Loonshots: Nurturing the Crazy Ideas that Change the World

BarbaraC: Un libro en el cual uno aprende en cada página. Incluso una vez terminado vuelvo a leer algunas partes o alguna de las notas que el autor dejó en anexo. Hay tantos temas y detalles de interés! Excelente. No lo dejes pasar.

Mexico on Aug 10, 2023

Nilotpal Das: I was looking for a book on business innovation. And the examples given in part 1 were relevant. Also the concepts introduced in part 1 are intelligent and engaging.

But part 2 and 3 became a little side lined. There was a lot of history and I slowly lost engagement with the author and the core topic of the book.

India on Aug 28, 2022

Peter Hohnen: Good book

Germany on Dec 12, 2021

shahbaaz rupani: It is an amazing book to that talks about keeping the balance between new ideas and sustainable ideas. The book is full of examples some times one too many. You can read the eg to know about history but if you only trying to get the point of the book it's a pritty short and good read

India on Aug 14, 2021

Frederik Van Lierde: if you read only 1 book this year, it should the Loonshots
The go really into the depth of LoonShots, you should read this book

This is the speech I gave related to the book, the introduction

Let me introduce you into the science of crazy ideas, and how it creates a new way of thinking about your business, your organisation, the world around us. You will see how small changes in structure, rather than culture, can transform the behaviour of groups, the same way a slight change in temperature can turn ice to flowing water.

Ready? Let me start with the definition of a Loonshot. A Loonshot is a neglected project, widely dismissed, written off as unhinged.

That said, the most important breakthroughs come from Loonshots.

Let me showcase this with an example:

What you think of when you hear Nokia?

In the 1970's Nokia was an industrial conglomerate mostly famous for its rubber boots and toilet paper. In the next two decades, they pioneer the first cellular network, the first car phone, the first GSM phone. In 2000, Nokia became the most valuable company in Europe, remember they started with toilet paper.

The CEO explained that...

United States on Jul 12, 2020

Mads Jensen: Often business books about innovation are more or less the same - this one brings something new to the table. It provides great examples, across industries and time, on how to successfully approach innovation in organizations.
According to Safi Bachall, it is about finding a balance between 'franchise activities' (the things you know already will work) and the crazy stuff (the loonshots). What is really interesting is that, if you do too much of 'franchise activities' you will end up not developing as an organization. However, doing only loonshots will not be the solution either as many of those are likely to fail - finding a structure to nurture both types of activities is according to Safi Bachall what makes companies successful.
I recommend everyone that wishes to get a new perspective on innovation to read this book.

United Kingdom on Oct 25, 2019

Adam Gonnerman: Every so often I come across a book that I know as I'm reading it that my perspective is changing and my horizons are broadening. "Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries" is one such book. From the outset, Safi Bahcall grabs the reader's attention and keeps it with examples from history of what he's going to explain, setting it up to be understood thoroughly. He talks about lessons learned in wartime as well as from Polaroid and space exploration, among other periods and events. There's a lot I could say about this book, but to keep it simple I'll anchor my comments to a few of the many key terms the writer discusses.

To begin, there's the important distinction to be made between a franchise and what Bahcall refers to as a 'loonshot.'

Franchise: The subsequent iterations or updated versions of an original product or service.
Examples provided include each new version of the iPhone and the 26th James Bond Movie. I also relate this to a phenomenon I noticed many years ago among fast food restaurants, where new items on the menu are often just reformulations of existing menu items. A prime example is the 'KFC...

United States on Jun 11, 2019