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Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond
book

Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond

by Alan Axelrod
February 2008
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
192 pages
4h 1m
English
Jossey-Bass
Content preview from Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond

3.5. Lesson 17: Sharpen Your Tools

Popular mythology paints the youthful Thomas Edison as a telegrapher of almost supernatural skill. In fact, he never rose above the status of journeyman among fellow telegraphers. Although he always denied it, he was certainly hampered by his bad hearing, and if he hoped he could compensate for his shortcomings as a receiver by becoming a great sender, he was doomed to disappointment. Many men were faster at the key than he was.

Edison coped with his deficiencies through technology, but also by developing a unique personal skill. The latter approach is especially interesting because it illustrates the inventor's habit of viewing entire processes whenever he was looking for a path to innovation. He tried, at ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780787994594Purchase book