Author: Matt Kingdom
Publisher: Wiley
Reviewer: Ayd Instone, innovation consultant and independent publisher
The rather bland but trendy cover design hides the fact, that would be lost on e-reader versions, that The Science of Serendipity is actually quite lavish, with many full colour spreads and subtle use of colour throughout.
It is clear the book is aimed towards individuals within large organisations whose embedded operational mindsets tend to destroy innovation and quash ideas, with the goal of re-claiming entrepreneurship and innovation for corporates that were ‘once start ups’. Despite Kingdom’s using ‘science’ in the title, the image that repeatedly crops up is actually combat. The final chapter is entitled: ‘A Call to Arms’.
The author has a pleasant style but perhaps lacks personality, speaking often as the gestalt “we” of his team at his company and we don’tA better book title would have been ‘The Battle for Innovation’.
The author has a pleasant style but perhaps lacks personality, speaking often as the gestalt “we” of his team at his company and we don’t get many personal insights from Kingdom.
He defines the “happy accident” of serendipity as “the useful application of the clever connection between seemingly unconnected points” and innovation as ‘the creation of new value.” hence the two words are almost interchangeable in the book. In essence he is saying the ‘science’ of finding our own “why didn’t I think of that?” moment is down to the “luck you make yourself’ by consistent targeted perseverance, doing the right things in the right environments for innovation, which are described in detail.
The book is packed with great stories to inspire ideas, but the claim to offer a scientific system to follow is a little misplaced. However, the great many provocations in the book, nicely told, make it one of the better books on the topic. Although it fails to offer a strong methodology, it does collect all the latest thinking into one place and is a great place to start.
Star Rating: 4/5