At the moment, Apple is the world’s most valuable company. One hundred years ago it was US Steel (221,000 employees strong). Now US Steel isn’t even in the top 500. In fact, only 19 of the top 100 back then are still in the Top 100. So there’s no guarantee that Apple will even be in business this time next year – because the world changes substantively every 17.3 weeks. And if you don’t change with it, you’re dead meat. But you can’t change squat, if you don’t have a new idea.
Common sense suggests, therefore, that you better generate a good, big idea some time in the next 17.3 weeks or the world will start to leave you behind. That’s not much time. Fortunately, Anderson’s book addresses three indispensible questions.
1. How do I generate an idea?
2. What do I do with one, once I’ve got it?
3. How do I get rid of it, when I’m done --- so I can move on to the next one?
Gleaned from a life time of scholarship, 10 years of running an organization himself, and 20 years of being a fly on the wall during CEOs’ most intimate discussions; the nuggets in this work are priceless.