THE HEART OF INNOVATION

Chanoff, Furst, Sabbah, and Wegman offer a new interpretation of innovation—and a more systematic way to approach it—in this nonfiction work.

Innovation is not the same as mere invention, aver the authors; while the latter could be a mere “flash in the pan,” the former always precipitates a substantive and lasting shift in human behavior and will “become embedded in the world outside the innovator’s head.” For this to happen, the innovator must satisfy a profound desire on the part of the prospective user. “Successful innovation also must connect with the deep selves, the motivations, the pride, validation, ambition, et cetera of the people for whom the innovation is intended.” The authors devote this analytically rigorous text to an assessment of this hunger, what they call “authentic demand,” something that’s not reducible to either a rational calculation or a frenzied response to fancy marketing or sweeping trends. Authentic demand arises when the consumer considers the lack of a product to be a problem, “almost as a violation of something important.” This means that consumers will not be able to forgo products that so obviously and seamlessly make sense in their lives. The authors, all of whom have extensive business and academic experience with innovation, describe a “deliberate methodology” for finding that elusive authentic demand, and they provide the means for diagramming various situations to locate it. Some of the ground they cover is a stale rehashing of the business book genre’s shopworn tropes—the discussions of confirmation bias and creating a culture of “radical candor” seem perfunctory and obligatory. Still, the book is both surprisingly original and practically oriented and should be genuinely helpful to anyone looking to clarify what innovation is—and how to harness it.

A thoughtful, concise, and practical guide to commercial innovation.