Once upon a time, on my first day of work at a new job, my head boss gave me a tour of the large office of our large organization (LORG). She showed me the coffee pot (when they still had those [1]), the office copier (when they still had those [2]), the fax machine (when they still have those [3]), and my assigned desk (when they still had those [4]). As I was settling in, she said, “One last thing, if I want your ideas about something, I’ll give them to you.” I would later learn that she was the “chief idea killer” in the organization and that there were many variants of that role [5].

Ideaflow: the only business metric that matters is a prescription for stopping the killing of ideas in organizations of all types and sizes, but especially LORGs. The authors have impeccable education and business credentials, and share what they know at both the Stanford d.school (https://dschool.stanford.edu) and in this book.

What is the book’s big idea? The metric is straightforward, practical, and easy to apply. Ideaflow equals ideas/time. Increasing the flow of ideas over time can increase the chances of innovation success. To get more novel ideas, first generate many ideas, test them quickly and cheaply, and discard those that don’t show promise before you are too invested to quit. Nurture those that do show promise. Use the data from your tests to convince yourself, your team, and the idea killers.

The book is intended for entrepreneurs, managers, and chief executive officers (CEOs) who want to improve the innovation systems in their organizations. It is also useful for computer scientists and engineers who aren’t necessarily seen as being creative, but have all these ideas to share and get frustrated with organizational barriers to doing so. In fact, the book is novel in the sense that it is practical: every individual in every organization can improve the flow of ideas. You don’t have to be an Einstein or an Edison to apply Ideaflow in your organization, but you do need discipline, curiosity, and an open mind to new ideas and perspectives. Tools can help with that. Capture, document, review, and share your ideas. Utilize paper notebooks, Post-it Notes, and walls, of course. For diverse groups, I like portable kits (like Ketso) and open innovation platforms (for example, edison365).

The book’s 11 chapters provide both historical and recent evidence and personal examples. It concludes with guidance and questions about how to be a more creative leader. The first question: “Does your team or organization have a metric related to innovation?” Ideaflow could be the answer. Remember that an idea is not responsible for the people that believe it.

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