Top Innovation books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Innovation books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Innovation

Understanding the concepts of Innovation starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs

Innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth in your organization Using a list of more than 2,000 successful innovations, including Cirque du Soleil, early IBM mainframes, the ...

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

A fascinating deep dive on innovation from the New York Times bestselling author of How We Got To Now and Unexpected LifeThe printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery--these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kind of environment breeds them? What sparks the flash of brilliance? ...

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The innovator's dilemma

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, first published in 1997, is the best-known work of the Harvard professor and businessman Clayton Christensen. It expands on the concept of disruptive technologies, a term he coined in a 1995 article "Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave".

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice

The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services customers not only want to buy, but are willing to pay premium prices for.How do companies know how to grow? ...

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, Or How to Build the Future

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future is a 2014 book by the American entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel co-written with Blake Masters.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy is a book published in 2005 written by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, and the name of the marketing theory detailed on the book.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Innovation Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Innovation, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

The myths of innovation

How do we know if a hot new technology will succeed or fail? Most of us, even experts, get it wrong all the time. We depend more than we realize on wishful thinking and romanticized ideas of history. ...

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Ten Faces of Innovation

The author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation reveals the strategies IDEO, the world-famous design firm, uses to foster innovative thinking throughout an organization and overcome the naysayers who stifle creativity. The role of the devil's advocate is nearly universal in business today. ...

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses is a book by Eric Ries describing his proposed lean startup strategy for startup companies.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Innovation books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 1 Spot Left

Software engineer, turned entrepreneur, turned advisor and investor. I've been a serial entrepreneur for 20+ years, currently sharing experience and guidance with driven entrepreneurs and CEO's. My mission is to help entrepreneurs start or growing their business, proving thoughtful feedback and guidance. I manage a startup incubator in Europe, supporting …

$180 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

Hi, I'm Andrei! 👋 With 17 years in software development and over 8 years in leadership roles, I help tech professionals grow—from team members to managers and senior executives. As a Technical Director at Globant, I lead over 160 engineers delivering projects for 15+ international clients worldwide. What I Do: …

$120 / month

Only 2 Spots Left

I am a seasoned CTO with more than a decade of experience. But I am also a passionate developer and architect with even more years of experience. I am tech savvy and have an extensive software engineering background ranging from early stage start-ups to scale-ups with many teams in parallel. …

$240 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

15+ yrs exp, 10+ as CEO/Exec, leading teams, raising capital, building tech, scaling, investing and advising companies. Hey there! I'm Aly, a Canadian-based entrepreneur, investor and advisor who has spent over a decade building, investing and advising companies. I've had the opportunity to build both bootstrapped and venture-backed companies, learning …

$220 / month

Only 2 Spots Left

I have 15 years experience. An Oxford University graduate who went into Software Engineering, then moved into Product Management. I have worked as a regular Product Manager, a Product Lead managing multiple teams, a Head of Product defining culture and processes, CTO and as a Board Advisor. I am British …

$150 / month

Only 2 Spots Left

Breaking into PM or leveling up without a big tech background? I’m a product leader and ex-founder who’s built and scaled marketplace, healthcare, and civic tech products—leading initiatives that grew to $30M+ ARR, advising startups through pivotal growth phases, and scaling platforms from the ground up. I specialize in helping …

$240 / month

Browse all Innovation mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Innovation mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."