Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal -- Learn How to be a Great Artist

[kessam71]

Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal - to me is about how when a great artist understands the thought that went into a great idea or a piece of art, they don't just create a replica, they generate a piece of original art themselves that draws from the very essence of an idea. It's the difference between iPod and Zune; iPod reinvented the personal music experience (great artist), Zune just copied the iPod (good artist). Read David Kord Murray's latest book and you will understand how to be a great artist.
Borrowing Brilliance - David Kord Murray

Summary

David Kord Murray; aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, innovator, fortune 500 executive; has managed to write one of the most personal, practical and insightful books on the innovation process. It is well written and a joy to read.

Audience
If you want to learn how to innovate; whether you an aspiring or current entrepreneur, working in a large/small corporation or self employed; whether you are working in the corporate world, or entertainment, media or academia; you will find within these pages a process that will lead to higher quantity and quality of ideas. Murray shares with you not only his personal story that illuminates and illustrates the process of innovation, but also gives you a unrivaled view into the journey of an innovator; a hero's journey. This is not for someone that just wants to manage the innovation process; this is for someone that wants to innovate; individually, as a team or company; someone who wants to generate ideas and implement them.

Detailed Review
I have been researching creativity and innovation for 2 decades and I have read far and wide on the subject and even developed my own innovation system based on my research; this is the first time I have read a book that covers the same breath and depth of my research and that came to the same conclusions. Murray's research and journey is very reminiscent from engineer to entrepreneur to innovator. His reading list (some listed at the back of the book and some that I can tell from his writing) mirrors my own from scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs. He draws from the lives and ideas of people like Einstein, Darwin, Edison, Disney, Jobs, Gates, Nash, Lucas, Page and Brin and researches neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, cinematography, economics, biology, evolution and business to develop a process that is one of the best encapsulations of true innovation.

I am not sure I have ever read a business book like this. Murray shares his own personal journey that led to him developing this innovation process. The story is very personal and probably one the most insightful books on the joys and agonies of innovation and entrepreneurship. His story not only describes the ideas he developed for his companies; a ground breaking financial services firm, one of the most successful direct mail campaigns and successful online tax software; but also shows the messy, warts and all innovation process. Most authors stick to explaining their successes and gloss over their failures. Murray courageously shares the ups and downs, and I feel this makes the book even more powerful. Innovation is messy and most people focus on the end result too much, when the real magic of innovation is in this messy, iterative, recursive and fractal process.

I have to admit when I saw this book and it's subtitle - `The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others' I was expecting yet another lightweight, fluffy book on how to innovate. I was pleasantly surprised, no amazed, to find one of the most thorough articulations of the innovation process. I have been teaching innovation for years and I find myself in awe at how much Murray has managed to fit into this book while making it practical and down to earth. Anyone can pick up this book and if they really read and follow his advice can develop their own ideas. My own personal mission has been to teach innovation to people and finally I have found a book that explains the real process.

Recommendation
The book is well written and the stories bring the deep ideas behind innovation to life. For many years now I have been recommending a series of books to people who want to learn about innovation: The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm, How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate, Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation and A Technique for Producing Ideas (Advertising Age Classics Library). Murray has managed to write a book that encapsulates all these books and makes them obsolete!

Let me repeat; anyone can pick up this book and if they really read and follow his advice can develop their own ideas/innovations. I can't give any higher praise.


Checkout David's Website: Borrowing Brilliance by David Kord Murray


Kes Sampanthar
Inventor of ThinkCube