Little Bets: How breakthrough ideas emerge from small discoveries - Couverture souple

"I have always believed that constant innovation is core to success. The methods Peter Sims provides in the highly engaging Little Bets will help you challenge the status quo and discover extraordinary new possibilities in whatever endeavor you're engaged in." (Howard Schultz Chairman and CEO of Starbucks)

"Want a big idea? Start little. Whether you're an entrepreneur or an artist, Peter Sims shows you how big breakthroughs start with little bets." (Chip Heath Author of 'Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard')

"With examples that range from traditional businesses to stand-up comedians, Peter Sims shows that the path to big success is lined with small failures. Behind every breakthrough idea is often a host of experiments that flopped - and Sims shows how to leverage these "little bets" to produce lasting results. This is a powerful and practical book." (Daniel H. Pink Author of 'Drive' and 'A Whole New Mind')

"A fascinating and revealing journey through the real-life dynamics of the creative process. Vividly written and bustling with examples from comedy to architecture, Little Bets is a wonderful example of itself: a big idea that takes shape through many small discoveries. I highly recommend it for anyone with a serious interest in cultivating creativity in business, education or in their own lives." (Sir Ken Robinson)

"In Little Bets, Peter Sims convincingly argues that we need a new model of creativity, focused around gradual improvement and constant innovation. If you're not learning while doing, Sims points out, then you're probably doing it wrong." (Jonah Lehrer Author of 'The Decisive Moment')

How can errors produce perfection?

How can failure fuel ambition?

How can confusion enhance creativity?

The answer: little bets.

The little bets approach is about using negativity to positive effect. If your plans fall apart, refine them; if you don't know where best to begin, just begin somewhere. Every decision is a risk: take a chance and see what happens.

In Little Bets, bestselling author Peter Sims turns problems on their heads and outlines a counter-intuitive path to perfection. Using real-life case studies from the worlds of business, design, warfare and even comedy, he shows that it can be more rational to act first and think later, more efficient to fail and find out what doesn't work. It's a flexible philosophy that has both saved corporate giants such as Apple and Pixar and inspired the third-world microfinancing industry.

When success is the only acceptable outcome, Little Bets advocates a bold and radical approach in which failure is good, questions are solutions, and excellence is not a means but an end.