The Exceptionals

Humans are not equal. There are a few individuals who have achieved an unparalleled mastery in their field, and they are what I call The Exceptionals. The 1% of the 1%.

They have scaled the top of the pyramid and have reached seemingly unreachable heights. They may be athletes or entertainers who are household names, or they may be people who have invented life-saving drugs or won the Nobel Prize by making fundamental advances in knowledge. Or they may have changed the world through science or music or business by influencing millions or perhaps billions of lives.

They are the people who have succeeded in being able to draw out the best talents they have within themselves and have maximized the physical, mental, and social potential available to them.

The Exceptionals is their story, and it provides you with the blueprint to advance from good to great to outstanding to elite.

Praise for The Exceptionals

Dr. Mehta is a brilliant researcher and writer. For years, he has been studying the integrated nature of how talent manifests itself in people and how to reach that possible best. The Exceptionals gives us a clear pathway to achieve greatness.

GABE JARAMILLO, Coach to eleven World Number 1 Tennis Players, and twenty-seven World Top 10 players

It was an honor to be one of the first to read The Exceptionals. I am training an exceptional, so this was an incredibly useful read for me. Kumar Mehta has done an amazing job explaining what it takes to become the best of the best, and I have no doubt that you will surely benefit from reading this book whether you are working with exceptional talent or not.

PETER ANDREW, Coach (and dad) to world champion swimmer Michael Andrew, and Head Coach of The New York Breakers elite swim club.

The Exceptionals, by Kumar Mehta is a fascinating and comprehensive look at the commonalities in individuals who have reached an elite level in various professions. This book can serve as a roadmap for coaches and leaders as we try and facilitate sustained excellence in those we mentor.

JULIANNE BENSON, 1996 Olympian and professional track and field coach

Dr. Kumar Mehta captures the layers of success that drives a person to become exceptional. In baseball terms, we would say that he has identified and explained the sixth tool. This book is an exceptional read for understanding the traits required to become an accomplished professional athlete, or just as successful in any other field of life.

JEFFREY CIRILLO, 14-year Major League Baseball Player, MLB record holder for consecutive errorless games, MLB Scout

When I read The Exceptionals, I thought that it is almost a God’s gift that I could have content like this available that will help me guide my students and children to achieve success. What I took away from the book was how you can become a world changer. I especially loved the idea of “microexcellence.”

I was so excited and inspired after reading the book that I asked my two sons to read one chapter a day and then process the information and prepare a summary that we can discuss.  I think your book is going to play an instrumental role in their development – it provides us with the blueprint on what to focus on.

SAM FROST, Long-time coach of multiple major winners on the PGA, LPGA, European, and Asian Tours. And dad/coach of two aspiring junior golfers.

The Exceptionals is a comprehensive guide to the intangibles that help make the 1% of the 1% exactly that. This book will serve as a great inspiration to those just beginning the path towards exceptionalism. Through inspiring anecdotes and a well-mapped guide to achieving one’s goals, this book helps spring the motivated individual into action as “lost time is the one thing we can’t make up.

JACOB NISSLY, Principal Percussionist, San Francisco Symphony

Dr. Mehta’s book deciphers the key insights to being exceptional.  It is a must-read to helping you be your best and be at the top of your field.

BRAD CHASE, Author, Strategy First
The Exceptionals will inspire talented individuals to reach for their highest level.
JULIE LANDSMAN, Former Principal Horn with the Metropolitan Opera and Master Teacher at The Julliard School and USC Thornton School

The Innovation Biome
#1 Amazon Bestseller

The Innovation Biome is the story of innovation, and how you can consistently create products and offerings that change the world by providing immeasurable value to society. The book explains how world-altering innovations are created and offers a practical framework that organizations can use to enhance their rate of innovation.

The only way to create a sustained culture of innovation is by understanding and adopting the timeless, universal principles that drive it. The Innovation Biome is the culmination of in-depth research into the building blocks of innovation. It identifies the attributes that are common across the most significant developments the world has ever seen.

Once you weave the principles of The Innovation Biome into the fabric of your organization, the process of innovation becomes sustained and independent of any individual or technique. Only then can your organization attain the elite and enviable level of sustained value creation and gain the rewards that go along with being a company that releases one great hit after another.

Praise for The Innovation Biome

“The Innovation Biome is a must-read regardless of the stage of your career. Managers and leaders will gain new insights into methods and tools that unlock innovation in their organizations. Employees at every level will benefit from the wide range of inspiring success stories, and learn the elements necessary for achieving true breakthroughs.”

JOHN CONNORS, Board Director, Nike; Managing Partner, Ignition Ventures; Former CFO, Microsoft

“From Roger Bannister to the smallpox vaccine, Kumar Mehta will help you think deeply about innovation (and how you can find your breakthrough).”

SETH GODIN, Author of Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?

“An important book that lays out the foundational elements necessary for innovation and the steps required to making innovation a sustained activity for growth. A must-read for executives who want to build value through innovation.”

NIRAV TOLIA, CEO, Nextdoor

“When Kumar Mehta shared the ideas in this book with our team at HBS, it felt as if we were welcoming a new member to our group. He intrigued us with his concept of ‘the next big thing’ and then hooked us with his guiding focus on customer experience, and the concept of the ‘experience delta.’ Readers will sense his deep experience behind every page, as well as his deep passion to teach what he knows on this important subject.”

DEREK VAN BEVER, Director, Forum for Growth and Innovation, Harvard Business School

“This is a rare pearl in a sea of books about innovation. This book builds on the science of innovation to provide organizations an essential guide to cultivating an enduring innovation biome that leads to sustained value creation.”

JORDAN USDAN, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy & Development, Microsoft

“This is a very important book. There is no shortage of books, even very good ones, written on innovation, disruption and change written by business professors offering a prescription for success. Kumar Mehta’s The Innovation Biome is so much more than that. It is written from the inside by a skilled innovator who has been an instrumental player at all levels of technology from major companies (Microsoft) to his own successful startups. It is filled with compelling examples and lessons that can only be learned by being in the middle of disruption, not by studying it. The reader immediately senses he is on a journey narrated by an expert in this confusing world of change. It will easily become a standard in business schools (and far more) replacing the books written by those schools’ own faculty.”

JEFFERY COLE, PhD, Center for the Digital Future and Director of the World Internet Project, University of Southern California

“As a global impact investor, we look at innovation broadly, from healthcare to education to transportation. The Innovation Biome brings a unique historical perspective on the full spectrum of innovation that goes far beyond the typical understanding of venture capitalists. Kumar Mehta succinctly lays out the building blocks required for innovation. He provides a pragmatic roadmap for CEOs who want to foster an innovation culture that continuously delivers inspiring offerings for customers.”

WILL POOLE, Cofounder and Managing Partner, Capria Ventures; former Senior Vice President, Windows Client Business, Microsoft

“The concept of an ‘Innovation Biome’ is in itself exciting and yet, at the same time, so logical, so intuitive, so obviously right that you wonder why it has not already entered the innovation lexicon. Corporations— and organizations in general—so often get in their own way, and nowhere more so than in pursuing the golden goose of innovation. Here is a primer for every CEO for how to get out of his or her own way and let loose the creative impulses that already exist at every level in their organization. Read and learn!”

SIMON CHADWICK, Managing Partner, Cambiar Consulting

“The Innovation Biome concisely and coherently brings together a number of key themes on the topic of innovation and delivers a practical framework that leaders can apply.”

BERT VALDMAN, President and CEO, Optimum Energy