Ninja Innovation

October 29, 2012
In his latest, Shapiro (The Comeback), CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, argues that companies should demonstrate the same agility, laserlike focus, and strength as ninjas. He uses the metaphor of the ninja to focus on “the micro factors that lead to individual and organizational success.” “Ninja Innovation” serves as a catchall phrase for what it takes to succeed and expands the ninja credo to incorporate traits that modern-day ninjas need. Chapters detail specific characteristics of the ninja mentality, such as besting the competitor, taking risks, and adhering to a code of conduct. Shapiro’s chapter on strategy formation, which he considers an art, not science, is top-notch. Despite his use of prominent (but common) examples including Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, and Meg Whitman, Shapiro’s advice is solidly based on theory. Readers seeking a practical how-to text will need to look elsewhere. However, those eager for a more stealthy and versatile approach will appreciate Shapiro’s treatise on discipline, shared goals, and mental toughness.

November 15, 2012
Lessons from the tactics and strategies of ninja warriors applied to international and domestic battles in consumer electronics. Consumer Electronics Association CEO Shapiro (The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream, 2011) writes that his views of what constitutes a "successful person, company, and organization" are shaped by the discipline and habits of martial arts. The author provides an overview of many different fields of combat, and his narrative makes clear that the ninja model is not just a metaphor. The different battlefields are united by the rapid pace of technological innovation, which has driven the consumer-electronics business to $200 billion of U.S. factory sales in 2012 and worldwide sales in excess of $1 trillion. Shapiro recounts in detail the battles involving the development of HDTV, which required not only outpacing Japanese competition, but also uniting different domestic business and political interests behind the proposed solutions. Shapiro's approach is based on many of the tenets of the ninja: a commitment to victory, the development of resources for success through teamwork, a lack of fear about operating clandestinely and stealthily behind enemy lines. Their tradition is very different than the one the author attributes to the more rule-bound and feudalistic samurai warriors. The CEA is a trade group, not a lobby, organized around annual conventions and efforts to promote its members' businesses. These events have brought Shapiro into close contact with innovators like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, among others, and provided him with additional insight into business and its leaders. The author is a proponent of strengthening consumers' rights and an opponent of efforts to restrict innovation. A different perspective that brings out commonalities between business competition and combat.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.