Business Model Generation is the third book in a collection of interrelated works (not all the same authors) of Startup Owners Manual and Value Proposition Design, all focused on innovation, business model design and development, the Business (or Organization) Model Canvas, and Value Proposition Design. This book is a deeper dive into examples of a wide variety of business models and a wide ranging exploration of the various ways these companies innovated their products, services, and business models to continuously pursue excellence but also better serve their customers in the end. I recommend this book for essential reading of entrepreneurs and product developers, but also participants in the startup world, organizational effectiveness consultants and leaders, and Innovation focused professionals.
On Strategy from Harvard Business Review's "10 Must Reads"
This compendium on Strategy from the Harvard Business Review is a classic, must read selection of their top articles on Strategy. Many of these authors have since gone on to publish books built from the core theses’ of their articles. Michael Porter’s “What is Strategy?” is a fundamental explanation of Strategy in a business industry setting, where the power is and where the profit is held. Each author lays out their framework for developing, understanding, analyzing, and implementing strategy in any organization, business, non-profit, or otherwise. If you want a clear and approachable primer to the fundamentals of strategic thinking, look no further than this classic as a launching point.
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
Johnson’s book “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” is a book that started and went in a direction I completely unanticipated. It is highly readable, with numerous references and examples to great minds and thinkers of history, but that brings network science, psychology, sociology, organization design, and much more to develop a deep understanding of how good ideas are discovered, developed, and brought to use in our lives. He has 7 key drivers that bring about Good Ideas and with clear examples, elaborations, and an approachable style he brings a difficult scientific subject and applies it with ease to this much sought after subject of creativity and good ideas. I recommend this book for any creatively minded person, no matter the discipline or interests, for innovative business leaders, for engineers as well as entrepreneurs. It’s on my lists of “fundamentals” to learning, creativity and innovation, and successful structure for life and organizations in an increasingly competitive and changing world.