Book Review: Innovation Nation: How America Is Losing Its Innovation Edge, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do to Get It Back

When I picked up Innovation Nation: How America Is Losing Its Innovation Edge, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do to Get It Back by John Kao, it was during a period when I was involved in a lot of discussion about innovation. My goal was to become smarter on the topic so that I could adequately contribute to the conversation. At the time, I was looking for tactical and practical methods to employ in the workplace. Innovation Nation takes the conversation of innovation to an entirely different level.

Innovation Nation is 274 pages long and arranged across ten chapters. In these 274 pages, Kao pointed out quite clearly that the rest of the world is kicking our ass in terms of innovation and advancement. At one time, we were the world leader in innovation. But those days are quickly fading into the sunset. Our nation is putting in place policies that are hampering our ability to innovate and stay world leaders.

“American society is in danger of embracing risk aversion as an organizing principle, of being more concerned with avoiding failure than achieving greatness” (Kao, 2007, 261).

Kao is a world expert regarding innovation. He has traveled the globe to see what the US and the rest of the world are doing that is innovative. Kao wants the US to once again work on the wicked hard problems as he phrased it. When the US has an important task in front of it, it will move heaven and earth to accomplish the goal. This was evident as we put a man on the moon.

We have other wicked problems in front of us such as renewable energy, global warming, pollution, poverty, education, and many others. If we focus our time, talent, and treasures on these problems, we will be able to solve them.

Kao not only highlighted the problems we are facing, but he also shared a strategy to help put the resources in place to accomplish them. This will require the alignment of government at all levels, business, and academia. We will also have to change the national mindset on a number of topics. One of the topics is that immigrants are a harm to the nation. Diversity is a key element in creativity and innovation. A homogeneous society will not help us once again achieve greatness.

While this was not the book I was hoping it would be, it was a book that has helped me take a broader look at innovation. If you are concerned about America and its future, I would definitely recommend that you take a look at Innovation Nation. This book was supposed to be a wake-up call in 2007. Ten years later, we have drifted further from greatness, but it is not too late.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: Extreme Innovation
• Book Review: Creating Entrepreneurial Universities
• Book Review: Innovate the Pixar Way: Business Lessons From the World’s Most Creative Corporate Playground

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