Borrowing Brilliance:The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others

When was the last time you thought of a truly new and innovative idea, something that no one else in the world has ever thought of?  Think about it.  The answer is probably never, because there is no such thing as a truly original idea. 

Great thinkers throughout history have understood this and used it to their advantage.  Take Bill Gates, for example, who “borrowed brilliance” to create Microsoft, and Steve Jobs who “borrowed” to create the Mac.  These thinkers borrowed brilliance to create new business innovations.  They realized that the “borrowing” process is one that anyone can master in order to build a successful business innovation. 

In our summary of Borrowing Brilliance:  The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others, David Kord Murray presents us with a six-step “borrowing” process for building business innovation. 

Murray began his career as an aerospace engineer working on the conceptual development team for the International Space Station.  He has also been an entrepreneur, inventor, and Fortune 500 executive.  He was the head of innovation for the software company Intuit and held similar positions at other Fortune 500 companies. 

By the end of our summary, you’ll agree with Murray that brilliance is actually borrowed and easily within your reach.  It’s about knowing where to borrow the materials from and how to put them together that determines your creative ability.