Mad Genius

October 5, 2015
Gage (Risky Is the New Safe), an entrepreneur and angel investor, shows how to break free from groupthink and generate big new ideas in this quirky, big-picture business manual. “Mad genius,” he states, is the sum of conventional, logical, and yet creative thinking centered not on the product or service in question but on the benefits it brings to consumers. Gage’s manifesto celebrates the value of ideas that disrupt, innovate, and even annoy, and looks at where these ideas come from. He also explores the relevance of memes, social media marketing, and the virtual world to businesspeople. The book focuses on unleashing and nurturing mad genius while battling the traps of habitual thinking and intellectual laziness. Gage’s approach involves doing work that’s personally meaningful to those doing it, learning to “live in the solution” instead of the problem, adopting a future-centered mind-set, and practicing “whole-brain synchronicity” for improved clarity, creativity, and learning ability. Above all, he advises being curious, questioning everything, and making sure to base beliefs on trustworthy premises. Eclectic and irreverent but inherently wise, Gage’s ideas will leave readers eager to break free of the herd in the pursuit of success.

November 15, 2015

Entrepreneur and angel investor Gage (Risky Is the New Safe) writes in his preface to this book that "As entrepreneurs, we're hardwired to shake things up, live by our own set of rules, and, most importantly, create new things. Our greatest genius comes in the creation part." He describes how entrepreneurs harness, nurture, and direct genius, and, using case studies of companies, such as Uber, Mass Relevance (which partnered with Klout), Google, and Tesla, illustrates how "mad genius" can be harnessed effectively. He advises that first-time business owners first should step back and ask questions regarding desired outcomes, who the real target market is, what are the benefits for people in the target group/market, etc. Gage additionally states that the opposite of success is not failure but mediocrity, arguing that the former is "actually an integral and necessary element of success" and that "momentary challenges" are a "stepping stone" to success. He explains how ideas are born through conventional, logical, lateral, and creative thinking. VERDICT This practical book is recommended to students of business, entrepreneurs, and would-be entrepreneurs.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens, NY

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