The Idea Factory
by Jon Gertner
The history of Bell Labs: the transistor, information theory, the laser, cellular, and the conditions that made one institution so inventive. A study in how to organize for breakthrough.
Read it if…
you want to understand how great research institutions work.
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Skip it if…
you want individual biography.
Try instead: Dealers of Lightning →
Three things you will actually use
- Mix disciplines physically.
- Fund long horizons.
- Freedom with purpose.
Do this first
Read the chapter on Mervin Kelly's management philosophy.
Our verdict
How breakthrough was organized.
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