Sharing vivid stories from the domains of business, science, art, and politics about "intersections"--the space in which established ideas clash and combine with insights to create new ideas--Johansson reveals how readers can turn ideas into path breaking innovations.

"Johansson, founder and former CEO of an enterprise software company, argues that innovations occur when people see beyond their expertise and approach situations actively, with an eye toward putting available materials together in new combinations. Because of ions, 'the movement of people, the convergence of science, and the leap of computation,' a wide range of materials available for new, recontextualized uses is becoming a norm rather than an exception, much as the Medici family of Renaissance Italy's patronage helped develop European arts and culture. For cases in point, Johansson profiles, among others, Marcus Samuelsson, the acclaimed chef at New York's Aquavit. An Ethiopian orphan, Samuelsson was adopted by a Swedish family, with whom he traveled widely, enabling him to develop the restaurant's unique and innovative menu. (Less familiar innovators include a medical resident who, nearly assaulted by an emergency room patient she was treating, developed outreach programs designed to prevent teen violence.) Chapters admonish readers to 'Randomly Combine Concepts' and 'Ignite an Explosion of Ideas.' Less focused on innovations within a corporate setting than on individual achievements, and more concerned with self-starting and goal-setting than teamwork, Johansson's book offers a clear enough set of concepts for plugging in the specifics of one's own setting and expertise. But don't expect the book to tell you where to get the money for prototypes or production. (Sept. 21)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

When the Medicis, a Florentine banking family of 15th century Italy, brought together a wide range of thinkers and artists under the patronage, they helped spark an explosion of knowledge and creativity known as the Renaissance. The author of this volume (written for a business audience) believes that it is possible to recreate this type of explosion by finding the "intersectional" ideas that cross between disciplines and cultures. By "stepping into the Intersection," entrepreneurs and others can find the innovative ideas that can lead to the "Medici Effect."
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)