Be warned that if you like unusual formats, you’ll find this book refreshing. If you hate anything unusual, you may not like this book.
The Circle of Innovation is written in slide book form. This is the form that consultants use for seminars. Each exhibit that the seminar attendees will see is included, along with a page of script that covers the content of the exhibit. The result is highly enjoyable, as you vicariously imagine being in the room with Tom Peters, the world’s most sought-after business speaker.
The exhibits are wonderfully funny and evocative, and use all kinds of visual tricks to get and keep your attention. I had people all over the plane looking over my shoulder to see them, as I read the book on a recent flight.
Tom Peters also walks his talk, and really lives with passion - which strongly comes through in this book. His interpretations of the world are almost always tied to quotes from important thinkers and business leaders, which gives the book a relevance and immediacy that a more intellectual book would have lacked.
I found this book to be very satisfying to read. It affected me at a very fundamental level, so I could tell that I was "getting" the message. The result is a most impressive example of a way to communicate through books. The principles seem to be sound in most cases(although not all markets are dominated by women purchasers - such as boxing gloves, football tickets, Viagra, etc. - but many are, such as cars), and they should stimulate your thinking to expand the scope of the innovations you think about.
The book could have been improved with a consideration of processes that work better than others for getting the innovation work done. For that assistance, you will have to look elsewhere. In the meantime, do read, think about, enjoy, and apply the lessons of The Circle of Innovation.I think that the book is superb and I just love it!