5 Books to Help You Excel as a More Innovative Leader

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Reading is one of the most valuable skills a person can develop, but it can be especially impactful for leaders. Those who read for impact are able to derive new insights that can help them better lead their organization while achieving personal growth along the way.

With creativity and innovation being highly valued traits in today’s business environment, finding books that can help you unlock your innovative processes can make all the difference for your career. Here are a few examples of books that can help you internalize innovation and excel as a truly innovative leader.

1. Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker

Widely regarded as a foundational text for any entrepreneur who wants to improve their innovative capabilities, Drucker’s seminal work is just as relevant today as when it was first published in 1985.

As Drucker highlights, innovation isn't merely a product of innate talent or ability; it is a skill. Research shows that a leader’s capacity for innovative thinking is something that can be improved through study and systematic practice. Innovation and creativity are disciplines that play a central role in entrepreneurship. Drucker’s lessons are applicable to established businesses, public service institutions, and new ventures.

For any leader who feels uncertain of their ability to innovate or even where to begin, Innovation and Entrepreneurship is filled with useful principles that will lead to mastery of this skill.

2. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand In the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull

As the co-founder of Pixar, Ed Catmull certainly knows a thing or two about creativity and innovation. This critically acclaimed book offers a deep dive into the ideals and practices that helped Pixar become a giant in the animation industry.

While Creativity, Inc. may be focused on Catmull’s experiences at Pixar, the lessons on creativity and achieving success are applicable across practically every niche. Most importantly, Catmull places heavy emphasis on the obstacles that an organization’s environment can create that impede innovation and creativity.

With practical tips drawing from things that worked and didn’t work over the course of Catmull’s career, Creativity, Inc. drives home the need for constant vigilance in identifying and overcoming potential barriers to innovation and never becoming content with the status quo.

3. Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation by Behnam Tabrizi

The most successful innovators aren’t reactionary—and they don’t view innovation as a one-and-done process. Instead, they create an agile mindset that promotes continuous innovation. This is the core concept behind Behnam Tabrizi’s book, which draws on a seven-year study at Stanford University of 26 major firms and the reasons behind their successes and declines in innovation.

Tabrizi’s work examines how companies like Microsoft lost their innovative touch and then regained it, as well as the reasons behind the struggles of a former innovator like Google.

With research derived from interviews with over 6,000 individuals associated with the firms explored in the book, Going On Offense provides a powerful array of case studies to help leaders implement practical, step-by-step strategies to make perpetual innovation a hallmark of their firms.

4. Monetizing Innovation by Madhavan Ramanujam and Georg Tacke

It’s one thing to try to be creative and innovative—it’s quite another to actually monetize those ideas. In fact, according to Monetizing Innovation, research shows that 72 percent of innovative efforts don’t meet their financial targets—and surprisingly, many businesses have come to accept this high failure rate and lost investment.

As Ramanujam and Tacke argue, however, placing innovation in the context of customer demand and designing innovative solutions with the price customers are willing to pay can dramatically transform the success rate of your innovative efforts. With case studies drawing from over 10,000 projects involving companies like Porsche, LinkedIn, and Optimizely, this book can help you ensure that your innovative efforts deliver a meaningful return on investment.

Creativity Essential Reads

The History of Creative Schmoozing

The Power of Ambiguity

5. Goodbye, Status Quo: Reimagining the Landscape of Innovation by Dr. Joan Fallon

In Goodbye, Status Quo, Dr. Joan Fallon highlights the challenges she experienced as a company founder, and how such obstacles can prevent leaders from successfully achieving their innovative goals.

From issues in how people perceive you to negative reactive responses that can all too easily become a habit, there are many obstacles to innovation. Dr. Fallon argues that fear-based thinking is a primary issue preventing individuals from being able to embrace change and unlock their full innovative capacity. However, regardless of one’s personal background and individual obstacles, research shows that everyone has the capacity for change and innovation.

In this book, Dr. Fallon helps individuals identify and overcome the personal challenges that are keeping them from becoming true innovators, or “agents of change.”

Bottom Line

With the help of these books, leaders of organizations big and small (and in practically any niche) can find inspiration and ideas to become more innovative and dynamic in what they do. By enhancing your creative capabilities, embracing new ideas, and being mindful of fear-based thinking, you can make innovation a central aspect of your organizational culture and drive successful change.

Remember, innovation is a skill—so don’t feel pressured to try all these ideas simultaneously. Take your time so you can absorb the lessons in each book, apply them to your professional role, and see the results.

© 2024 Ryan C. Warner, Ph.D.