The logic is easy to understand. If one is going to write a book about innovation, why not take an innovative approach and present the argument in the form of a novel? That's what Hickman (Mind of a Manager; Soul of a Leader) does in his story about a relatively small snack food company's attempt to stay ahead of, and independent from, a far larger competitor that sounds suspiciously like Nabisco. The problem is, the approach doesn't work. In an attempt to create a suspenseful narrative, business problems like corporate espionage that have nothing to do with innovation get lots of attention, while Hickman's thoughts about innovation (which build off Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma
and The Alchemy of Growth) get short shrift. Hickman's four stages of innovation (imagine, integrate, isolate and illuminate) and four manifestations of innovation (incremental, insightful, inventive, ingenious) are good, but never fully developed. At the same time, the characters are one-dimensional, the dialogue flat and the action not particularly riveting. As a novel, the book lacks artistry; as a business guide, it's missing substantial detail. The result is that Hickman proves the point he set out to make: innovation is even harder than it looks. Agent, Michael Snell. (Jan.)
