The book title implies that crowds are really smart. Well, sometimes we are! The various chapters detail when a crowd can be smarter than the individual and how this collective intelligence functions in different situations. I found the cooperation discussion to be fascinating. Although it is common sense that cooperation is based on trust, the importance of trust to business and the history of capitalism are not obvious. The discussion is very apropos to the recent corporate scandals at Enron, etc. The writing and content are very good with one exception. Unfortunately, the concepts in this book are new. Thus, the book is mostly informative and doesn’t offer solutions to the problems.
Category Archives: Invention
The innovator’s dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail
A very interesting study of the role technological innovation has played in a couple of industries. The common misconception is that companies must constantly innovate to survive, and that innovation means making the ground breaking technical discoveries. First, the author defines innovation and notes that most innovations sustain business growth instead of reshaping industries. Second, the author’s analysis shows that companies that have failed were on the edge of technological innovation. So why do they fail? Read the book to find out!