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Title: Inventing Small Products: For Big Profits, Quickly (Crisp Management Library Series) by Stanley I. Mason, Bill Christopher ISBN: 1-56052-436-7 Publisher: Crisp Pubns Pub. Date: September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.44 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Lots of practical advice from someone who's done it
Comment: I agree with much of what the other reviews have said so far: on the plusses and minuses.
But watch out, it contains some real important advice not found in other books. This was particularly true in the area of finding the areas and products that need to be improved first, not inventing for your own ego and the creative process he uses for inventing.
The author teaches entrepreneurship and has a company that invents new products. He's been at it for quite some time and has a string of successes. So, he's qualified to speak.
His book is organized in thirds. First, there is the overall introduction and summary of his process. This was excellent. Then he goes through a series of his inventions and uses them to illustrate the various ways that products can be invented. This was great too, but a fair number, maybe a third, of the examples didn't seem to prove a point. Also, this is where other reviewers fell out of interest with the book and claimed the author was tooting his horn. I didn't get that feeling, but did feel that some of the stories didn't add value to the book.
Third, there is some really great information on creativity that he summarized from his classes and there is some great biases of his that he presents as practical advice. The creativity information was a little cryptic. But if you have read other invention books, the information really came to life.
For example, here's a partial quote that I underlined:
"In creative problem solving, begin by assessing the problem before labeling it. Use a system - a series of proven steps. Here's a five-step system: 1) Assess the situation. Ask questions. Ask them endlessly. Answers will sugest new questions. Be intelligently ignorant. Gather facts relentlessly. But consider 'facts' opinions, until rigorously tested. Search for the key factor. In almost every situation one particular fact will turn out to be more important than any other... 2)," etc.
Notice that he lays out 5 steps for you to follow; I only quoted one of them. These are not the only five. He has lots of steps, some of them on the same subject... but following different paths. Also notice that some of the information appear as platitudes ("Be intelligently ignorant."), but these often summarize previously material in the book. And finally, considering facts to be opinions is an important point that I did not properly recognize.
On this he also said: "What 'everybody knows to be true' probably isn't." This led me to ponder that maybe I should search for what is falsely held to be true about a product area, and try to develop products/services resulting from it. As an example, Compaq falsely held that selling through retail stores was better than selling direct through the phone and internet. Dell proved them wrong. At Compaq this was an opinion parading as a fact and it was sitting there for over 2 years, waiting for someone to exploit it.
As a Connecticutt Yankee inventor, the author is parsimonious with his words. He has taken a vacuum sweeper to his writings taking out all extraneous words and sentences. I found this format to be quite acceptable. But this small book (93 pages) should be used as an important adjunct to another more complete book.
But his strategy is probably better than most and so is more valuable than a lot of detailed wrong-headed, or theoretical, books. You get enough information to go and do it. His plan is not a repetition of others. He has a unique approach to it.
The author is a practical inventor in that he works from lots of drawings, builds lots of prototypes, and most importantly, he focuses only on products that people want and that companies want (or currently do) manufacture. You will get a step by step plan on how to work backwards from the market. I think this is most important.
One negative: there is a little bit of repetition in this small book, and this detracted a little.
But overall, this book is packed with useable, practical, important and valuable information. My book is heavily underlined. This small book makes a great book to take on a 2 hour airplane trip. Then you should implement his suggestions and review the book periodically.
Highly recommended.
John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX
Rating: 3
Summary: A good place to start.
Comment: For those who are considering inventing for a living, this is a nice book to have. It is also useful for individuals in organizations who need to or would like to innovate. The book is a quick read and does not go into any subject area deeply, although it does provide a nice overview of inventing. For the most part, the author illustrates concepts by presenting anecdotes from his distinguished career as an inventor. Changes are you will learn some things, but will probably look to additional sources for more information.
Rating: 1
Summary: Well...
Comment: This was an interesting book to read but, not very helpful.
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Title: Stand Alone, Inventor!: And Make Money With Your New Product Ideas! by Robert G. Merrick ISBN: 0964383209 Publisher: Lee Publishing Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Cashing in On Your Inventions by Richard C. Levy ISBN: 0028642201 Publisher: Alpha Communications Pub. Date: 28 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Turn Your Idea or Invention into Millions by Don Kracke ISBN: 1581151985 Publisher: Allworth Press Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Everything You Need To Know To Turn a Simple Idea into a Million Dollar Payday, 2nd Edition by Harvey Reese ISBN: 0471204013 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 28 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Going Solo: The Best Resources for Entrepreneurs & Freelancers by Stanley I. Mason, Resource Pathways, Stanley I. Mason Jr. ISBN: 1892148129 Publisher: Resource Pathways Inc Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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