As part of my #CreativeCoaching with Carlos Whittaker, we’ve been tasked with a book called The Myths Of Innovation by Scott Berkun. I’d never read any of the author’s work before this work but immediately I connected with the writing style, stories, and conversational approach to each chapter. 

After a little while the text seems to repeat some of the same basic truths about innovation over and over again. They are good things to remember when innovating. 

• No one innovates alone. There are always outside influences. Others have done what you are trying to do in a different way.
   
• Nothing is original, it’s normally a pull off of someone else’s innovation, that is a pull of someone else’s and so on. 
   
• Innovation requires creativity. You must think outside of the box. 
  
  
• While innovation requires creativity it also has to hit it’s target market. This happens when you determine the problem to solve or the “felt need”.  
  
  
• The problem is normally right in front of you. If you have to dig deep to find the problem to solve, it may not appear like a problem to those you’re trying to solve it for. 
  
  
• True innovation rarely comes in the form of “Ah ha!” moments but rather comes from a long process of study, trial, and error. This means if you’re not working on something daily (putting in the hard work) don’t expect something to fall in your lap. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It looks at creativity and innovation from a very practical perspective. Berkun gives great examples from history and strong challenges for tomorrow.