Description
Book SynopsisPrepare for a world of compound innovation which blends 3, 5, 10 strands of infotech, greentech, biotech and healthtech to solve the Grand Challenges our world faces-and the more routine ones
Polymath is the Greek word for a Renaissance person like Leonardo Da Vinci or Ben Franklin who excels in many disciplines. The New Polymath is an enterprise which has learned to amalgamate 3, 5, 10 strands of technology-infotech, cleantech, healthtech, nanotech, biotech-to create compound new products and to innovate internal processes.
Anchors around case studies on innovations and creative processes at 8 New Polymath enterprises - BP, Cognizant, GE, Kleiner Perkins, National Hurricane Center, Plantronics, salesforce.com, WRHambrecht+Co
Details eleven building blocks these Polymaths are utilizing - from cloud computing to sustainability to social networks
Calatogs over 100 mini case studies of other innovators who are defining state-of-the-art in those eleven build
Table of Contents
Foreword xvii
Preface xxi
Acknowledgments xxxiii
Prologue: The Field of Polymath Dreams xxxvii
PART I SPREZZATURA: THE ART OF MAKING THE COMPLEX LOOK EASY 1
CHAPTER 1 The New Polymath: In an Age of "Wicked Problems" and Technology Abundance 3
CHAPTER 2 Modern-Day Dark Ages: So Much Stagnation 17
CHAPTER 3 Polymath Profile #1: General Electric 31
PART II THE R-E-N-A-I-S-S-A-N-C-E FRAMEWORK: BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THE NEW POLYMATH 51
CHAPTER 4 Residence: Better Technologically Equipped Than the Offi ce 53
CHAPTER 5 Exotics: Innovation from Left Field 67
CHAPTER 6 Polymath Profile #2: Cognizant 81
CHAPTER 7 Networks: Bluetooth to Broadband 89
CHAPTER 8 Polymath Profile #3: Plantronics 107
CHAPTER 9 Arsonists: And Other Disruptors 113
CHAPTER 10 Polymath Profile #4: W. R. Hambrecht 129
CHAPTER 11 Interfaces: For All Our Senses 137
CHAPTER 12 Sustainability: Delivering to Both the Green and Gold Agendas 151
CHAPTER 13 Polymath Profile #5: Kleiner Perkins Cleantech 165
CHAPTER 14 Singularity: Human–Machine Convergence 175
CHAPTER 15 Analytics: Spreadsheets, Search, and Semantics 191
CHAPTER 16 Polymath Profile #6: National Hurricane Center 205
CHAPTER 17 Networks Again: Communities, Crowds, Contracts, and Collaboration 213
CHAPTER 18 Clouds: Technology-as-a-Service 233
CHAPTER 19 Polymath Profile #7: salesforce.com 251
CHAPTER 20 Ethics: In an Age of Cyberwar and Cloning 257
PART III GROOMING YOUR OWN NEW POLYMATH 275
CHAPTER 21 Polymath Profile #8: BP CTO 277
CHAPTER 22 Moon Shots for Budding Polymaths 295
Epilogue: The Beginner's Mind 303
Notes 307
About the Author 325
Index 327
