TWO GREAT BOOKS, NOT TO MISS

As my friends know, when people begin our mentoring program, I ardently advise the participants:  Do Not Read Business Books.
Well, here I am going to recommend two books, and in so doing, break every rule in my book: first, these are books reviewed in the Business Section of the NYTimes (which I read every day, and especially the Sunday version), on Sept. 5, 2010.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/business/05shelf.html?scp=1&sq=Off%20the%20Shelf&st
Second, I haven't read the books, only this review.
So, I promise to read and review these books ASAP.
Why the excitement, urgency, rush to break rules?
These two books do something I am very fond of: as the reviewer, Nancy F. Koehn says, "the challenges confronting our global village seem to have outstripped prevailing orthodoxy."  Right on, sister.
The first book she reviews is by Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From:  A Natural History of Innovation.  This book speaks about the "space of innovation."  We envision leading as opening up a separate space for collaborative innovation -- Johnson envisions the city and the Internet as such spaces.  He sees innovation as a result of a generative process of serendipities, communications, interactions and mutual comprehensions that "recur again and again in unusually fertile environments..." and he stresses the "inherently interconnected nature of innovation."  I love the sound of this.
For us, of course such environments spur innovations of different kinds:  art, new sciences, and sometimes, new products and services -- the last requiring leaders.  But, from my studies, I see that any innovation that is worth a damn requires collaborations, friendships and mentoring at all of these levels.
The second book is by Denning and Dunham, The Innovator's Way:  Essential Practices for Successful Innovation.  Normally, I find "practical" and "how to" books numbingly boring.  But this one seems to be located on the frontier of innovation -- where we are all amateurs and in constant need of new learning.
Two things excited me about Koehn's presentation of the book.
First, Denning and Dunham define "innovation" as "the adoption of new practice in a community."  I love that image.  Not a new gadget, not a trick for wringing out expenses, not a gimmick for generating sales, but a "new practice:" something that people have to engage in in order to be worthy of the name.  And then, "in a community."  Not something for one person's gain, but a way to make the human endeavor more expansive and encompassing.
Second, they identify stages of the process that track well with our own Breakout Creatives idea:  "sensing, envisioning, offering," track with the mystic;  "adopting, sustaining" require artistic and prophetic talents;  "executing, leading and embodying," are, of course, the contributions of the leader.
Read these books with me, and let's post some of our own comments on them.