That sentence is the entire text of Chapter 19 in Gordon MacKenzie's 1998 Orbiting the Giant Hairball, still the best book on what it takes to be creative in a big company — or really — in any company.  If you haven't read it, and are interested in innovation or creativity, skip the newer stuff and start with the hairball. I was reminded of this one sentence chapter when I was reading an advanced copy of Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten's The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, which comes out in February.  I will be posting more on the 100 Best in the coming months.

P.S. Speaking of short, here is the entire first sentence of the 100 Best: 11,000.  As Jack and Todd tell us (based on ISBN numbers issued) that is how many business books were published in 2007. Staggering, isn't it?