In an age that pushes us to choose early, run fast, and find definitive answers, it may seem like a paradox to stop and reflect on how we actually learn, innovate, and change. Yet it is in this space of reflection that the most authentic transformations are born.

In this issue of EVOLVE devoted to Inspire Innovation, we have selected three books that challenge time and convention, proposing new ways of seeing the future. With Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein reevaluates the figure of the generalist as a valuable resource for dealing with a complex and unpredictable world. In Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, Calestous Juma explores the deep-rooted causes – often socioeconomic and cultural – that hinder the adoption of new technologies. And finally, Tim Brown, with Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, shows how design thinking can become a widespread mindset for generating human, concrete, participatory solutions. Three different but deeply complementary perspectives. Three tools for rethinking not only what we do, but also how we think.

Epstein: the future belongs to generalists

For decades we were told that the secret to success was early specialization. That we needed to start young, focus on one thing, accumulate hours of deliberate practice, and climb to the top. But what if all this is not true? Or at least, not always? This is the question David Epstein, science journalist and former athlete, asks in his book Range. Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, which hit #1 in The New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year award.

In a brilliant and rigorous style, Epstein challenges one of the most entrenched ideas of our time: that specialization is the only path to excellence. Through an impressive body of research and success stories, he instead shows that those who excel – in sports, science, the arts, technology – are often the generalists, those who have traversed diverse experiences, changed paths, embraced breadth before depth.

The epitome of this approach is Switzerland's Roger Federer, who skateboarded, played soccer and badminton as a boy before taking up tennis seriously. His opposite? U.S. golfer Tiger Woods, the precocious prodigy. Yet, according to Epstein, the Federer model is far more common – and successful – than people think.

The heart of Range's argument is that today's world, defined as "wicked" rewards not those who have specialized in a closed, repetitive system like a chess game, but those who can connect ideas, change contexts, and face the unknown with mental flexibility. In an age of accelerated change, it is not only necessary to be able to repeat what works: it is necessary to invent what does not yet exist. One should go around «having a lot of apps open in one's brain at the same time. ».

A new figure is emerging: the systems thinker, capable of building broad mental models by drawing on different fields. Epstein finds traces of this in Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, and Steve Jobs. People who, before arriving at their great discoveries, failed, explored, and abandoned well-trodden paths. And that is precisely why they were able to innovate.

Range is therefore a manifesto for those who do not identify with a single label. For those who love to experiment, change, make mistakes, and start over. It is a book that restores dignity and strength to the "hybrid profile" and invites us to cultivate breadth, not as inefficiency, but as a valuable resource for facing the challenges of the present.

As Bill Gates wrote about Range «if you're a generalist who has ever felt overshadowed by your specialist colleagues, this book is for you.».

Juma: why do we fear innovation?

Why do people resist change, even when change could improve their lives? This is the key question posed by Calestous Juma, Kenyan scientist, Harvard professor, and one of the world's leading experts on technological innovation and science policy, in his book Innovation and Its Enemies.

Juma analyzes the history of nearly 600 years of technology and draws a powerful and timely mes- sage: resistance to progress is never just a matter of security or moral values. More often than not, it is a socio-economic and identity-based reaction. People, institutions, and industries tend to oppose what they perceive as a threat to their power, their earnings, or their culture. The real driver of fear is not novelty, but the loss of what is familiar.

In the book, Juma presents a series of emblematic cases: from coffee, feared by religious leaders for its "intoxicating" effect and its ability to create alternative social spaces to mosques, to margarine, opposed by the dairy lobby. From agricultural tractors, opposed by horse breeders, to GMOs, developed to reduce pesticide use but obstructed by a cross-party front of governments, activists, and public opinion. In all these examples, the author shows how mistrust in institutions and feelings of exclusion are the main drivers of resistance.

According to Juma, many technologies are rejected not because they are useless or dangerous, but because they alter the existing balance. In a world where the benefits of innovation seem to be concentrated among a few, while the risks are more widely distributed, it is natural for social divisions to arise. It is precisely this tension between innovation and stability that represents one of the most delicate challenges for contemporary public policy.

The author therefore calls for a new paradigm of innovation governance: one that is more transparent, inclusive, and participatory. It is not enough to communicate new technologies better: we need to actively involve those who will benefit from them and, above all, those who fear they will suffer a loss. Farmers, for example, must be heard in debates on GMOs while citizens must be involved in decisions on artificial intelligence and renewable energy.

The stakes are high, Juma explains: «In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, the risks of doing nothing may outweigh the risks of innovating.» That is why it is essential that scientists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers work together to facilitate the adoption of useful innovations and counter the inequalities that fuel fear.

Innovation and Its Enemies is a profound and accessible essay that combines history, sociology, and politics into a single grand narrati- ve about humanity and its relationship with change. A must-read for anyone who believes that innovation must be not only technological, but also social and cultural. Because innovation, if it is not shared, risks becoming just another form of exclusion.

Brown: design thinking as a strategy to change the world

«There is nothing more frustrating than coming up with the right answer to the wrong question.» When we think of innovation, we often imagine ingenious ideas that spring from extraordinary minds in a flash of inspiration. But the reality is quite different: innovation is a process. And in this process, design thinking plays an increasingly decisive role. This is explained by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, one of the most influential companies in the "eld of design and innovation, in his book Change by Design.

According to Brown, design thinking is not reserved for professional designers. It is a method, indeed a mindset, that can be adopted by managers, entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders in every field. It is a human-centered approach to problem solving that starts by listening to people and their needs, integrates creativity with analysis, and arrives at new, feasible, and sustainable solutions.

The book is full of real-life examples drawn from IDEO's own experience. In one case, a team redesigned the shift change of nurses in an American hospital: not by starting with an Excel spreadsheet, but by observing reality through the eyes of the patient. In another, a bicycle component manufacturer discovered a new market segment – occasional adult cyclists – simply by rethinking the emotional experience of riding a bike. In both cases, innovation did not come from technology, but from empathy.

Brown strongly emphasizes the importance of prototyping: build, test, fail, repeat. It's not just about designing objects but about putting ideas to the tests in real life, including through simulations, role-playing, and modelling. It's a way to learn quickly, make corrections along the way, and arrive at effective solutions more quickly. Brown writes: "Fail early to succeed sooner"!

But there's more. Design thinking is also an organizational culture that rewards collaboration, curiosity, and freedom to experiment. In one emblematic passage, Brown recounts how a young engineer at Hewlett-Packard disobeyed a direct order from top management to develop a new type of screen. That rebellious act led to the invention of the first large-screen monitor, ushering in a new era for computing.

One of the most powerful concepts in the book is that value today is shifting from the product to the experience. People don't just want to buy something, they want to participate, to be involved, and to identify with the service or brand. The task of design, then, is not just to create beautiful objects, but to orchestrate meaningful experiences.

Change by Design is more than a manual: it is a manifesto for democratic, participatory, and accessible innovation. Brown does not want everyone to become designers, but he does want everyone to start thinking like a designer. Because in a complex and ever-changing world, the most valuable skill you can have, is not having all the answers, but knowing how to ask the right questions.