Loonshots : how to nurture the crazy ideas that win wars, cure diseases, and transform industries Cover Image

Book

Loonshots : how to nurture the crazy ideas that win wars, cure diseases, and transform industries / Safi Bahcall.

Summary:

"What do James Bond and Lipitor have in common? Why do traffic jams appear out of nowhere on highways? How did the Allies win the secret war against the Nazis? Why does the world speak English? What do the answers to these questions tell us about building more innovative teams? Loonshots describes a new way to think about innovation: why a company's structure matters more than its culture. Safi Bahcall, a physicist and entrepreneur, applies the science of phase transitions to the behavior of teams. Small changes in structure can transform teams from nurturing breakthroughs to inhibiting them, just like small changes in temperature can transform flowing water to rigid ice. Understanding those phases can help us design more innovative teams. Loonshots describes the science, draws on examples from Pan Am to Pixar, and offers rules that creatives, entrepreneurs, and managers can use to innovate faster and better."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781250185969
ISBN: 1250185963
ISBN: 9781250225610
ISBN: 1250225612
Physical Description: xi, 349 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2019.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-314) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	How loonshots won a war -- The surprising fragility of the loonshot -- The two types of loonshots: Trippe vs. Crandall -- Edwin Land and the Moses trap -- Escaping the Moses trap -- Phase transitions, I: marriage, forest fires, and terrorists -- Phase transitions, II: the magic number 150 -- The fourth rule -- Why the world speaks English -- Afterword: Loonshots vs. disruption.