Essentially, the book ‘creating innovators’ addresses the manner in which young people can be guided, and their capacities be developed in order to become more entrepreneurial and creative. As such, Tony Wagner gives a new perspective to several issues such as mentoring, parenting and teaching the young people. This is directed to ensuring that the young people receive the necessary training in order to become competent innovators. This is necessary if human beings are to thrive in the demanding 21st century.
In chapter four, the author tries to bring the innovation theory into action. He seeks to achieve this through explaining the interrelationship that exists between the aspects of passion, play and purpose. It is hard to oppose the points that Wagner raises in this chapter. Furthermore, he supplements these arguments by the contributions of the social innovators that he uses as a case study (Wagner, 2012). As Wagner points out in this chapter, the young people who intend to pursue innovation should never give up despite the challenges that they may face when starting. They should not fear putting their ideas into practice, since an idea not acted upon is useless. This is very true. One must be purposeful while acting on an idea, otherwise, the idea passes and the opportunity it presented.
In the fifth chapter, Wagner sets out to analyze what works and what fails to work. Wagner raises points in the book which have my support. Through the five dualisms that Wagner points out, the aspiring innovators get into a better situation to arrive at decisions on whether to venture into innovation or not. Individual achievement versus collaboration, for instance, gives an insight on whether the aspiring innovators should work alone or involve others. It is in this chapter that Wagner gives most of the things that should be taken into consideration. Things such as, whether to specialize or engage in multidisciplinary learning, whether to choose the path of avoiding risks or employing the trial and error method, among many more other things to consider. This book is a goldmine for young people with the intention of joining the innovation industry.
References
Wagner, T., & Compton, R. A. (2012). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. New York: Scribner.
