Beyond the Obvious

Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation

By: Phil McKinney

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Generating and executing great ideas is the key to staying ahead in a rapidly changing world. It seems so basic. Why is it so hard to actually get right? According to innovation expert Phil McKinney, the real problem is that we're teaching people to ask the wrong questions about their businesses - or none at all. There has to be a better way.

In Beyond the Obvious, McKinney will help you use his proven FIRE (Focus, Ideation, Rank, Execution) Method to dig deeper and get back to asking the right questions - the ones all companies must ask to survive. Full of real-world examples, this book will change the way you operate, innovate, and create, and it all begins with battle-tested questions Phil has gathered on note cards throughout his career. Shared for the first time here, these "Killer Questions" include:

• What are the rules and assumptions my industry operates under? What if the opposite were true?
• What will be the buying criteria used by my customer in 5 years?
• What are my unshakable beliefs about what my customers want?
• Who uses my product in ways I never anticipated?

At once prescriptive and deeply challenging, these questions will reframe the way you see your products, your customers, and the way the two interact. Whether you're a company of thousands or a lean startup, Beyond the Obvious will give you the skills and easy-to-follow plan you need to make both the revolutionary changes and nuanced tweaks required for success.

©2012 Philip McKinney (P)2012 Hyperion (packaging elements only)

very inspiring. Very intriguing and mind probing

allows us to ask the deeper question to do self-examination and to make discoveries and how we think and what are neural linguistic language programming is and ways to make adjustments in it.

Practical Book

What did you like best about Beyond the Obvious? What did you like least?

Best Theory, Least stories too long thats it
no more comments for it

Would you recommend Beyond the Obvious to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, to open a mind
thats it
no more comments for it

Did Ray Porter do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, in a normal way

Was Beyond the Obvious worth the listening time?

Yes
thats it
no more comments for it

Any additional comments?

no
thats it
no more comments for it

Superb advice on systematizing innovation

What made the experience of listening to Beyond the Obvious the most enjoyable?

The anecdotes, example questions and reasoning behind why asking them is important made the book an excellent enlightening experience.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beyond the Obvious?

The critical takeaway for me is that innovation is something that can be achieved by any company if the right processes, learning, and questioning is in place. It is not necessary to rely entirely on serendipitous strokes of genius and vision of special individuals alone.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The reading voice inspires confidence and was good for driving home critical points.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Game changing innovation: you can do it too.

Any additional comments?

Have begun implementing the authors advice in my business, and achieving success.

If you want to advance in business, then read this

Would you listen to Beyond the Obvious again? Why?

Yes, Phil McKinney has great insight and poses great questions to truly make you think and evolve how you approach business. Like many others, I have found myself in ruts were I just take the normal and accepted approach to tasks, but Phil McKinney's book has definitely opened my mind to innovation and challenging the accepted business norm.

Any additional comments?

A must read for anyone wanting to grow in business. I loved the book and immediately started following McKinney on twitter.

a great book on innovation

this book was one of my favorite books that I've read recently on Innovation and Innovation management. It really has a great actionable guideline for creating your own process within your own organization and team. It is Well written and well structured with good examples and not a lot of fluff.

Don't Waste Your Time

Would you ever listen to anything by Phil McKinney again?

I would not listen to anything by Phil McKinney again.

Any additional comments?

I have to tell you that I only made it a little over half-way through listening to this book before I gave up on it, I really wanted to stop much earlier than that. Ray Porter does an excellent job narrating this book, but he did not have much to work with.