Chapter 3 - Innovation Begins With An Eye
This is a very enlightening chapter. It could have been renamed "Innovation Begins With An I," meaning it takes personal focus and interest in observing people at work in their environment to have breakthrough observations and ideas. This reminds me of this slogan I see every time I go to my mom's office that says, "Focus on the 'U' in Quality."
I particularly like the section on "Finding Rule Breakers." Observing the shortcuts and "work-arounds" that people use can inspire innovations in design. It was also interesting to read about designs that failed (e.g. toothpaste tubes without screw caps) and thinking of products in terms of verbs rather than nouns when trying to innovate (e.g. cell phoning rather than cell phones).
Chapter 5 - A Cool Company Needs Hot Groups
This chapter focuses on the theme of great projects being acheived by great teams. Great teams are characterized by purpose, passion and personality. It describes the creative process as one of high energy, excitement and pride. Interestingly, there is value attributed to adversity - pressure to meet challenging deadlines - as being a kind of glue that can bind a team together in achieving a common goal while fighting a common enemy.
Answering the question as to what makes a successful team, the qualities of caring, trust and commitment seem to influence the team's outcome. Certain techniques such as brainstorming can foster these qualities through sharing, fun, play, risk-taking, and celebrating differences.
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