Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors

Why do some inventors succeed and others fail? A private equity pioneer explores personal traits and processes that worked for thirty innovators—or didn’t.

Jeremy Coller, a pioneer in the world of private equity, argues that there are three basic personality types in the arena of invention. The Principal, Broker, and Consultant each display certain traits that dictate the potential for success, but few people have the full package. Failure results when an individual who excels in one area of competence attempts to become all things. Thus, even accomplished geniuses can end up penniless.

In Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors, Coller focuses on the individual rather than the invention—and explores the ways in which he or she did or did not succeed in bringing their vision to fruition. On one level, the book is a collection of fascinating stories packed with quirky, often humorous nuggets of information. On another level, these stories provide an unconventional look at the processes and personalities that created products that changed the world, including:

• Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine
• King Gillette and the safety razor
• Alfred Nobel and dynamite
• Sam Colt and the revolver
• Rudolph Diesel and the diesel engine, and more