Free pdf of The Medici Effect

From Frans Johanssen

Hi Folks,

Frans Johansson here, the author of The Medici Effect. A couple of weeks ago my friend Kristian contacted you about the Medici Summit – so I hope I am not imposing with another piece of very cool news (it won’t be a habit). But this is very exciting and I wanted to share it as widely as possible.

My publisher Harvard Business School Press has just done a first. They sent me the pdf for The Medici Effect for me to post on my site www.themedicieffect.com. Anyone can download it, post it, and share it with anyone for free. They have never done anything like this in the past and we are all very curious about what could happen. I am excited for many reasons. It is clear that the book has had a global appeal (translated into 17 languages at this point) and also appeal in areas way outside of the corporate crowd (scientists, artists, policymakers, educators, freelance designers and entrepreneurs to name a few). This way The Medici Effect message can much more easily reach them. Obviously I am also curious as to how this will affect hardcover/paperback sales. The idea is that it will rise, of course – we will see. So – very excited. I would love for you to post something about this on the blog and to help spread the word in any other way you might think of. The pdf is on the homepage of the site www.themedicieffect.com and includes the entire book, not just bunch of chapters.

Take care!
-Frans

Happy Birthday Blog!

1 year
109 posts
31 comments
2,251 views

It’s been a great year. Thanks to everyone for visiting!

Stories From The Intersection

I’m very pleased and very excited to see some new posts on one of my favourite blogs Stories From The Intersection. As the tag line states, “Stories about breakthrough insights at the intersection of fields, disciplines and cultures”. Give it a read!

Some recent posts:

• Climate change generates new solutions in car design
• Intersecting cultures gave birth to the Burqini
• Interdisciplinary research behind surgery simulator and underwear

I’ve Become A Bit Of A Facebook Junkie

Kyle Mackie’s Facebook profile

Just One Post

From Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/06/just-one-post.html

A lot of people have blogs. But most people don’t.

I think you should. Even if you only have one post in you.

Having a blog is pretty daunting, especially if you don’t like blank paper and are the sort of person that hates falling behind. I can imagine that the idea of posting 50 or 300 times a year is a little bit nuts for many people.

But what if there’s just one thing you need to say, but you can say it clearly and well and in a way that hasn’t been said before? What if you’ve got one great blog post inside of you, and, even better, you’re willing to update that post as you learn more and gain more insight?

An entire post about a certain kind of fossil. Or the misuse of a certain word. Or about a key difference between two kinds of bluetooth…

Why not?

Guelph’s Most Prolific Blogger

Sue Richards:
Calendar Girl Blog: http://calendargirl.breastofcanada.com/
My Menopause Blog: http://www.mymenopauseblog.com
Blog Guelph: http://www.blogguelph.com
The Breast Views: http://thebreastviews.blogspot.com/

In Praise Of Slow

One of my favourite books ever.

Carl Honore has an insightful blog as well – check it out at http://www.inpraiseofslow.com/slow/blog.php

Introducing The Book

My good friend Jeff sent this my way. Hilarious.

Why The Most Original Minds In Business Win

I haven’t been able to put down William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre’s book Mavericks at Work. They also have a great blog (accessible by clicking on the image above). The book pulls you in with positive, real-life examples of how mavericks have gone against the grain and been successful in their business innovations. It’s a great read.

Here’s two of my favourite quotes:

…organizations that aspire to create a disruptive presence in the marketplace have to devise a distinctive approach to the workplace. Companies that compete differently tend to work differently from the competition.

…formal lines of authority rarely determine how things actually get done. Most creativity happens in spite of the organization, not because of it. That’s why successful innovators don’t ask for the most resources or the strictest oversight; they ask for the most room to maneuver and the fewest bureaucratic hurdles.

Open Source Democracy

In a previous post, I mentioned that I recently went to hear Thomas Homer-Dixon speak. During his talk, he spoke about working together, pooling our brainpower and creativity to solve problems. Nobody is smarter than everybody. Homer-Dixon mentioned that his next book (which he hasn’t started writing yet) would be about “Open Source Democracy”. This got me thinking about the publication quoted below:

The parameters of possibility of the internet are vast because it is the product not of a single point of reference but of its users seeking innovative ways to employ it for their own ends. In turn, it has brought together people across the world to work on solving common problems and bugs, creating a network of shared ideas and shared experiences from which we can all learn.

– Douglas Alexander, from the forward to Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff. NOTE: You can download the publication by clicking on the link. Go back and do it.

Think of the possibilities! If we can get people from around the world, from different walks of life to collaborate openly on solving problems. This network could surely move mountains. I wonder if Homer-Dixon needs some help writing his book…