7 Books to Read on Disruption and Innovation

With World Book Day and the COVID-19 lockdown in mind, here are our favourite books about innovation and disruption to dig into.

As World Book Day approaches during a period of social isolation and lockdown, we couldn’t think of a better time to share some of our favourite books on innovation and disruption with you.

From a book full of business lessons in innovation, curated by Springwise’s own James Bidwell, to other widely acclaimed reads, we hope that you will find something in our selection to inspire and stir the mind during these uncertain times.

1. Disrupt!: 100 Lessons in Business Innovation, by James Bidwell

Chair of Springwise James Bidwell brings you a collection of the most disruptive innovation ideas of the 21st century so far, with a focus on how such success was earned, and the themes and ideas that can be applied in the real world. Drawing from the Springwise archive, the book overviews the key ideas behind modern innovation and comes up with simple ways they can be applied to your business and disrupt your industry.

Find Disrupt! in an independent bookshop.

2. Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, by Calestous Juma

Taking a look at 600 years worth of successful technology, Juma weighs innovation and progression against continuity and stability, and how this tension still works as one of the major challenges and driving forces today. Juna looks at how those inventions which, now mainstream, were once seen as controversial and how to progress in the future, all industries must collaborate and work together.

Find Innovation and Its Enemies in an independent bookshop.

3. The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators, by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen

What many consider as the original “innovation bible”, such a list would be incomplete without Christensen, Dyer and Gregersen’s 2011 guide on disruption. The book focuses on what individuals can do to move from idea to impact in the business world. With a look at companies such as Apple and Google achieved their success, the writers pinpoint five discovery competencies that distinguish successful entrepreneurs and then explain how you can apply such skills into your own business processes.

Find The Innovator’s DNA in an independent bookshop.

4. The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday

Beloved by a variety of stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Obcastle is the Way is inspired by the Ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism, which is based on perseverance and the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities. With a look at successful people in history, from Amelia Earhart to Steve Jobs, Holiday shows the reader how the application of the principles of stoicism is more important than intelligence, talent or luck. This theory claims to help change your mindset in the face of difficulty, by offering to turn your problems into challenges able to be overcome.

Find The Obstacle is the Way in an independent bookshop.

5. Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, by Paul Hawken

In response to the climate emergency, Drawdown collates one hundred important and innovative techniques, practises and solutions from researchers, professionals, and scientists across the globe. These range from the well known, such as clean energy and carbon negation, to socioeconomic answers, such as the education of women in low-income countries. The solutions are presented as viable and achievable, and it is stressed that if they are taken up globally over the next thirty years, they could pave the way to a safer climate, and ensure human health and prosperity.

Find Drawdown in an independent bookshop.

6. Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age, by Greg Satell

Mapping Innovation is a simple and engaging look at how great innovators from the past century went from an idea, to changing the world, and how by understanding these patterns, the reader can too. As a business innovation expert, Satell runs through the four models of innovation in a simple and effective way: Basic Research, Breakthrough Innovation, Sustaining Innovation, and Disruptive Innovation. He stresses how an entrepreneur must adapt to the type of process best suited to the problem needing to be solved, and thus provides a clear model for disruption and business success.

Find Mapping Innovation in an independent bookshop.

7. Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World, by Peter H. Diamandis

Bold is a radical look at how to use exponential technologies, moonshot thinking, and crowd-powered tools. It analyses how the disruption of exponential technologies on Fortune 500 companies is propelling entrepreneurs from idea to success, quickly and efficiently. The writers also reflect on the successes of extraordinary business-people, such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson, as well as how the hyper-connection of today’s society can be leveraged to your advantage in business. The book also brilliantly cover the potential of a range of technologies, including 3D-printing, AI, robotics, networks and sensors, and synthetic biology.

Find Bold in an independent bookshop.