Review: Unbarred Innovation by Mayur Ramgir

★★★★

Mayur Ramgir is an entrepreneur – founder of the up-and-coming Zonopact, and the single creator and developer of the CLINTRA software. Holding an MS in Computational Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as and other degrees and learning from from University of Sussex, University of Mumbai, MIT, and University of Oxford, it’s safe to say that he is well-versed in the concepts of innovation, and self-created success.

In his new book, Unbarred Innovation: A Pathway to Greatest Discoveries, Ramgir attempts to tell the stories of the great innovators of our time, and how they may have come to be the success stories they are today. With this knowledge in hand, the reader should expect to come to understand Ramgir’s concepts of an “unbarred innovator” and how to tap into your own latent creative self.

Unbarred Innovation is as sobering as it is empowering, even going into unusual stories such as how Post-Its came to be. It’s very intriguing, and pulls every story into a philosophy of personal success. Ramgir is indisputably a visionary, drawing on one quote in particular to describe his outlook: “Everything a human mind can imagine is what the human can achieve.” It’s easy to fall into a pitfall of buzz-words and easy assurances, but Ramgir seems to speak from a very deep, personal belief in the nature of humanity’s ability to achieve, and it’s an infectious optimism that can keep you engaged with the read.

The book seems to target individuals of a more learned background; people of higher education or experience that are looking to move themselves to a higher position, rather than your “Average Joe” reader who may be approaching from a position of very little previous knowledge of business or of a particularly high reading level. Despite this, there is a tendency of the author to make repetitions in his writing, and at times elaborates on ideas that don’t really require it for the intended audience.

Additionally, the book is also quite heavy in its recommendations toward the author’s other work, such as software that must be bought and other products. It’s not uncommon to see a piece on business and innovative speak highly of the author’s own business and innovations, of course, but this kind of up-sell does make it seem as if this book is an incomplete product of its own. It is worth noting that, according to the Amazon page, “all the proceeds generated by this book will be donated for charitable causes” and that this may both explain this focus to a degree, perhaps even excusing some of the downfalls of the book in general.

Overall, Unbarred Innovation is an intriguing and stimulating work both on the nature of human innovation and on your own ability to create and strive for success. For those looking to crack a block in your work, no matter what field it may be, this book might be the shot in the arm you need; to others, it still has a lot to offer to even a casual reader.

Links
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads