books:

	Weird Ideas That Work: 11 1/2 Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation Robert I. Sutton Free Press, 2001 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Stanford professor Robert Sutton is an authority on innovation and a popular speaker. In Weird Ideas That Work he draws on extensive research in behavioral psychology to explain how innovation can be fostered in hiring, managing, and motivating people; building teams; making decisions; and interacting with outsiders. Business practices like "hire people who make you uncomfortable," "reward success and failure, but punish inaction," and "decide to do something that will probably fail, and then convince yourself and everyone else that success is certain" strike many managers as strange or even downright wrong. Yet Weird Ideas That Work shows how some of the best teams and companies use these and other counterintuitive practices to crank out new ideas, and it demonstrates that every company can reap sales and profits from such creativity.

Weird Ideas That Work is filled with examples of each of Sutton's 11 1/2 practices, drawn from hi- and low-tech industries, manufacturing and services, information and products. More than just a set of bizarre suggestions, it represents a breakthrough in management thinking: Sutton shows that the practices we need to sustain performance are in constant tension with those that foster new ideas. The trick is to choose the right balance between conventional and "weird" -- and now, thanks to Robert Sutton's work, we have the tools we need to do so.

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Productive New Concepts

This is a wonderful but dangerous book. The 11 and 1/2 weird ideas it contains are terrific, exciting and slippery. Use them right and you could transform your company into a hotbed of innovation. Use them wrong and you could also transform your company into a disorganized mess. Author Robert I. Sutton clearly explains that some situations do not require innovation - that they are, in fact, terrible settings for new things. Companies focus on the routine for an extremely logical reason: it makes money now. Identifying situations that can make money with routine work versus circumstances that require change is a tough distinction, particularly since innovation requires many failures, disrupts your culture and forces you to take a rough look into the future. We thus recommend this book to a select group: those who know their fields and organizations extremely well. If you can see clearly through both the current jargon that promotes innovation and your organization's often unspoken prejudices, you will find this book exciting and extremely productive.

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Weird and Wonderful

"Weird Ideas That Work" works! This is one of the most compelling books I've read in a long time. Sutton manages not only to come up with ideas that seem weird at first glance, but to actually prove them useful and logical at the same time.

The author instructs readers on how to build a creative company by using his 11½ weird ideas, which range from hiring people who make you uncomfortable to deciding to do something that will probably fail. The list looks hilarious until you read the sense that he makes. Of course, Sutton points out that there are different kinds of companies - some aim for innovation and some for efficiency. (He makes it clear that the weird ideas are not for those who require precision -- like airline pilots, for example!)

This book explains how to shatter old habits by giving advice on enhancing variation, seeing old things in new ways ("vu-ja-de"), and breaking away from stifling routines. Sutton also points out that one should not go hog wild - there is a balance between productivity and creativity which everyone must find for themselves.

"Weird Ideas" offers great wisdom mixed with humor and pure entertainment. If you're a rebel, a brat, or just plain anyone who wants to try completely new management techniques, then you'll love this book. So whip the tablecloth right out from under that crippled, jaded system you've got going and try at least a few of these wild weird ideas.

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Routine right and wrong

All activities need both effective routine and regular innovation. Consider the difference. There are times when it makes sense to do the same thing right, over and over again, without slipping. But there are also times, and types of activities, where doing something in a very new and different way is essential. The real-life examples in this book support these 11½ methods for finding new ways of doing things, and producing new kinds of products and services. Worthwhile reading for anyone who wants to inject a little spice into the routine of software development and delivery.

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Not so weird ideas for innovation labeled weirdly

This book is a useful and fun read. It offers some solid ideas for innovation but the ideas are labeled in order to draw attention. For instance, the first idea is, "Hire "slow learners"", however the intention behind this is just hire stubborn people who are unaffected by others opinions and norms. These people will go against the standards and breed creativity. Another idea is "Find some happy people and make them fight" with the basic idea behind this technique being get optimistic people, who are naturally more creative. Put them in a room together and let them bounce ideas together until a new and improved idea is created.

Another thing to be prepared for with this book is that the ideas all go against commonly accepted business practices. That is because the ideas are admittedly not for present success but calculated and proven risks for future innovation. So anyone interested in changing their business and preparing to get an edge on competitors in the future will benefit from this book.

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Agitate, Isolate & Be Ridiculous... Oh, and AGITATE

I was a big fan of Sutton's Knowing-Doing gap that offered a real solution to a real problem. This book had an unreal feel to it for me though.

He offers 12 practices for fostering innovation. The first four of these have to do with Human Resources. Hire slow learners. Hire people that make you feel uncomfortable. Hire people you probably don't need. Now forgive me if I am wrong, but as imperfect as Human Resources is anyway, don't we already do some of that? Also recommended is to interview job applicants to get new ideas. What about the people?

The next two have to do with office manners. Encourage people to ignore and defy superiors. Isn't ignore a little strong? Find some happy people and get them to fight. No comment.

The next is to reward success and failure, but punish inaction. OK, we already fire non-producers, but is it really so that success and failure deserve the same billing?

The next two are on the edge of silliness. Decide to do something that will probably fail and be 100% certain of its success. Think of some ridiculous or impractical things to do.

The next is avoid, distract and bore customers and critics.

Then, don't try to learn anything from people who say they have solved the problems you face.

Finally, forget the past success of the company.

This book says some pretty wild things that will get you thinking. Although these counterintuitive ideas are offered as 'proven', you won't find the proof in this book. By the normal lottery of hiring, you will certainly get a mix of the above. There are many better books on the philosophy and practical application of innovation available.

Sorry to disappoint some with this review, but don't let this stop you from reading Sutton's Knowing-Doing Gap which I found excellent and have also reviewed it here on Amazon.

3 Stars

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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