Here are key resources that I often share with colleagues and students. I’ve collected some here for easy access and will continue to update. Enjoy!

Books
Pascale, R., Sternin, J., and Sternin, M. (2010). The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems.
https://positivedeviance.org/the-power-of-positive-deviance
> This book has had a significant influence on my work in inclusive research and innovation. The book’s case study on the nutritional health of Vietnamese children has profound data-driven concepts that turn traditional top-down innovation strategies on their heads.

Kidder, T. (1981). The Soul of a New Machine. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7090.The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine
> A classic, exciting, Pulitzer Prize winning book that introduces the reader to the collaborative culture and intrinsic motivation of hardware and software engineers creating a new computer design. I read this when I was shifting from macro-tech (telecommunications infrastructure products) to micro-tech (software and server products) in my career.

Godin, S. (2004). Free Prize Inside.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O76OAO/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i13
> This isn’t as popular as many of Seth Godin’s other books but, hands down, this is one of the books I have given and recommended, particularly to new grads. It’s the book’s Section 2 “Selling the Idea” that quickly shares some very valuable tips on 1) how to get your boss to try your ideas and 2) how not to get fired for having too many new ideas in a large organization. I’ve seen new grads return to speak with me in my professor role, in a bit of shock for getting in trouble for trying to improve a long-standing process or product feature at their employer. Seth Godin faced the same challenges when he was young, and he shares great tips for success. The book also talks about how to make a product remarkable in the eyes of a potential user.

Videos
Service Design Network. (2019, December 20). Zita Cobb: Design in Service of Place: Community Business on Fogo Island. https://youtu.be/Wb2xXxM9aF8
> The Punt Chair: Furniture of the Fogo Island Inn: https://vimeo.com/61324519
> Place-based social innovation at its finest. A wonder of arts-based, human-centred economic revitalization that bridges traditional culture and modern design.

PBS. (2010, October 28). The Brain Series - The Creative Brain. https://charlierose.com/videos/19846
> Perhaps the best discussion I’ve found about how creativity is enhanced by naturally-occurring and self-imposed constraints. MoMa curator Ann Temkind, artists Richard Serra and Chuck Close, and neurologist Oliver are featured in this interview. Many insights about how to design programs to optimize the creativity of participants. Note that this interview is hosted by disgraced journalist Charlie Rose.

Magazines, Newspapers, Websites
Wadhwa, V. (2011, July 15). Industry clusters: The modern-day snake oil. Washington Post. https://wadhwa.com/articles-list/2011/7/15/washington-post-industry-clusters-the-modern-day-snake-oil
> Yet another data-driven argument against “industry clusters” as an incredibly wasteful and unsuccessful model attempting to drive regional growth and innovation. Wadhwa tells the unvarnished truth: “The formula for creating these clusters is always the same: Pick a hot industry, build a technology park next to a research university, provide incentives for businesses to relocate, add some venture capital and then watch the magic happen. But, as I have noted before, the magic never happens. Most of the top-down cluster-development projects in the United States and around the world have died a slow death in relative obscurity. Politicians who held the press conferences to claim credit for advancing science and technology are long gone. Management consultants have cashed in their big checks. Real estate barons have reaped fortunes, and taxpayers are left holding the bag.”

Wadhwa, V. (2011, Jul 29). Five myths about entrepreneurs. Washington Post. https://wadhwa.com/articles-list/2011/7/29/washington-post-five-myths-about-entrepreneurs
> More than 10 years after Wadhwa’s research on this topic was first published, the media and the public sector innovation machine still spout these stale myths about young, male, college dropout startup founders who need and get venture capital. Upon sharing evidence-based profiles of “average” tech entrepreneurs with a middle-aged software entrepreneur I was interviewing, he exclaimed to his spouse, “Honey, I’m normal!”

Academic Articles
Martin, R. & Sunley, P. (2003). Deconstructing Clusters: Chaotic Concept or Policy Panacea? Journal of Economic Geography, 3: 5-35.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5213250_Deconstructing_Clusters_Chaotic_Concept_or_Policy_Panacea
> Martin & Sunley address three related points very powerfully. First, they painstakingly dissect Porter's flawed cluster theory. Secondly, they highlight the problematic lack of common vocabulary, understanding and definitions in this field by drawing from a broad range of authors and definitions. And finally, (and perhaps most importantly), the authors provide a very useful analysis of why, despite its clear shortcomings, the cluster concept (or "cluster brand" as they call it) has caught on so well and so widely with policymakers, community leaders, and other academics.

Copus, A. K.(2001) From Core-periphery to Polycentric Development: Concepts of Spatial and Aspatial Peripherality. European Planning Studies, 9(4), 539- 552.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297380344_From_core-periphery_to_polycentric_development_Concepts_of_spatial_and_aspatial_peripherality

Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78: 1360-1380.
https://snap.stanford.edu/class/cs224w-readings/granovetter73weakties.pdf

Markusen, A. (1996, July). Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts. Economic Geography. 72(3), (293-313).
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1505247

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