The Ten Faces of Innovation

A good read with valuable insights. While the principles hold up, many of the examples are very dated, which could make it difficult to comprehend. In general, I think the book could have been half the size and been just as helpful.

IDEO, of course, is very well known for its consulting on all types of innovation, mostly within corporations. This book provides insights into the IDEO methodology in the form of descriptions of 10 working styles that contribute to innovation. The descriptions are well done, and many examples are included that bring the descriptions to life. I recommend the book to anyone looking to improve innovation in large organizations (those with more traditional management patterns). The only thing that is somewhat lacking for the typical manager is a more comprehensive description of the organizational culture and management systems that are necessary for these working styles to be effective. Yes, they can have some impact in any organization. However, organizations must create a climate that supports their practice in order to reap the true value. The author implies this, but really does not discuss it. That limitation does not detract from the value of the book as long as one understands that, while the people are the primary driver of innovation, they will not be very effective (and may not even stay) unless the environment in which they work supports innovation (e.g., a company organizes around real people not an idealized model of a corporate citizen.)

Tom Kelley has produced a wonderful guide to fostering innovation and overcoming naysayers in "The Ten Faces of Innovation." Kelley balances ideas and theories evenly with results-oriented thinking in a manner that should appeal to a wide range of readers.If you are searching for a book that covers both the day-to-day realities and the concepts underlying innovation, look no further -- and read this book. Rarely does a book address such a big and amorphous topic as "innovation" in such a precise and actionable manner.Using a wide array of real-world and relevant case studies, Kelley offers a framework for both fostering innovation and addressing devil's advocates. The writing is crisp, engaging, and clear.I particularly appreciated Kelley's ever-present thought stimulating questions at the end of each section of the book. Not only did these questions help generate thoughts, but Kelley puts his own ideas into practice -- the questions provide tangible examples of how to "think" about innovation and innovating.I highly recommend this book.

I loved this book when I read it. It shows you the innovation process through different roles that people can assume. This allows you to understand that innovation does require group of people working cooperatively.

Tom Kelley really does a great job in writing this follow-up to 'The Art of Innovation'. This book goes into a good amount of detail as to the different necessary personae needed to efficiently design a product/service. The stories in this book are great and allow you to understand what Tom is trying to convey. Of course I disagree with some of his sentence structure, but that's just how he writes and being one of the top design firms in the world (IDEO), I figure I can be understanding. Hopefully this book does for you what it has for me.Don't feel obligated to read 'The Art of Innovation' before this book, though it will make for a slightly smoother ride when reading. No biggie here...If you do not find this review helpful, please comment as to why. Thank you!

So I pay attention to what people are reading on tread mills and on public transportation. This is book that I saw people reading in first class on airplanes....Kelley is up front about his purpose, "This is a book about people", specifically, "the roles people can play, the hats they can put on, the personas they can adopt" (p. 7). Using the notion of persona, Kelley puts forth 10 innovation personas. His starting point is to point out the ill effect the "Devil's Advocate" can have on innovation by drawing the conversation towards negativity and nay-saying. Kelley asserted, "By developing some of these innovation personas, you'll have a chance to put the Devil's Advocate in his place" (p. 7). Kelley organizes his personas into three categories (pp. 09-11):The Learning Personas - The Anthropologist, The Experimenter, The Cross-PollinatorThe Organizing Personas - The Hurdler, The Collaborator, The DirectorThe Building Personas - The Experience Architect, The Set Designer, The Caregiver, The StorytellerKelley is quick to note that the personas are NOT personality types, instead they are important roles that can be adopted by team members (p. 13). He goes on to say the "innovation roles give you a chance to broaden your creative range" (p. 13).This book enhanced my reflection of prior experiences with team formation and gave me a new toolkit from which to consider team member strengths and the overall team makeup appropriate for a given project's objectives. It also gave me new lens from which to consider scenarios. For example, How might a hurdler look at this situation? How might a set designer? How might an anthropologist? etc. By imagining the differing roles and trying to see the world as an innovation personal might see them, I'm asking new questions and considering things I might not have considered before. A wonderful book!

This was a pretty good book about ten different roles people play in doing creative work. The ten roles made sense to me and I have lately found myself thinking things like 'oh yeah this guy is a total hurdler...'Beyond this however I have a hard time figuring out how to use this book to make myself or my team better at creative work. It felt this was mainly because the author stayed on the surface of describing 'what' the roles were and 'how' they did their job, rather then talking about things like 'if you are having this problem in your work, you need to find someone to champion the anthropologist role'.

Really liked this book. Interesting and insightful. Similar to Belbin’s teamwork styles in some ways. Definitely helped me to see how I can more fluidly move between different innovation faces/personas and how to appreciate different types of contributors from a team

If you're responsible for team management, or the management of highly charged creative people, this is a must for you. It's full of practical examples of eminent good sense and is a fountain of wit and wisdom when you're trying to marshall your forces, or balance your team's strengths and behaviours. As a team leader, I find it indispensable. It's about simple things persistently done well and reading the signs that can make things work better, or succeed with more certainty and more clarity.

Although I like the book, there's some printing aspects that make it terrible. Could you have a smaller font? Why do you have massive blocks of highlights in the text "a la newspaper". Is this for people skimming the book? Doesn't make sense.

Excellent read

Very clever and thought provoking.