjoyed reading about James Dyson because when I was little I used to love Dyson hoovers. I found some photos of me with a Dyson vacuum cleaner on my 21st Birthday. I used have a toy Dyson and when ever I went round to friends house I saw that they had a Dyson the same one as when I used to have one.
It was very interesting and funny because James used to say no to bags as they did a rubbish job. He picked up an old hoover junior in the late 1970s and got rid of the old bag and put on cardboard box with a hose pipe and then it picked up all the dirt.
After years later he decided to design his own upright Cylinder Vacuum called the Dual Cyclone and it also carried filters so that it stops dust from flowing round the Vacuum Cleaner. He demonstrated how it all worked like saying that the cylinder carried the dirt and you can see it inside. He needed to borrow a lot of grants and loans so he could pay for other things to be done from other companys and to keep the workshop running. The first Dyson that came out he invented it himself and often said "no one has to tell you how it is made". A lot of chapters said that "Cylinder vacuums do a better job than bags"
As well as making the vacuum he had an Italian company building the tools that go onto the hose on the vacuum and another company molded the tools.
The G force Dyson came out in 1987 then the DC01 came out in 1994. James travelled round and marketed dysons in various shops in England like currys and John Lewis. Some shops almost refused to sell Dysons as they said that their other machines did a better job. When vacuums were made they had to be taken seriously and they had to be perfect. They always improved it if a customer is not satisfied with the machine. When later Dysons came out James employed graduated University students to help him build his Dysons in a workshop.
Some vacuum cleaner companys like hoover and electrolux copied his dyson and made a cylinder vacuum and James sued them a lot of money because when the DC04 came out in the late 90s hoover let dust overflow in the air and this caused serious problems and then a court case was taken. The other hoover company got fined a lot of money
Later on when James later model like the DC07 he said that if he made them lighter it would cause more suction. He also invented the DC06 robotic vacuum which was a cylinder he made it do the job by itself run by battery power but unfortunatly it couldn't be sold in shops as it was just too expensive.
As well as James built vacuum cleaners when he was younger he graduated at Royal college of Art in London because he was very good at drawings and he invented yachets. He also invented ballbarrows you use for working on a building site or for gardening. He made billions of pounds a year for selling them around shops and Dysons became popular in Japan, europe, the UK and in America. He also had a workshops in Malmsbury and America.
Later on he made Dyson washing machines and then he invented Dyson hand dryers. I noticed the hand dryer at motorway service stations and thought gosh I know his name. It was really interesting.
It was very interesting and funny because James used to say no to bags as they did a rubbish job. He picked up an old hoover junior in the late 1970s and got rid of the old bag and put on cardboard box with a hose pipe and then it picked up all the dirt.
After years later he decided to design his own upright Cylinder Vacuum called the Dual Cyclone and it also carried filters so that it stops dust from flowing round the Vacuum Cleaner. He demonstrated how it all worked like saying that the cylinder carried the dirt and you can see it inside. He needed to borrow a lot of grants and loans so he could pay for other things to be done from other companys and to keep the workshop running. The first Dyson that came out he invented it himself and often said "no one has to tell you how it is made". A lot of chapters said that "Cylinder vacuums do a better job than bags"
As well as making the vacuum he had an Italian company building the tools that go onto the hose on the vacuum and another company molded the tools.
The G force Dyson came out in 1987 then the DC01 came out in 1994. James travelled round and marketed dysons in various shops in England like currys and John Lewis. Some shops almost refused to sell Dysons as they said that their other machines did a better job. When vacuums were made they had to be taken seriously and they had to be perfect. They always improved it if a customer is not satisfied with the machine. When later Dysons came out James employed graduated University students to help him build his Dysons in a workshop.
Some vacuum cleaner companys like hoover and electrolux copied his dyson and made a cylinder vacuum and James sued them a lot of money because when the DC04 came out in the late 90s hoover let dust overflow in the air and this caused serious problems and then a court case was taken. The other hoover company got fined a lot of money
Later on when James later model like the DC07 he said that if he made them lighter it would cause more suction. He also invented the DC06 robotic vacuum which was a cylinder he made it do the job by itself run by battery power but unfortunatly it couldn't be sold in shops as it was just too expensive.
As well as James built vacuum cleaners when he was younger he graduated at Royal college of Art in London because he was very good at drawings and he invented yachets. He also invented ballbarrows you use for working on a building site or for gardening. He made billions of pounds a year for selling them around shops and Dysons became popular in Japan, europe, the UK and in America. He also had a workshops in Malmsbury and America.
Later on he made Dyson washing machines and then he invented Dyson hand dryers. I noticed the hand dryer at motorway service stations and thought gosh I know his name. It was really interesting.
November 6, 2015
Dyson is an indefatigable champion of design and engineering, a species sadly thin on the ground in UK PLC.
Perhaps the dearth of successful inventors is explained by the titanic struggle necessary to take a patently outstanding product from drawing board to market as in the case of the author, fighting political indifference, unadventurous venture capital and established manufacturers who would consider any dirty trick, legal or otherwise, to sink the competition without trace.
Dyson's ego is huge but it needs to be as a lesser mortal would not have struggled so long to make a success of something they knew would revolutionise a particular market - 14 years in the case of the cyclone vacuum.
Perhaps the dearth of successful inventors is explained by the titanic struggle necessary to take a patently outstanding product from drawing board to market as in the case of the author, fighting political indifference, unadventurous venture capital and established manufacturers who would consider any dirty trick, legal or otherwise, to sink the competition without trace.
Dyson's ego is huge but it needs to be as a lesser mortal would not have struggled so long to make a success of something they knew would revolutionise a particular market - 14 years in the case of the cyclone vacuum.
April 6, 2013
What a brilliant and inspiring book. It shows what a great and hard journey it is to be modern time inventor. You need very clear vision, strong character and a lot of faith in your product - because if you don't have faith no one else will. And if you have a good supporting system in place you just might make it.
December 10, 2025
The best book on business I read this year
Einstein said schools should teach "personalities who benefited mankind through independence of character"
I learned more from this guy's constant struggles and failures than from every self-help or bullshit business book that's designed to take ur money
James Dyson quit his job because he had an idea. No qualifications. No curriculum. He persevered for 20 years building something no one believed in, suffering crippling debt the whole way. And in the end he won. He now has the biggest vacuum cleaner company in the world, selling more than 3B worth of vacuums. When he started, people told him no innovation was possible on vacuums because everything had already been discovered.
The underdog is now the boss. Fucking CRAZY.
This book is not self help bullshit. It's one man's obsessive journey through 5,243 (or something close) iterations of a single product. Most of it is painful to read. This guy put most of his life into a product no one believed in and no one wanted, but he still kept believing in himself and doing it. That's the whole book.
Vision = Stubbornness. That's the core idea. A vision means you never give up on it, doesn't matter the struggle. When people doubted him he saw himself in all his heroes and persevered. The winners are the ones that constantly persevere with their vision, not letting themselves be contaminated by others.
Dyson uses what he calls the Edisonian Approach. Solving problems through massive iteration. Trying and trying and trying until you get it right. Pure empiricism. No regard for experts. Change one variable at a time. Log everything. Equations don't describe real world models well. The only way to truly build something is by doing it in practice.
He learned early that you can master anything in 6 months if you have the energy for it. You don't need degrees. You don't need qualifications. You just need to build.
His mentor James Fry taught him to learn things in the game itself. When Dyson wanted to do something Fry would just tell him to do it by himself. Not to ask experts but to learn and do it himself. That's the best way to learn. Skin in the game.
The eureka moment for the cyclone came from two completely different fields intersecting. He noticed how shitty vacuum cleaners were. Bags would clog, making vacuums last very little even the expensive ones. Then in his factory for another product he saw a cyclone used to remove dust from a steel mill. He connected the dots. Made a replica. Then applied it to vacuums. The first bagless vacuum cleaner ever. Dust collected by physics, not a filter.
This connects with Naval's idea that if you're in the top 10% of two different things you're in the top 0.1%. Great inventions come from innovations in adjacent fields.
The book is also brutal about business people. Dyson thinks business people will be jealous of creators because they can't create. They want money instantly. They don't respect builders. He saw England's innovation dying because marketing got bigger and bigger. People started going more to marketing school than engineering school. Focusing more on making products reach more people than on making products good.
Finance people shouldn't be put at the top because all they want is more beans. They don't care about the product. Every time a finance or sales person got involved in his companies, things went to shit. He learned to never do business with family, always put patents in your own name, and maintain total control.
He also learned the hard way about the "atomic leap" mentality. In England there was a belief that something had to make instant money upfront. This killed innovation. In contrast, Japan had an iterative culture. They didn't care about starting bad. They would iterate again and again until they got better. They didn't expect instant results. The iterative approach means you start worse but because you constantly iterate you can get better and better.
The best product is the simplest one to do the desired work. Beauty is achieved by remaining as close as possible to the pure function of the object. Dyson barely spent money on marketing. He won because he had the best product.
Who should read this: Builders. People who have an idea no one believes in. People who hate the business and marketing jargon and just want to make something truly great. If you believe the best way to succeed is to make the best product, not to market a mediocre one, this book will fuel you.
Dyson is truly an underdog. Being doubted by everyone for years and years. And now the queen visits his factory. That's the story.
Einstein said schools should teach "personalities who benefited mankind through independence of character"
I learned more from this guy's constant struggles and failures than from every self-help or bullshit business book that's designed to take ur money
James Dyson quit his job because he had an idea. No qualifications. No curriculum. He persevered for 20 years building something no one believed in, suffering crippling debt the whole way. And in the end he won. He now has the biggest vacuum cleaner company in the world, selling more than 3B worth of vacuums. When he started, people told him no innovation was possible on vacuums because everything had already been discovered.
The underdog is now the boss. Fucking CRAZY.
This book is not self help bullshit. It's one man's obsessive journey through 5,243 (or something close) iterations of a single product. Most of it is painful to read. This guy put most of his life into a product no one believed in and no one wanted, but he still kept believing in himself and doing it. That's the whole book.
Vision = Stubbornness. That's the core idea. A vision means you never give up on it, doesn't matter the struggle. When people doubted him he saw himself in all his heroes and persevered. The winners are the ones that constantly persevere with their vision, not letting themselves be contaminated by others.
Dyson uses what he calls the Edisonian Approach. Solving problems through massive iteration. Trying and trying and trying until you get it right. Pure empiricism. No regard for experts. Change one variable at a time. Log everything. Equations don't describe real world models well. The only way to truly build something is by doing it in practice.
He learned early that you can master anything in 6 months if you have the energy for it. You don't need degrees. You don't need qualifications. You just need to build.
His mentor James Fry taught him to learn things in the game itself. When Dyson wanted to do something Fry would just tell him to do it by himself. Not to ask experts but to learn and do it himself. That's the best way to learn. Skin in the game.
The eureka moment for the cyclone came from two completely different fields intersecting. He noticed how shitty vacuum cleaners were. Bags would clog, making vacuums last very little even the expensive ones. Then in his factory for another product he saw a cyclone used to remove dust from a steel mill. He connected the dots. Made a replica. Then applied it to vacuums. The first bagless vacuum cleaner ever. Dust collected by physics, not a filter.
This connects with Naval's idea that if you're in the top 10% of two different things you're in the top 0.1%. Great inventions come from innovations in adjacent fields.
The book is also brutal about business people. Dyson thinks business people will be jealous of creators because they can't create. They want money instantly. They don't respect builders. He saw England's innovation dying because marketing got bigger and bigger. People started going more to marketing school than engineering school. Focusing more on making products reach more people than on making products good.
Finance people shouldn't be put at the top because all they want is more beans. They don't care about the product. Every time a finance or sales person got involved in his companies, things went to shit. He learned to never do business with family, always put patents in your own name, and maintain total control.
He also learned the hard way about the "atomic leap" mentality. In England there was a belief that something had to make instant money upfront. This killed innovation. In contrast, Japan had an iterative culture. They didn't care about starting bad. They would iterate again and again until they got better. They didn't expect instant results. The iterative approach means you start worse but because you constantly iterate you can get better and better.
The best product is the simplest one to do the desired work. Beauty is achieved by remaining as close as possible to the pure function of the object. Dyson barely spent money on marketing. He won because he had the best product.
Who should read this: Builders. People who have an idea no one believes in. People who hate the business and marketing jargon and just want to make something truly great. If you believe the best way to succeed is to make the best product, not to market a mediocre one, this book will fuel you.
Dyson is truly an underdog. Being doubted by everyone for years and years. And now the queen visits his factory. That's the story.
November 27, 2023
Really interesting guy, legendary inventor, and a case study in perseverance. It was amazing to me how much perseverance was required, not just the design and development of the vacuum but on the business side of trying to find manufacturers that would work with him, companies that would give him a license, or just people to take him seriously in the first place. (I did think it was a bit surprising how many lawsuits he ended up getting entangled into.).
On the first read-through I didn’t really understand how the cyclone worked and I needed to look up an internet diagram (and I still don’t understand why there is a need for two of them). I feel like that might have been better explained using diagrams. I think I was hoping for a bit more on that which is really the most interesting part of the story, how the thing works.
There was a lot made out of the fact that he made 5k+ prototypes before landing on the final design, but I wasn’t really clear why that was necessary, and what the major steps along the journey were there. Perhaps it was there and I just missed it.
One last bit, it really struck me how many of his ideas about business are “Silicon Valley”-esque, but obviously before the likes of Google/Facebook/etc… no suits, cafeteria, bus transportation, hiring fresh college grads, etc….
Overall, a good read and example of the experimental / iterative approach to innovation. Two quotes that represent this idea:
"In Britain we have labored for years under the tyranny of expectation of a certain kind of excellence. For years, all that mattered was that you were top of the class, that you went to Oxford or Cambridge and got a first, that you were a genius… We put our faith in the dreams of one brilliant idea that might put us back on top of the pile…. My initial idea back in 1979 may have looked like a major jump, but by 1986 when the G-Force was launched, seven years had passed. And five more were to pass before I produced anything of my own. It was all about gradual and iterative development.”
"Engineering is a state of mind, or at least a method of working. You can become expert on anything in six months, but steer clear of projects that require too much maths, and stick to empirical things.
You can achieve major breakthroughs by a bit of lateral thinking, and this approach will often lead to new inventions being born of each other (just as, for example, the Dual Cyclone came out of the Ballbarrow). Keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. You may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. They can only tell you what has happened. No research can tell you what is going to happen."
On the first read-through I didn’t really understand how the cyclone worked and I needed to look up an internet diagram (and I still don’t understand why there is a need for two of them). I feel like that might have been better explained using diagrams. I think I was hoping for a bit more on that which is really the most interesting part of the story, how the thing works.
There was a lot made out of the fact that he made 5k+ prototypes before landing on the final design, but I wasn’t really clear why that was necessary, and what the major steps along the journey were there. Perhaps it was there and I just missed it.
One last bit, it really struck me how many of his ideas about business are “Silicon Valley”-esque, but obviously before the likes of Google/Facebook/etc… no suits, cafeteria, bus transportation, hiring fresh college grads, etc….
Overall, a good read and example of the experimental / iterative approach to innovation. Two quotes that represent this idea:
"In Britain we have labored for years under the tyranny of expectation of a certain kind of excellence. For years, all that mattered was that you were top of the class, that you went to Oxford or Cambridge and got a first, that you were a genius… We put our faith in the dreams of one brilliant idea that might put us back on top of the pile…. My initial idea back in 1979 may have looked like a major jump, but by 1986 when the G-Force was launched, seven years had passed. And five more were to pass before I produced anything of my own. It was all about gradual and iterative development.”
"Engineering is a state of mind, or at least a method of working. You can become expert on anything in six months, but steer clear of projects that require too much maths, and stick to empirical things.
You can achieve major breakthroughs by a bit of lateral thinking, and this approach will often lead to new inventions being born of each other (just as, for example, the Dual Cyclone came out of the Ballbarrow). Keep testing and retesting and believe only the evidence of your own eyes, not of formulae or of other people's opinions. You may have to fly in the face of public opinion, and market research. They can only tell you what has happened. No research can tell you what is going to happen."
June 17, 2020
Why did I pick this book?
I'm an Industrial Product Designer, so for me it's very interesting to get a peak into the mind of a fellow designer and a acclaimed one at that. This book was furthermore recommended by Jude Pullen, an interesting Designer with a great YouTube channel to boot.
The book/story
This is an autobiography by James Dyson, inventor of -amongst others- the bagless vaccuum cleaner. Describing his childhood in England, to his studies at the RCA and his many, many adventures designing, producing and selling his different inventions up to the DC-02 (and a hint at DC-03, 04 and 05).
My recommendation
I really enjoyed this book. Dyson has an interesting tone of voice in writing, intermixed with lovely english vocabulary. I found his way of describing his design life less pompous and more down to earth than Adrian Newey (How to Build a Car).
At times I found Dyson a bit grumpy, multiple times he starts complaining multiple pages about the state of manufacturing in England -which is at times outdated and not interesting for readers that are not from England.
Other than that I really enjoyed this book and am interested to read more about Dyson's following projects/products and/or the way of designing of the Dyson company.
I'm an Industrial Product Designer, so for me it's very interesting to get a peak into the mind of a fellow designer and a acclaimed one at that. This book was furthermore recommended by Jude Pullen, an interesting Designer with a great YouTube channel to boot.
The book/story
This is an autobiography by James Dyson, inventor of -amongst others- the bagless vaccuum cleaner. Describing his childhood in England, to his studies at the RCA and his many, many adventures designing, producing and selling his different inventions up to the DC-02 (and a hint at DC-03, 04 and 05).
My recommendation
I really enjoyed this book. Dyson has an interesting tone of voice in writing, intermixed with lovely english vocabulary. I found his way of describing his design life less pompous and more down to earth than Adrian Newey (How to Build a Car).
At times I found Dyson a bit grumpy, multiple times he starts complaining multiple pages about the state of manufacturing in England -which is at times outdated and not interesting for readers that are not from England.
Other than that I really enjoyed this book and am interested to read more about Dyson's following projects/products and/or the way of designing of the Dyson company.
October 19, 2019
Overall a fantastic read, James clearly fought tooth and nail to get Dyson off the ground. Throughout the book I kept thinking when will this man get a break.
There is chapter after chapter of Dyson getting thrown obstacles left, right, center & sideways. From getting “shafted” by Amway when they essentially stole his ideas to his Japanese partner ripping him off, or getting turned away by the big fish of the time including Hoover, Electrolux, etc.
James’ relentless perseverance when faced with a challenge is quite incredible, he has a few I told you so moments in the book but who wouldn’t after what he went through.
-0.5 star I had to remove half a star for misspelling Dieter Rams, I’m sure James would be a little annoyed if Dieter misspelled Dyson.
-0.5 star Although James was giving an honest recount of his times spent in Japan, I couldn’t help but cringe at how he described some of his experiences there, not sure he would get away with some of his comments in 2019
There is chapter after chapter of Dyson getting thrown obstacles left, right, center & sideways. From getting “shafted” by Amway when they essentially stole his ideas to his Japanese partner ripping him off, or getting turned away by the big fish of the time including Hoover, Electrolux, etc.
James’ relentless perseverance when faced with a challenge is quite incredible, he has a few I told you so moments in the book but who wouldn’t after what he went through.
-0.5 star I had to remove half a star for misspelling Dieter Rams, I’m sure James would be a little annoyed if Dieter misspelled Dyson.
-0.5 star Although James was giving an honest recount of his times spent in Japan, I couldn’t help but cringe at how he described some of his experiences there, not sure he would get away with some of his comments in 2019
February 10, 2025
Fantastic book this. James Dyson is not only a great inventor and designer, but a great writer as well. Inspiring story and many great points throughout. Very British, but certainly not in the way Dyson criticises British industry in this book. He leaves us with a message of overwhelming optimism that I see now coming to fruition in the current technological revolution unfolding before us. I also ponder what Dyson must think of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, and what they managed to achieve at Apple. That’ll be next on the biography list.
November 20, 2017
I'd always been curious about Dyson and feel like I learned a decent amount of the company's history and the founder's journey. James Dyson was a tenacious founder who designed, built and marketed his own invention(s), a rarity these days. That said, this edition is quite outdated making some of his personal commentary irrelevant. I also thought Dyson's hubristic writing style detracted from the book's potential.
May 30, 2020
I don't give many books 5 stars, but this was a real pleasure to read. James Dyson is a man we should all look up to and respect. He is not full of himself, but proud of what he has created. The book is amusing, entertaining and educational. His views are common sense really, but governments and large corporations are blinkered, and short termists. It's just a shame that it hasn't been updated more recently.
March 5, 2021
Interested in designing product so thought this would be a good place to start.
Part biography, part vacuum bible part rant, I’m glad I read it but it’s rather dry and whilst you can’t not admire Dyson’s achievement he doesn’t come across as a particularly sympathetic hero.
Biggest takeaway for me - a 15 year grind from conception to production - Dyson put everything on the line for the long term payoff.
Part biography, part vacuum bible part rant, I’m glad I read it but it’s rather dry and whilst you can’t not admire Dyson’s achievement he doesn’t come across as a particularly sympathetic hero.
Biggest takeaway for me - a 15 year grind from conception to production - Dyson put everything on the line for the long term payoff.
February 5, 2022
The edition I read had a copyright of 1997 therefore 25 ish years old. While the story of inventing the Dyson vacuum and the challenges of manufacturing, marketing, etc was interesting and informative much of the side banter was dated and difficult to read. Not only due to the age but also much of the focus of the latter part of book was the problems with British industry and tax codes.
Certainly many nuggets of good stuff but a bit challenging to read.
Certainly many nuggets of good stuff but a bit challenging to read.
April 8, 2020
An absolute reference on entrepreneurship and obstination, unfortunately currently totally unavailable on Amazon. I had so much fun reading his life story, from childhood to building boats used by the Egyptian army, to running around the world trying to sell vacuums and getting screwed by Japanese, Americans and everyone else... until he made it big 15 years later. Obstination.
August 2, 2020
Fantastic story every budding entrepreneur should read. An indictment of conventional business approaches and the play it safers retarding job growth. Plus what a real life story to quiet the socialists and so-called progressives who’ve never created anything and never had to make a payroll! Thank you ant Dyson!!
October 3, 2025
The debt from working on his invention….pitching to companies and finding a deal good enough to fund his expenses, and let’s not forget the amount of time running through this whole process over legal matters. The title of this book is definitely well suited for everything James Dyson had gone through
December 12, 2025
Dyson is incredibly inspiring, and this is an entertaining and insightful recounting of his entrepreneurial journey through the mid 1990s. The odds really were against, and for a long time.
The book has a ton of character and magnetism. Unfortunately, like with Shoe Dog (Phil Knight), it is unclear how much is written in Dyson's voice vs. that of his hired writer. Oh well. It's a great book.
The book has a ton of character and magnetism. Unfortunately, like with Shoe Dog (Phil Knight), it is unclear how much is written in Dyson's voice vs. that of his hired writer. Oh well. It's a great book.
abandoned
August 7, 2019Abandoned because in the time this book has been sitting on my bookshelves waiting to be read, and then on my Goodreads shelf, James Dyson has revealed himself as not an individual I want to spend any time thinking about.
Currently reading
October 3, 2019I really like this book as it Shows the life of innovater who struggles to make it big while going into bankruptcy and all of a suddenly becomes a billionaire with ingenius idea and design . My favourite character would, course be James Dyson as this an autobiography all about him.
April 24, 2024
Dyson’s story is incredible. I’m a huge fan of his philosophies and the business he has built. I’m not as much of a fan of his writing. His story is so interesting that I was surprised that I struggled to get through this book. It’s not bad, it’s just written like an engineer
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