INNOVATION by DESIGN: What It Takes to Keep Your Company on the Cutting Edge

INNOVATION by DESIGN: What It Takes to Keep Your Company on the Cutting Edge

by Gerard H. (Gus) Gaynor
Released April 2002
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 0814406963

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Book description

Executives in all industries prize innovation as a key ingredient in market relevance, brand awareness, and bottom-line growth. Too often, though, innovation is relegated to traditional cradles of creativity like R & D and marketing. Now this important new book shows how innovation can be a boon not just to a company's product line, but to every facet of its business.

"Doing innovation" company-wide requires not only an attitude of innovation from every individual, but a corporate commitment to a new organizational model, in which every department is expected to innovate. Empowering companies toward that end, the author discusses:

  • idea generation, creating new models, and breaking rules

  • the roles of individuals, groups, and corporate culture in innovation

  • assessing the organization's infrastructure and resources

  • overcoming resistance and identifying what makes innovations fail

  • and every other component of creating economic value through innovation.

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    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
      1. Dedication
    2. Preface
      1. Notes
      2. Endnotes
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. 1. Perspectives on Innovation
      1. Innovate Now or Pay Later
      2. Choice or Chance
      3. The Innovation Continuum
        1. Ideas
        2. From Idea to Concept
        3. Invention
        4. Innovation
      4. Sources of Innovation
      5. Organizational Governance
      6. Innovation Must Be Nourished
      7. Innovation Myths
      8. Summary
      9. Notes
    5. 2. Innovation Types and Product Classes
      1. Standard Categories of Innovation
        1. Incremental Innovation
        2. Discontinuous Innovation
        3. Architectural Innovation
        4. Systems Innovation
        5. Radical Innovation
        6. Disruptive Innovation
      2. The Innovation Matrix
      3. Classification Inconsistencies
      4. A Simplified Classification
      5. Product Classifications
        1. Improvement to a Current Product or Class of Products
        2. Novel Replacement Product
        3. New-to-the-Market Product
        4. Breakthrough Product
        5. Me-Too Product
        6. Relation of Innovation to Product Classification
      6. Product Platforms
        1. Making a Better Mousetrap
        2. Platform Teams
      7. Summary
      8. Notes
    6. 3. Genesis of Innovation
      1. Innovation in Established Organizations
      2. Top-Down Innovation
        1. Canon
        2. Apple Computer
        3. Canon and Apple Comparison
      3. Bottom-Up Innovation
        1. 3M
        2. Challenges and Limitations
      4. Innovation in the Start-Up
      5. Independent Innovators
      6. Role of Teams in Innovation
      7. From Individual to Team
      8. Innovators Break the Rules and Change the Game
        1. Lever Brothers
        2. Canon
        3. Texas Instruments
        4. Apple
        5. Yamaha
        6. Gannett
        7. Howard Schultz
      9. Managing the Dynamic Tensions in Innovation
        1. Change and Stability
        2. Creativity and Routine
        3. Leading and Following
        4. Freedom and Constraint
        5. Short-Term and Long-Term Focus
        6. The Status Quo and the Change Makers
      10. Summary
      11. Notes
    7. 4. The Innovation Process
      1. Process Considerations
        1. Type of Innovation
        2. Importance of the Innovation
        3. Timing and the Expected Time for Completion
        4. Sources of Innovation
        5. The Innovation Moment
        6. Organizational Infrastructure
        7. Organizational Resources
        8. The Number of Unknowns
      2. Process Models
        1. Roberts and Frohman
        2. Quinn
        3. Van de Ven
        4. Cooper
      3. Limitations of Process Models
      4. Summary
      5. Notes
    8. 5. Innovation Process Design
      1. Idea-Concept-Invention Stage
        1. Define the Concept
        2. Identify the Required Technologies
        3. Evaluate the Technology Competencies
        4. Describe the Knockouts
        5. Market Opportunities, Customer Base, and Other Needs
        6. Strategic Fit
        7. Linking Organizational Resources, Infrastructure, and Information
        8. Deliverables of the ICI Stage
      2. Pre-Project Stage
      3. Pre-Project Work Effort
      4. Measuring Success
      5. Project Stage
      6. Product Launch/Follow-Up Stage
      7. Summary
    9. 6. What Is Organizational Culture?
      1. Backdrop on Culture
      2. Classification of Culture
        1. Kotter and Heskett
        2. Bardwick
        3. Denison
        4. The No-Rules Culture
      3. Reconciling Research on Cultures
      4. Cultural Stagnation
        1. Straight talk
        2. The Social Contract
        3. Realigned Protocols
      5. Changing a Culture
      6. Culture Histories
      7. IBM
      8. 3M
        1. Xerox
      9. Summary
      10. Notes
    10. 7. Culture: From Theory to Practice
      1. Optimizing People Involvement
        1. Stressing the Importance of People
        2. Identifying the Critical Mass
        3. Working with a Lean Staff
        4. Building Trust
        5. Establishing and Maintaining Integrity
        6. Expecting Involvement
        7. Promoting Teamwork
        8. Promoting Lifelong Learning
        9. Insisting on Accountability
        10. Pursuing Excellence
      2. Guiding Management Practices
        1. Defining Purposes, Objectives, and Strategies
        2. Communicating and Communicating More
        3. Providing Leadership
        4. Establishing Operational Discipline
        5. Focusing on Outcomes
        6. Seeking Breakthrough Opportunities
        7. Taking Acceptable Risks
        8. Introducing Change
        9. Making Timely Decisions
        10. Disregarding the Management Gurus
        11. Starting to Think About Systems
        12. Anticipating Future Events
        13. Making Time for Innovation
      3. Encouraging Professional Attitudes
        1. Creating a Sense of Excitement
        2. Fostering Creativity
        3. Taking Initiative
        4. Providing Flexibility
        5. Motivating Through Example
        6. Giving Freedom to Act
        7. Acting With Confidence
        8. Promoting on Performance
        9. Defining Job Security
        10. Reducing Dependence on the Organization
        11. Managing Inadequate Performance
      4. Summary
      5. Note
    11. 8. Dimensions of Organizational Resources
      1. People
      2. Intellectual Property
      3. Access to Information
      4. Technology
      5. Marketing and Sales
      6. Time
      7. Distribution
      8. Customers
      9. Suppliers
      10. Production Capability
      11. Operational Facilities
      12. Finance
      13. Summary
      14. Notes
    12. 9. Dimensions of Organizational Infrastructure
      1. Purposes
      2. Organizational Vision
      3. Organizational Objectives
      4. Strategic Planning or Strategy
        1. Mintzberg on Strategy
      5. Organizational Structure
      6. Management Attributes
        1. Management Astuteness
        2. Management Attitude
      7. Uncertainties and Risks
        1. Managing the Uncertainties
        2. Accepting Risks
      8. Support for Innovation
      9. Role of Policies, Procedures, and Practices
      10. Essential Partnerships
        1. Customers
        2. Suppliers
        3. Regulatory Bodies
        4. Social Responsibility
      11. Leadership
      12. Communicating
      13. Summary
      14. Note
    13. 10. What It Takes to Be an Innovator
      1. Skills
      2. Leadership in Innovation
        1. Communication Skills
        2. Is All This Necessary?
        3. Project Management
      3. Characteristics
        1. Opportunity Finders and Problem Solvers
        2. Powers of Observation
        3. Ability to Conceptualize
        4. Analysis and Synthesis
        5. Inventive
        6. Self-Motivated
        7. Business Orientation
        8. Strategic Thinkers
        9. Tactician
        10. Strong Work Ethic
        11. Integrating Knowledge and Practice
        12. Polite Aggressiveness
      4. Attitudes
      5. The Innovator's Knowledge Base
      6. Innovator as a Career Option
      7. Opportunity to Innovate
        1. Innovation Survey
      8. The Innovator's Challenge
      9. Summary
      10. Notes
    14. 11. The Virtual Innovation Prevention Department
      1. Resist Change
      2. Refuse to Obsolete Products
      3. Reject New Thinking
      4. Focus on Single Issues
      5. Disregard the Blind Spots
      6. Be Uninformed
      7. Don't Tolerate Mavericks
      8. Focus Only on the Next Quarter Results
      9. Institutionalize Traditions
      10. Use Inflexible Hiring Practices
      11. Make It Hard to Find the Decision Makers
      12. Use Corporate Accounting Practices at All Levels
      13. Keep Decision Processes Secret
      14. Have an Ineffective Bureaucracy
      15. Maintain a Nonsupportive Infrastructure
      16. Keep Organizational Structures Rigid
      17. Don't Allow Anyone to Break the Rules
      18. Don't Integrate Organizational Capability
      19. Refuse to Buy Innovation
      20. Allow Organizational Politics to Drive Decisions
      21. Summary
      22. Notes
    15. 12. The Innovation Audit
      1. The Innovation Audit
        1. Organizational Resources
        2. Organizational Infrastructure
        3. Current Culture
        4. Limitations for Growth
        5. Leadership
        6. Management
        7. Tolerance of Constructive Mavericks
        8. Support for Innovation
        9. Tolerance of Failure
        10. Integration of Functions and Disciplines
        11. Scope of Activities
        12. Power and Politics
        13. Level of Bureaucracy
        14. Rational Decision Making
        15. Acceptance of Change
        16. Innovation Initiative and Risk
        17. Micromanagement
        18. Role of Superstars
        19. Use of Consultants
        20. Sensitivity to Interdependencies
        21. Quality of Work Life
        22. Identifying New Opportunities
        23. Organizational Drivers
    16. 13. Making Innovation Happen
      1. Beginning the Process
      2. Understanding Organization Limitations
      3. Results of the Innovation Audit
      4. Feasibility Analysis
      5. Innovation Actions
        1. Organize the Critical Mass
        2. Identify the Key Players
        3. Support a Proactive Attitude
        4. Communicate the Vision and the Plan
        5. Develop Support for the Vision
        6. Develop a Sense of Ownership
        7. Understand Employee Attitudes
        8. Assess Performance and Affect It
        9. Define the Roles
        10. Delineate Organizational Goals
        11. Educate About the Business
        12. Think Outside the Box
        13. Promote Collegiality
        14. Encourage Employees to Speak Out
        15. Managers as Role Models for Change
        16. Delineating Potential Problems
      6. Designing a Transition Model
      7. Measuring Innovation Success
      8. One More Program
      9. What Not to Do
      10. How to Work 101
      11. Summary

    Product information

    • Title: INNOVATION by DESIGN: What It Takes to Keep Your Company on the Cutting Edge
    • Author(s): Gerard H. (Gus) Gaynor
    • Release date: April 2002
    • Publisher(s): AMACOM
    • ISBN: 0814406963