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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Preface
Introduction
Already Out There
Ready to Unlearn
CHAPTER 1 - Know Your Gig
The Discernment
The Circle of Competence
Gigs Matter
Interested
CHAPTER 2 - Be Interested, Not Just Interesting
Curiosity at the Trading Post
Learning Machines
Your Brain Is Open
Defining Your Own Hunt
Diverse
CHAPTER 3 - Diversifying the
Hunt
The Color of Your Ideas
When Weak Ties Are Strong
Widening Your Intel ectual Bandwidth
Bridging Distant Worlds
Ideas Are Everywhere
Exercised

describing the characteristics of successful Idea
Hunters, they provide guidance and tools that wil
increase your capacity to find great ideas and put
them into play.”
—Michael Raynor, director, Deloitte Consulting
LLP, and author, The Strategy Paradox and The
Innovator’s Manifesto
“My company aims to add about $4 bil ion in new
sales every year. This won’t be possible without
everyone in the organization contributing new
ideas. The Idea Hunter is an essential guide to
systematical y developing this critical capability.”
—Werner Geissler, vice chairman, global
operations, Procter & Gamble
“Thril ing, fun, and inspiring, The Idea Hunter tel
s stories and discerns patterns of behavior and
habits shared by the great innovators of the past
century. It finds similarities among the greats
ranging from Warren Buffet to Steve Jobs, and
even going back earlier in the century to Walt
Disney and Thomas Edison. Through brief stories
and simple self-reflection exercises, this book
distil s the quirky essence of leading imagination in
a way we can consume it, and hopeful y aspire to
become one with it.”
—Aaron C. Sylvan, serial entrepreneur and
technologist, One Technology, Trust Works,
LemonadeHeroes, and Sylvan Social Technology
“We rely on using the ideas of thousands of experts
to win against tough competition in a crowded

—Laura J. Sen, president and CEO, BJ’s
Wholesale Club
“Humans make progress by discovering new ideas,
but also, importantly, by repurposing the ones that
already exist. Boynton and Fischer show how each
of us can get better at this critical skil —
identifying and reapplying existing ideas.”
—Paul Romer, senior felow, Stanford Institute for
Economic Policy Research
“Hunting is an apt metaphor. Ideas exist
everywhere in the wild. The trick is knowing
where to look for them and how to capture them.
Boynton and Fischer tel us how.”
—Ron Sargent, chairman and CEO, Staples, Inc.
“The Idea Hunter is unique. It’s about curiosity,
agility, and perpetual y hunting for better ideas. It’s
a must-read for anyone who wants to compete and
col aborate more effectively each and every day.”
—Greg Brown, president and CEO, Motorola
Solutions
“This book upends a number of persistent myths
about innovation and what it takes to be an ‘idea
person.’ It shows that what’s required is not
spectacular creativity or remarkable IQ, but
curiosity—not innate genius, but a genuine desire
to engage in a daily search for ideas. The Idea
Hunter wil help transform the way you and your
business operate.”
—Jay Hooley, chairman, president, and CEO,
State Street Corporation

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who rose above an eighth-grade education to
inspire several generations with her love for
ideas. She was a true Idea Hunter!
—Bill
Dear Jane, you are at the heart of the very best
ideas I’ve ever had—let’s start a fire and watch
something tonight (“Maybe a game is on!”), can
we go grab some Indian food, let’s take a walk,
or let’s drive out to Great Point (“and maybe I
can fish for blues!”). You know better than
anyone that those are the ideas I treasure most—
and I only enjoy them with you.
—Andy
PREFACE
Why Hunt?
IDEAS MATTER. We could talk at length about
the impact of blockbuster ideas, like the microchip
and mass production. But one of our favorite
examples has to do with something less celebrated:
coffee cup lids.
Many people have already forgotten the ritual they
used to perform after ordering their latte or
double-shot espresso in a coffee shop. Until fairly
recently, customers often had to fumble around the
counter looking for the right-size lid, because a
medium lid would not do if they were holding a
large cup of cappuccino. Al that changed with the
introduction of one-size-fits-al lids, the product of
an idea that required some tinkering with the
design of the rims of disposable coffee cups.

cups of al sizes—smal , medium, and large—is not
a thing. It’s an idea. What’s more, it’s an idea that
coffee-shop owners and managers al over the
world can reuse over and over again.
Romer takes up an interesting question: Which is a
bigger obstacle—a shortage of ideas, or a shortage
of things? His research has shown that
“idea gaps,” as he styles them, hold back progress
and innovation much more than the “object gaps.”
He is speaking primarily about how societies have
ultimately risen out of poverty not because of
things, like paper or steel, but because of ideas
about how to leverage those things (for example,