Why am I passionate about this?

A professor of business at the University of Cambridge, I've spent over two decades studying innovation. I've been particularly interested in “frugal innovation”: how small teams now use ubiquitous tools and technologies to achieve what only large corporations or governments could a decade ago. I've written two books about this phenomenon: Jugaad Innovation and Frugal Innovation about the private sector. Whenever I gave talks about them, there was always the question: What does this mean for governments? I began to study how the state could use new technologies and ways of organizing to deliver services to its citizens better, faster and cheaper, and how governments should regulate and cultivate such tools used by the private sector.


I wrote

How Should a Government Be?: The New Levers of State Power

By Jaideep Prabhu,

Book cover of How Should a Government Be?: The New Levers of State Power

What is my book about?

For over a century, the most divisive question in political thought has been about the size of the state. This…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Road to Serfdom

Jaideep Prabhu Why did I love this book?

This book was written during the height of World War II and published in 1944 by Friedrich von Hayek, one of the giants of 20th century economic and political thought. His book lays out in stark terms the key issues concerning the size and role of the state in a modern economy. As such, it was a major inspiration for my own book. I take some of his arguments seriously and show which ones are still relevant in the 21st century and which ones no longer are.

By F. A. Hayek, Bruce Caldwell (editor),

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Road to Serfdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An unimpeachable classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, "The Road to Serfdom" has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century. Originally published in 1944 - when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program - "The Road to Serfdom" was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. For F. A. Hayek, the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would lead not to a utopia but…


Book cover of The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State

Jaideep Prabhu Why did I love this book?

The authors of this book were stalwarts of The Economist for many years. They bring to this book all their considerable powers as writers and analysts of contemporary politics and economics. Again, this book was a major source of inspiration for my own book. After discussing prior revolutions in the scale and scope of the state over the last two centuries, The Fourth Revolution argues that: 1) reform of the state is essential, and 2) this reform is possible because it is already happening all over the world thanks to new technology. This book, therefore, served for me as the launching point for my own book which looks at a great number of these actual changes in governments around the world that are taking place on the back of new technologies and forms of organization. 

By John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fourth Revolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling authors of The Right Nation, a visionary argument that our current crisis in government is nothing less than the fourth radical transition in the history of the nation-state

Dysfunctional government: It's become a cliche, and most of us are resigned to the fact that nothing is ever going to change. As John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge show us, that is a seriously limited view of things. In fact, there have been three great revolutions in government in the history of the modern world. The West has led these revolutions, but now we are in the midst of…


Book cover of Innovative State

Jaideep Prabhu Why did I love this book?

The author of this book, Aneesh Chopra, became the first chief technology officer of the United States government in 2009. Prior to that, he was the Secretary of Technology for Virginia and managing director for a health care think tank. As CTO for the US government, Chopra led the administration’s attempts to create a more open, tech-savvy government. In this book, he draws on his experience and interviews with policy experts and tech insiders to show how government can establish a new paradigm for the internet era, one that allows us to tackle the most challenging problems, from economic development to veteran affairs. Once again, it was a source of inspiration for me. My own book extends his discussion of the US federal government to the state and city level, as well as looks at many other countries around the world, both developed and developing.

By Aneesh Chopra,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Innovative State as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over the last twenty years, our economy and our society have been completely revolutionized by technology. As Aneesh Chopra shows in Innovative State, once it became clear how much this would change America, a movement arose around the idea that these same technologies could reshape and improve government. But the idea languished, and while the private sector innovated, our government stalled. The election of Barack Obama offered a new opportunity. In 2009, Aneesh Chopra was named the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Previously the Secretary of Technology for Virginia and managing director for a health care think…


Book cover of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths

Jaideep Prabhu Why did I love this book?

Mariana Mazzucato is a heterodox economist who writes about and advises global policymakers on innovation-driven inclusive growth. In this provocative book, she seeks to dispel the notion that governments are sluggish and inept, and that only the private sector can innovate. Through cases of companies like Apple and sectors like biotechnology she seeks to show that the state is, and has often been, our boldest and most valuable innovator. Moreover, believing that the state is inept results in a self-fulfilling prophecy. It leads governments to disinvest from innovation, which in turn results in them playing less of a role in driving innovation. While I don’t agree with much she says, her book is nevertheless a source of inspiration for my own book. In my book, I do not view the public and private sectors as adversarial (as Mazzucato does). Instead, I look at how governments can partner with the private sector to create better and more vibrant innovation ecosystems by building on their respective strengths.

By Mariana Mazzucato,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Entrepreneurial State as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this sharp and controversial expose, Mariana Mazzucato debunks the pervasive myth that the state is a laggard, bureaucratic apparatus at odds with a dynamic private sector. She reveals in detailed case studies, including a riveting chapter on the iPhone, that the opposite is true: the state is, and has been, our boldest and most valuable innovator. Denying this history is leading us down the wrong path. A select few get credit for what is an intensely collective effort, and the US government has started disinvesting from innovation. The repercussions could stunt economic growth and increase inequality. Mazzucato teaches us…


Book cover of Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness

Jaideep Prabhu Why did I love this book?

Frederic Laloux is a Belgian management consultant, coach, and organizational theorist. In this book, he argues that every time humanity has shifted to a new stage of consciousness, it has created a new way to structure and run its organizations. He then argues that a new shift in consciousness and organizational innovation is currently underway. These new organizations are collaborative, decentralized, and adaptive, and operate on trust rather than fear. Packed with examples of such organizations the book shows how their founders are questioning many tenets of 20th-century management to come up with entirely new organizational forms and approaches. Even though they operate in different industries and geographies and do not know of each other's experiments, the structures and practices these organizations have developed are remarkably similar. This book was a major source of inspiration for me in my own thinking about how governments can reinvent themselves to be more citizen-centric and responsive in the 21st century.

By Frederic Laloux,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Reinventing Organizations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The way we manage organizations seems increasingly out of date. Survey after survey shows that a majority of employees feel disengaged from their companies. The epidemic of organizational disillusionment goes way beyond Corporate America-teachers, doctors, and nurses are leaving their professions in record numbers because the way we run schools and hospitals kills their vocation. Government agencies and nonprofits have a noble purpose, but working for these entities often feels soulless and lifeless just the same. All these organizations suffer from power games played at the top and powerlessness at lower levels, from infighting and bureaucracy, from endless meetings and…


Explore my book 😀

How Should a Government Be?: The New Levers of State Power

By Jaideep Prabhu,

Book cover of How Should a Government Be?: The New Levers of State Power

What is my book about?

For over a century, the most divisive question in political thought has been about the size of the state. This dilemma might have made sense in earlier decades. Now, with a world transformed by Covid-19 and a revolution unfolding in the technologies of organization, a great upheaval is also coming in the essential business of government.

In How Should a Government Be? The New Levers of State Power I examine: how governments around the world are using technology and organization to transform how they deliver for their citizens; the challenges and opportunities that these new technologies and forms of organization pose; and how all this is even more imperative in a post-Covid-19 world of mass support schemes and unprecedented levels of surveillance.

Book cover of The Road to Serfdom
Book cover of The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State
Book cover of Innovative State

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,399

readers submitted
so far, will you?

You might also like...

Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

Book cover of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

Margot Machol Bisnow Author Of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve become passionate about telling parents how to raise happy, resilient, creative, confident, entrepreneurial children who are doing something that gives them joy. So many young people are unhappy; parents don’t understand how to help. They think their children should follow their path, but that no longer works for many. For the last 10 years, I’ve been speaking to parent groups; I was an Advisor to EQ Generation, an after-school program that gives children the skills to succeed; on the Advisory Board of MUSE School, preparing young people with passion-based learning; and on the Board of Spark the Journey, mentoring low-income high school students to achieve college and career success. 

Margot's book list on learn how to raise confident children

What is my book about?

This book shakes longstanding assumptions of parenting.

Through 99 stories of people who are now changing the world, it shows how to raise creative, confident, resilient children who are filled with joy and purpose. Based on interviews with top entrepreneurs and their parents, it guides you to help your children identify their passion and figure out how they can spend their professional lives doing something they love. 

Parents' well-intentioned efforts often boomerang. By ignoring their children’s skills and interests, parents can inadvertently create pressure and anxiety, thwarting their children's ability to excel and find happiness. Too often, following your heart…

Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

What is this book about?

Learn how successful entrepreneurs were raised! Could your children start a company that disrupts existing industries? Or a non-profit that helps people around the world? Or follow their passion as an artist or activist? And most important, lead a life of joy and purpose, to be happy and fulfilled? Margot Machol Bisnow, mother of two thriving entrepreneurs, reveals how to raise creative, confident, resilient, fearless kids who achieve their dreams, through 99 stories of families who did it.

Read stories from 70 families who raised true game changers. See family photos of these thriving entrepreneurs, both when they were young…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in politics, totalitarianism, and presidential biography?

Politics 772 books
Totalitarianism 47 books