The Human Side of Innovation

PepsiCo's award-winning chief design officer reveals the secret to creating life-changing innovations: putting human needs at the center of any design process.

In every industry, new technologies have lowered the barrier to entry like never before. Either you design exceptional products or somebody will beat you to it. And Mauro Porcini, PepsiCo's first ever chief design officer, says the key to real, world-changing innovation is to put people first.

Putting people first requires what Porcini calls unicorns: people who are in love with people and who have a genuine fire in them to create meaningful solutions for actual human beings. In this book, he describes them, celebrates them, and details their superpowers so you can find them, hire them, grow them, and retain them. Some have qualities you might expect-the ability to dream and an attention to detail-but when was the last time you heard an executive ask prospective hires if they were kind or humble?

Porcini uses his journey across startups and multinational corporations, through successes and failures, to create a handbook for modern innovators. This book is written by a celebrated designer, high-level corporate executive, and a decent human being.