In the second of our two book reviews this week, we look at "Grabbing Lightning" by Gina O'Connor, Richard Leifer, Albert Paulson and Lois Peters, all from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

One of the things I really like about this book right off of the top is the feeling of energy and personal passion that comes through each of the writers on the subject of ideas and innovation.  They describe themselves in the preface as "innovation enthusiasts" and it really does show.  They are not just academics, who pontificate theory without having actually done the work.  They are innovators themselves, who have gotten their hands dirty in this business of innovation.

In this book, the focus is on building innovation capabilities.  Each chapter covers a different capability or capacity, that added together, forms a solid innovation system that you can use within your organizations. 

Key concepts of organizational creativity such as discovery, incubation and acceleration are explored.  Innovation management systems and maturity progression (my key niche) are also covered in great detail. 

The book is rooted in a Breakthrough Innovation Research Study that the team of authors conducted and that is expertly laced throughout the book as proof of their system and process recommendations.

While I would probably classify this book as more advanced and technical for those of us in the innovation management field, I still definitely recommend it to all of my blog readers and something you should use in developing your core innovation-related knowledgebase.