What is "Innovative Thinking"? Is it something that can be taught?
It would appear that Osama A. Hashmi's answer is a definite... maybe. I must admit that when I first saw the title Entrepreneur: Disciplines of Thought That Can Help You Rethink Industries and Unlock 10x Better Solutions I was skeptical at best. However, being a bit of a business strategy junky, I put my doubts aside and gave it a read.
Hashmi's writing style is very accessible. He doesn't bog you down with pseudo-science as many business writers do, but rather leaves you feeling like you just had a good long chat with as friend at a corner coffee shop. With nice short chapters, it feels more like a conversation than a lecture. It's the kind of book that you can fit into a busy life, a little here and a little there.
"OK Waldo, you like the format, what about the content?"
It's hard to point out a flaw in the content, mainly because there's little new. However that is, in itself, a positive thing. After all, there is something terrifying about a "completely new process of thought." That's not to say that the content is in some way lacking. Hashmi presents his ideas with a clarity that makes them easy to understand. If you're like me, you will find this little book more reassuring than revolutionary.
It's hard to point out a flaw in the content, mainly because there's little new. However that is, in itself, a positive thing. After all, there is something terrifying about a "completely new process of thought." That's not to say that the content is in some way lacking. Hashmi presents his ideas with a clarity that makes them easy to understand. If you're like me, you will find this little book more reassuring than revolutionary.
Of course, there is a problem with the book. That problem I have with it is the same problem I started with... the title. "Unlock 10x Better Solutions"... really? Hashmi himself has included a chapter entitled "To Innovate, Stop Listening to Bozos Like me." If you finish this book and don't feel a little cheated by the title, then you are either a quite young, or new to the world of business.
So should you read this book? Most definitely. It's not so much what the author TELLS you, but what he ASKS you. Again, you walk away from each chapter feeling like you just had a really good chat with a friend. In the cut-throat world of business, that has tremendous value.
