Synopses & Reviews
Innovate or die
For thirty years, Gary Shapiro has observed the world's most innovative businesses from his front-row seat as leader of the Consumer Electronics Association. Now he reveals the ten secrets of "ninja innovators" like Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and many others.
What does it take to succeed? Discipline. Mission-oriented strategy. Adaptability. Decisiveness. And a will for victory. In short, today's most successful businesses are "ninja innovators." Drawn from Gary Shapiro's three decades of experience leading the consumer electronics industry, Ninja Innovation takes readers behind the scenes of today's top enterprises, uncovering their ten essential strategies for success.
As head of the Consumer Electronics Association and its influential annual trade show, the International CES, Shapiro has worked with the most innovative companies in history—Intel, IBM, and Samsung, to name a few—focusing on creating policies and events that produce revolutionary products year after year. He has learned the key strategies that have guided these businesses to record-breaking profits, as well as the traps that have led so many others to crushing failure.
In order to stay in front of the pace of innovation, Shapiro observes, top companies must operate as an elite strike force—just like the legendary medieval warriors known as ninjas. Ninjas weren't called upon to do the ordinary; they had to perform truly extraordinary tasks, while risking everything. As a highly trained martial-arts black belt himself, Shapiro mines the valuable insights of these centuries-old warriors to spotlight the secrets of agility, creativity, decisiveness, and reinvention that are essential for twenty-first-century leaders seeking breakthrough success.
Taking readers inside the most cutting-edge businesses, Ninja Innovation is the ultimate guide to achieving victory in today's innovate-or-die economy.
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"The Comeback is that rare breed of book that actually delivers on what it promises: A way forward." STEVE FORBES, President and CEO of < i=""> Forbes <> and Editor-in-Chief of < i=""> Forbes Magazine <> , in praise of < i=""> The Comeback <>
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"By working together in public/private partnerships, we all can deliver on the compelling vision Gary Shapiro details for innovation and economic growth based on creating the products people really want and value." ALAN MULALLY, CEO, Ford Motor Company, in praise of < i=""> The Comeback <>
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"Throughout his career, Gary Shapiro has always understood the role of innovation in business; he is right that we can only preserve the American Dream, by doing what we do best -doing things better." IVAN SEIDENBERG, Chairman and CEO, Verizon Communications, in praise of < i=""> The Comeback <>
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"Gary offers a gripping story that is a road map to American success. ... This book should be required reading for anyone who is invested in the future prosperity of this country." CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA, (R-CA), Chairman, House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, in praise of < i=""> The Comeback <>
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"The Comeback is exactly the kind of forward-thinking economic strategy that America lacks right now. This should be required reading for everyone in Washington." GROVER NORQUIST, President, Americans for Tax Reform, in praise of < i=""> The Comeback <>
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“Gary Shapiros ‘ninja approach to business success is exactly what the American spirit is all about-impatient, bold, and agile. Its what propels the most innovative companies, keeping us around for the long haul, as we continue to transform and make meaningful progress in the world.” URSULA BURNS, Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation
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“Ninja Innovation is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the secrets to successful entrepreneurship in a world of rapid innovation. Pandora is popular because we are agile, and have always remained intensely focused on whats best for listeners, and artists.” TIM WESTERGREN, Co-Founder of Pandora radio
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“With Ninja Innovation, Gary Shapiro has boiled down the mystery of business success to its foundational precepts: Risk, passion, failure, and, above all, innovation. Having spent 30 years at the Consumer Electronics Association, Gary knows what it takes to create a successful business and change the world.” NOEL LEE, Founder and CEO, Monster Cable Products, Inc.
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“Top-notch. … Shapiro argues that companies should demonstrate the same agility, laser-like focus, and strength as ninjas.” Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Gary Shapiro is the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), the U.S. trade association that represents more than two thousand consumer electronics companies, and owns and produces the annual International CES, the most important innovation-oriented trade show in the world. As head of the CEA® for more than three decades, he has effectively ushered the consumer electronics industry through major periods of technological upheaval and transformation.
Shapiro is the New York Times bestselling author of The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. A regular columnist for the Huffington Post, Forbes, and the Daily Caller, he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He also appears regularly on Fox News, CNN, CNBC, and C-SPAN.
He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. He splits his time between Detroit and Washington, D.C., and is married to Dr. Susan Malinowski.