Prologue: Unlearning What's Untrue
Introduction to the Model
Chapter 1. Invention: Ah Attempt to Improve the World
Chapter 2. Understanding Inventions: A Brief Introduction to the System Model
Example 1. Edison's Electric Grid as a System
Example 2. The System behind the iPhone
Supporting the iPhone: The System Elements in Action
Chapter 3. Understanding Patents: An Application of the System Model
Example 1. Plasmon Waveguide
Spotting System Elements in a Patent Claim
Example 2. Building an Intelligent Remote Control
Discovering New Opportunities and Addressing New Threats
Using the System Model to Solve the Problem and Patent the Solution
Chapter 4. System Interfaces: How the Elements Work Together
Interface Example 1. Edison's Light Bulb Socket
Interface Example 2. The Universal Serial Bus Interface
Interface Example 3. Apple's 30-Pin Connector
Interface Example 4. User Interfaces (UIs)
Chapter 5. System Control Points: Where to Aim the Silver Bullets
Control Points as Opportunities for Innovation
Control Point Example 1: Microsoft Office versus Google Docs
In Google We Trust: Leveraging Control Points
Control Point Example 2: Privacy Is Dead. Long Live E-Commerce!
Control Point Example 3: The Application Programming Interface
Section II Outside the Box
Chapter 6. Outside the Box: Developing Skills for Creative Thinking
Chapter 7. Seeing the Outlines of the Box: Discovering the Boundaries of a System
Chapter 8. Inventor's Luck: A System Perspective
Chapter 9. The Three Magicians: Tools for Flexible Thinking
Running a Three Magicians Session
Magician 1. Divide-Connect (What Is the Functionality of the Box? Does It Work?)
Magician 2. Climb-on-the-Roof (Does It Scale?)
Magician 3. Fall Back-Spring Ahead (Is There a Need for Scale?)
The First Council of Magicians: Lean to the Ground (Past and Present)
Chapter 10. Imagination Development: Seeing the World beyond Present-Day Constraints
Scale-Time-Money (STM): Tools for Exponential Thinking
Playing with Time and Money
Imagination Development: Conclusions about the Scale-Time-Money Tool
Section III. System Evolution and Innovation Timing
Chapter 11. The S Curve: Dynamics of Systems Thinking
Chapter 12. A Stage of System Evolution: Synthesis
The Destruction of Paper Books: Evolution of a System
Conclusions Regarding the Synthesis Stage of a System
Chapter 13. A Stage of System Evolution: Early Growth
Signs of Evolution: The Emergence of a Dominant Design
Dealing with Copycats during the Early Growth Stage
Fighting Copycats with Patents
Keeping Secrets from Copycats
Licensing Inventions to Copycats
Conclusions: Regarding the Early Growth Stage of a System
Chapter 14. A Stage of System Evolution: Distribution Buildup
Chapter 15. Growing Up: A Paradigm Shift within the System
Chapter 16. Infrastructure Innovations: Timing Is Everything
Timing Example 1: $1.4 Billion for Rooftop Solar Power Plants
Evaluating the Green Energy Argument
Timing Example 2: The Google Fiber Project
Chapter 17. Infrastructure and Growth: Zooming In on the Micro Level
Chapter 18. A Stage of System Evolution: Efficiency
Systemwide Electricity Disasters
Efficiency and the Future of the E-Book
Chapter 19. Payload Evolution: From Physical to Virtual
Notable Early Attempts to Innovate with Large Collections of Documents
The Birth of the World Wide Web
Monetizing the Web: The Origins of Internet Commerce and User Interactivity
A Revolution in the Making: Detecting Major System-Level Shifts in Technology and Business
Chapter 20. The Web Is Dead: Abandoning Documents and Files in Favor of Information Streams
Example 1: Wikipedia versus Facebook
Chapter 21. Deconstructing Luck: Factors Affecting the Success of a System
Chapter 22. Seeing the Invisible: The System behind the New Internet
Google versus Facebook: The Battle for the Control Functionality
Chapter 23. The Book Electric: A Scenario of E-Book Evolution
Building the E-Book System
Chapter 24. Payload Overload: Managing the Ever-Increasing Flows of Information
The Electronic Program Guide
DHL Express: The Signal before the Payload
Chapter 25. Anticipating Control Problems: The Telegram before the Train
Chapter 26. System Efficiency: Solving Detection Problems to Improve Control
Chapter 27. Stages of System Evolution: Deep Integration
Chapter 28. Choosing the Right Problem: Matching Innovation Targets with Stages of System Evolution
Chapter 29. Tech Battles: Discovering System-Level Competitive Advantages
Considering the Tool Functionality
Considering the Source Functionality
Considering the Distribution Functionality
Considering the Packaged Payload Functionality
Considering the Control Functionality
Summary of the Tech Battle Technique
Chapter 30. TiVo versus VCR: A Detailed Application Example of the Tech Battle Technique
TiVo versus VCR: The Tool
TiVo versus VCR: The Source
TiVo versus VCR: The Distribution
TiVo versus VCR: The Packaged Payload
TiVo versus VCR: The Control
Conclusions: Regarding the Tech Battle Technique
