Loonshots by Safi Bahcall

Last quarter for work I read Originals, which was about individual innovators. This quarter I read Loonshots which is about group innovation and what drives it. This is a great read from two perspectives. First, Bahcall tells a lot of stories around the history of many people we’re all familiar with and companies we’ve all heard of. However, there are also stories about people maybe you haven’t heard of but are responsible for inventions you’re sure to have heard about. Second, the concepts I feel are spot on and applicable to all of us working in a company that makes products. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in product development or promotion.

Bahcall tells the stories of Nokia, the radar, Bell Labs, statin drugs, Polaroid, NeXT computers and Steve Jobs, Pixar and others. He uses these stories and examples to explain his theories around why some products succeed, and others don’t.

A loonshot as Bahcall defines it is a neglected project, widely dismissed, its champion written off as unhinged. The products described in this book are all game changing products that had a long and difficult road.

Bahcall explains the Bush-Vail rules about how to be a successful company that has both loonshots and franchise products. He talks about the barriers that can get in the way of convincing those who make the decisions that a loonsoot is something worth pursuing.

At the end of the book is an appendix that summarizes all his concepts. I found this to be a great addition and can become a helpful reference, saving time from having to search the entire book for something.

Bahcall does jump around quite a bit, so it’s incumbent on the reader to pay attention. He often goes on tangents that at first seem unrelated, but he always returns showing the connections.

The author applies his theories to companies, industries and even nations. He does introduce some equations that seem more to fit his examples than ones that explain generalities. I skipped over most of that part being more interested in the concepts themselves.

Of the three read so far this year, I’ll put this one first.

1. 1. Loonshots by Safi Bahcall
   2. Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson
   3. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

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