Peeling Back the Covers Even Further:
Big News About Naked Innovation
Back in January of 2007, in my final semester as a graduate student at the IIT Institute of Design, colleague David McGaw and I set out to write a 13 chapter book on innovation in 8 weeks, edit and design it over the next month and self-publish in a limited way while seeking a formal, traditional distribution deal. There have been a few unexpected twists and turns along the way but I'm proud to say Naked Innovation has been consistently used in higher education, in dozens of Fortune 500 companies and in government throughout the world. Thousands of copies have been read by innovators over the globe. We’ve received a wealth of positive feedback and many have asked when the book would be formally published and more widely available.
After what has seemed like an eternity, I have finally brushed the dust off Naked Innovation and am pushing it forward with a couple of my colleagues in London. In fact, we're planning something a lot bigger than traditional publishing as we ask YOU, the innovation community, to partake in a grand crowd-sourced critique and edit of the content.
The idea is to evolve NakedInnovation.com from something purely static and promotional to a platform for discussing the innovation process. As we’ve constructed the book Naked Innovation around a generalized innovation process itself, the platform will also be constructed around it:
Some sections of the site will focus on Big Ideas about innovation with others on the more practical applications of theory through innovation methods. The content of the book in its current format will act as our gift to aid the discussion. At the moment, we're thinking we’ll release one chapter every two weeks or so with some initial critical thoughts on what’s missing or doesn’t make sense five years since its writing. Ongoing discourse about the innovation process and critique of Naked Innovation specifically will be open and unmoderated (within reason).
We’re looking to launch this new platform around the turn of the year in mid-2012. Eventually, we do hope to take the discussion and critique to heart and revise the book by the end of next year. While we’re working on getting the new discussion platform up and running, you can still download the Introduction as well as buy copies of the book here through blurb: Naked Innovation. The quality is actually great and we’ve priced it at cost.
More soon!