Musings, aphorisms & polemics about the ugly reality of consumer product innovation, in particular in large corporations. This trilogy investigates how corporations unknowingly work from a skewed version of reality, which is nicely manageable with KPI's and predictable rules of engagement with the world. A world view in which innovation success can be planned for. The reality of how the world is very different. Why are so many brilliant ideas culled before they've had a chance to shine in the real world? Why are so many awful ideas pushed through the system and launched, only to fail miserably, ruining careers and bankrupting businesses? Why are so many blatantly obvious market opportunities ignored and not fulfilled with the right products, helping people lead happier lives and bringing prosperity to the companies that could have introduced them? This little book is my attempt at understanding why so many innovations fail, why that is often wholly unnecessary and what may help tilt the balance more favourably. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Costas Papaikonomou is one of the founders of Happen Group, one of the leading creative innovation agencies of the 21st century. A career in innovation - studying, dreaming, creating, researching and realizing new products. It's been an amazing journey, playing in the birth chambers of mass market multinationals. Nevertheless he's quite grumpy.

Musings, aphorisms & polemics about the ugly reality of consumer product innovation, in particular in large corporations.PART ONE investigates how corporations unknowingly work from a skewed version of reality, which is nicely manageable with KPI's and predictable rules of engagement with the world. A world view in which innovation success can be planned for.PART TWO investigates the different types of innovation, and in particular how the different levels of impact one desires in a marketplace are mirrored by impact on the business itself. In a nutshell: innovation hurts. But seeing through the pain and reward might just be within reach.PART THREE investigates how keep innovation running successfully through from initial business need through to a meaningful launch. Bonus sections include an innovation bulls**t glossary and tips for surviving an economic crisis .The reality of how the world is very different. Why are so many brilliant ideas culled before they've had a chance to shine in the real world? Why are so many awful ideas pushed through the system and launched, only to fail miserably, ruining careers and bankrupting businesses? Why are so many blatantly obvious market opportunities ignored and not fulfilled with the right products, helping people lead happier lives and bringing prosperity to the companies that could have introduced them?This trilogy of books is my attempt at understanding why so many innovations fail, why that is often wholly unnecessary and what may help tilt the balance more favourably.ABOUT THE AUTHORCostas Papaikonomou is one of the founders of Happen Group, one of the leading creative innovation agencies of the 21st century. A career in innovation - studying, dreaming, creating, researching and realizing new products. It's been an amazing journey, playing in the birth chambers of mass market multinationals. Nevertheless he's quite grumpy.

Musings, aphorisms & polemics about the ugly reality of consumer product innovation, in particular in large corporations.PART THREE of this trilogy investigates the different types of innovation, and in particular how the different levels of impact one desires in a marketplace are mirrored by impact on the business itself. In a nutshell: innovation hurts. But seeing through the pain and reward might just be within reach.This trilogy of books is my attempt at understanding why so many innovations fail, why that is often wholly unnecessary and what may help tilt the balance more favourably.ABOUT THE AUTHORCostas Papaikonomou is one of the founders of Happen Group, one of the leading creative innovation agencies of the 21st century. A career in innovation - studying, dreaming, creating, researching and realizing new products. It's been an amazing journey, playing in the birth chambers of mass market multinationals. Nevertheless he's quite grumpy.

Musings, aphorisms & polemics about the ugly reality of consumer product innovation, in particular in large corporations.PART TWO of this trilogy investigates the different types of innovation, and in particular how the different levels of impact one desires in a marketplace are mirrored by impact on the business itself. In a nutshell: innovation hurts. But seeing through the pain and reward might just be within reach.This trilogy of books is my attempt at understanding why so many innovations fail, why that is often wholly unnecessary and what may help tilt the balance more favourably.ABOUT THE AUTHORCostas Papaikonomou is one of the founders of Happen Group, one of the leading creative innovation agencies of the 21st century. A career in innovation - studying, dreaming, creating, researching and realizing new products. It's been an amazing journey, playing in the birth chambers of mass market multinationals. Nevertheless he's quite grumpy.

Hawai‘i author Chris McKinney’s first entry in a brilliant new sci-fi noir trilogy explores the sordid past of a murdered scientist, deified in death, through the eyes of a man who once committed unspeakable crimes for her. Year 2142: Earth is forty years past a near-collision with the asteroid Sessho-seki. Akira Kimura, the scientist responsible for eliminating the threat, has reached heights of celebrity approaching deification. But now, Akira feels her safety is under threat, so after years without contact, she reaches out to her former head of security, who has since become a police detective. When he arrives at her deep-sea home and finds Akira methodically dismembered, this detective will risk everything—his career, his family, even his own life—and delve back into his shared past with Akira to find her killer. With a rich, cinematic voice and burning cynicism, Midnight, Water City is both a thrilling neo-noir procedural and a stunning exploration of research, class, climate change, the cult of personality, and the dark sacrifices we are willing to make in the name of progress.

As a magical revolution remakes a city, an ancient evil is awakened in a brilliant novel from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and the Divine Cities trilogy. “An absolutely wild ride . . . Foundryside blew me away, and this is a perfect sequel.”—Amal El-Mohtar, The New York Times Book Review A few years ago, Sancia Grado would’ve happily watched Tevanne burn. Now, she’s hoping to transform her city into something new. Something better. Together with allies Orso, Gregor, and Berenice, she’s about to strike a deadly blow against Tevanne’s cruel robber-baron rulers and wrest power from their hands for the first time in decades. But then comes a terrifying warning: Crasedes Magnus himself, the first of the legendary hierophants, is about to be reborn. And if he returns, Tevanne will be just the first place to feel his wrath. Thousands of years ago, Crasedes was an ordinary man who did the impossible: Using the magic of scriving—the art of imbuing objects with sentience—he convinced reality that he was something more than human. Wielding powers beyond comprehension, he strode the world like a god for centuries, meting out justice and razing empires single-handedly, cleansing the world through fire and destruction—and even defeating death itself. Like it or not, it’s up to Sancia to stop him. But to have a chance in the battle to come, she’ll have to call upon a god of her own—and unlock the door to a scriving technology that could change what it means to be human. And no matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same. The awe-inspiring second installment of the Founders Trilogy, Shorefall returns us to the world Robert Jackson Bennett created in his acclaimed Foundryside . . . and forges it anew.

Musings, aphorisms & polemics about the ugly reality of consumer product innovation, in particular in large corporations.PART ONE of this trilogy investigates how corporations unknowingly work from a skewed version of reality, which is nicely manageable with KPI's and predictable rules of engagement with the world. A world view in which innovation success can be planned for.The reality of how the world is very different. Why are so many brilliant ideas culled before they've had a chance to shine in the real world? Why are so many awful ideas pushed through the system and launched, only to fail miserably, ruining careers and bankrupting businesses? Why are so many blatantly obvious market opportunities ignored and not fulfilled with the right products, helping people lead happier lives and bringing prosperity to the companies that could have introduced them?This thrilogy of books is my attempt at understanding why so many innovations fail, why that is often wholly unnecessary and what may help tilt the balance more favourably.ABOUT THE AUTHORCostas Papaikonomou is one of the founders of Happen Group, one of the leading creative innovation agencies of the 21st century. A career in innovation - studying, dreaming, creating, researching and realizing new products. It's been an amazing journey, playing in the birth chambers of mass market multinationals. Nevertheless he's quite grumpy.

Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan’s collection, John Scalzi's Old Man’s War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe. John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place. So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What's known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger. Old Man's War Series #1 Old Man’s War #2 The Ghost Brigades #3 The Last Colony #4 Zoe’s Tale #5 The Human Division #6 The End of All Things Short fiction: “After the Coup” Other Tor Books The Android’s Dream Agent to the Stars Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded Fuzzy Nation Redshirts Lock In The Collapsing Empire At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In 1993, Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture with the acclaimed international hit Understanding Comics, a massive comic book that explored the inner workings of the worlds most misunderstood art form. Now, McCloud takes comics to te next leavle, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are created, read, and preceived today, and how they're poised to conquer the new millennium. Part One of this fascinating and in-depth book includes: The life of comics as an art form and as literture The battle for creators' rights Reinventing the business of comics The volatile and shifting public percptions of comics Sexual and ethnic representation on comics Then in Part Two, McCloud paints a brethtaling picture of comics' digital revolutions, including: The intricacies of digital production The exploding world of online delivery The ultimate challenges of the infinite digital canvas

Let's be honest: it's far too easy to go through day-to-day life without a sense of the mystery, the marvel, or the awe of God's presence. Have you ever felt your relationship with God isn't as vibrant as you want it to be? Have you ever felt like God seemed far away -- even in the midst of devotions, prayer, and church? We Were Created for Wonder You were created and designed to experience wonder. Woven into the fabric of our humanity is an innate ability and desire for the wonder of God. It's felt in the moments when you watch the sun melt behind the horizon, when you reach out to cradle a baby and smell the sweet scent of new life, when you can't help but smile as you witness two wrinkled souls renew their vows to each other. Such moments remind us we were made for something more than deadlines and debt, carpools and coffee breaks. Yet despite such wondrous moments, we can still find ourselves going through the motions of faith. Whether you're: A long time follower of Jesus or still figuring Him out Unemployed, overly-employed, or an entrepreneur A creator, innovator, or conformist Grumpy, ebullient, grey-haired or bed-head An average Joe or have-a-gym-membership-but-never-go A superhero (of any era), supermom, superdad, super grand, super great grand, or don't feel particularly super at all No matter who you are or where you've been -- if you've lived a life where you've seen it all, done it all, or feel like you're past it all -- God still longs to take your breath away. Isaiah 29:4 records God's desire for you: "Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder." Do you see it? God is busting at the seams to display His glory, power, and might in your life. And He wants to give you the greatest gift of all -- Himself. Yet why do we pass by the wonder of God unaware?