From Publishers Weekly

There really is nothing new under the sun, says entrepreneur Murray. All good ideas are constructed out of already existing ones, and rather than viewing borrowing as theft, we should view it as a necessary—even desirable—path to invention. Charles Darwin did it, as did George Lucas, Steve Jobs, Stephen King and a host of other innovators who knew how to take existing ideas and turn them into new answers to old problems. Murray draws heavily on his own experience and well-known successes—the evolution of the Walkman to the iPod, for example—to drive home his thesis, and even dips into the neurology of idea creation. The somewhat hashed-to-death point takes a more practical turn as Murray explains how the average organization can borrow successfully; his Brilliantly Borrowed Brainstorming system effectively lays out the steps, from identifying a good idea to adapting it to one's own uses. While somewhat repetitive, Murray's prescriptions are lucid and helpful, and this book should garner prime shelf space. (Sept.)

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Review

"A wonderfully enjoyable tour of the creative process. Murray's lively description of how he used these tools to create his own products is a major plus. People will be stealing from this work for years to come!"

-Roger von Oech, author of A Whack on the Side of the Head and The Creative Whack Pack

"We met in strange places: Carlsbad, Lake Tahoe, Milwaukee, Kansas City. And so I spent my years with David Murray, just as zany, articulate, well-read, and completely unpredictable as is his book. Ah, the book: Dave Murray in person is just like his book, only more so. "Break the rules," he said. We broke them. "I'm thinking of writing a book about this," he said." I encouraged him. And here it is, how to be brilliant and innovative. New ideas are always amalgamations of old ones. Borrowed. Murray makes it seem simple, but don't be deceived. Everything he says is true."

--Don Norman, author of Emotional Design

"Everything a business book should be. A great concept brilliantly expressed in an interesting and well-written book."

-Al Ries, author of War in the Boardroom and Positioning

"Borrowing Brilliance is truly creative brilliance! It is simple, easy to read...it's magical. David Murray shared his life's personal stories juxtaposed with his six simple steps to business innovation. His book brings to life these steps through building on the ideas of others. You can borrow and use his six steps and explode with fresh new ideas the day after finishing Borrowing Brilliance."

-Jack Mitchell, CEO Mitchell's / Richard's / Marsh's and Author of Hug Your Customers and Hug Your People