Innovation is Everybody's Business: How to Make Yourself Indispensable in Today's Hypercompetitive World

Innovation is Everybody's Business: How to Make Yourself Indispensable in Today's Hypercompetitive World

Released October 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470891742

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Book description

Innovation isn't something you do after you get your work done. It's how you do your work.

Organizations all over the world are shedding jobs in record numbers. Yet today, they are desperately in need of people with the abilities and skills to think ahead of the curve, delight customers, motivate colleagues, slash costs, and achieve unconventional results.

In this practical road map to becoming irreplaceable, global innovation guru and bestselling author Robert B. Tucker reveals why honing your I-Skills (Innovation Skills) may be the smartest career move you'll make. Based on interviews with forty-three innovation-adept managers and individual contributors, Innovation Is Everybody's Business guides you in:

  • Mastering the seven essential I-Skills you need to become indispensable

  • Unleashing the "mindset, skillset, and toolset of the innovator" that enable you to anticipate and rise to the challenges your organization faces in a hypercompetitive era

  • Developing your Personal Innovation Strategy to address the critical components of becoming irreplaceable

  • Assaulting your assumptions at the personal, organizational, and industry levels

  • Building tools for work-life balance and creating your own job satisfaction

If you're ready to stop talking about innovation and start adding value today — in your job, department or organization — you're ready to read and benefit from the powerful message of Innovation is Everybody's Business.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Introduction
    1. WHY YOUR EXPERTISE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH
    2. HELP WANTED: I-SKILLS REQUIRED
  3. I. Unleashing the Indispensable You
    1. 1. Make Innovation Your Business: Differentiating Yourself in the Age of Disruption, Downsizing, and Discontinuity
      1. 1.1. THE RISE OF INNOVATION-ADEPT LEADERS
      2. 1.2. GET READY TO LEAD THE FUTURE
        1. 1.2.1. Your Organization Needs You to Help Invent the Future
      3. 1.3. WHAT'S YOUR INNOVATION QUOTIENT?
    2. 2. The I-Skill Principles: Innovation Is Not Something You Do After You Get Your Work Done; It's How You Approach Your Work
      1. 2.1. PRINCIPLE 1: Innovation is not something you do after you get your work done; it's how you do your work.
      2. 2.2. PRINCIPLE 2: Innovation is about more than inventing new products; it's about figuring out how to add value where you are.
      3. 2.3. PRINCIPLE 3: You can innovate in any job, in any department, in any organization.
      4. 2.4. PRINCIPLE 4: Innovation is about taking action.
      5. 2.5. PUTTING THE FOUR I-SKILL PRINCIPLES TO WORK
        1. 2.5.1. Taking on Unarticulated Needs
    3. 3. Your Personal Innovation Strategy: Four Critical Components for Making Yourself Harder to Replace
      1. 3.1. EARN YOUR INDISPENSABILITY
      2. 3.2. DESIGNING YOUR STRATEGY
      3. 3.3. I. IDENTIFY WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU WANT TO GO
        1. 3.3.1. 1. What Thinking Mode Are You Operating in Most of the Time?
        2. 3.3.2. 2. Where Would You Really Like to Be in Five Years?
        3. 3.3.3. 3. How Is What You are Presently Doing Helping You Build the Future You Imagined in Question 2?
        4. 3.3.4. 4. What Is the Most Innovative Thing You've Ever Accomplished?
        5. 3.3.5. 5. What Is the Ratio of Ideas You've Been Able to Bring to Completion to Those You've Had to Give Up On?
        6. 3.3.6. 6. What's Your Personal Value Proposition?
        7. 3.3.7. 7. How Engaged Are You?
        8. 3.3.8. 8. What Is Your Innovation Style?
      4. 3.4. II. LEARN THE BUSINESS SIDE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
      5. 3.5. III. UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPANY'S CULTURE
        1. 3.5.1. 11 Ways to Understand Your Company's Culture
      6. 3.6. IV. PULL IT ALL TOGETHER
  4. II. The Seven Fundamental I-Skills
    1. 4. Embrace the Opportunity Mindset: Add Value to Every Task and Project
      1. 4.1. SEVEN WAYS TO ACTIVATE YOUR OPPORTUNITY MINDSET
        1. 4.1.1. 1. Learn to Consciously Shift Your Perspective
        2. 4.1.2. 2. Think Small
        3. 4.1.3. 3. Listen for "There's Got to Be a Better Way" Mutterings
        4. 4.1.4. 4. Pay Attention to Happy Accidents
        5. 4.1.5. 5. Look for Problems Customers Have That Aren't Being Solved
        6. 4.1.6. 6. Look for Opportunities to Eliminate Non-Value-Adding Work
        7. 4.1.7. 7. Think Big
      2. 4.2. TOM DOLAN'S BIG MOMENT
      3. 4.3. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
    2. 5. Become an Assumption Assaulter: Blast Away at Personal, Organizational, and Industry Notions that Block Progress
      1. 5.1. INNOVATION BEGINS WHERE ASSUMPTIONS END
      2. 5.2. I. PERSONAL ASSUMPTIONS
        1. 5.2.1. 1. The "Title is All That Matters" Assumption
        2. 5.2.2. 2. The "Never Disagree with Your Boss" Assumption
      3. 5.3. II. ORGANIZATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS
        1. 5.3.1. 1. The "We Don't Have Time to Innovate" Assumption
        2. 5.3.2. 2. The "You're Either Creative or You're Not" Assumption
        3. 5.3.3. 3. The "We Don't Have an Innovation Process" Assumption
        4. 5.3.4. 4. The "If You Fail, You're Fired" Assumption
      4. 5.4. III. INDUSTRY ASSUMPTIONS
        1. 5.4.1. 1. Question the Value of Experience
        2. 5.4.2. 2. Look for Your Opening
        3. 5.4.3. 3. Cultivate a Questioning Mindset
        4. 5.4.4. 4. Take Time to Think about How You Think
      5. 5.5. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
    3. 6. Cultivate a Passion for the End Customer: Everything You Create Is Your Product and Every Product Has a Customer
      1. 6.1. WATCH JENNIFER ROCK HER WORLD
      2. 6.2. FIVE WAYS TO FOCUS ON YOUR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS
        1. 6.2.1. 1. Understand the Business You're In
        2. 6.2.2. 2. Develop Empathy for the Customer
        3. 6.2.3. 3. Strive for a Big Picture Perspective
        4. 6.2.4. 4. Take on the Customer's Problem
        5. 6.2.5. 5. Treat Your Boss Like a Customer
    4. 7. Think Ahead of the Curve: Notice Trends, Anticipate Threats, and Discover Hidden Opportunities
      1. 7.1. HOW PROCTER & GAMBLE'S CIO THINKS AHEAD
      2. 7.2. EIGHT COMPONENTS TO THINKING AHEAD OF THE CURVE
        1. 7.2.1. 1. Audit Your Information Diet
        2. 7.2.2. 2. Think of Yourself as the Eyes and Ears of Your Organization
        3. 7.2.3. 3. Build Your Information and Support Networks
        4. 7.2.4. 4. Seek Out Forward-Thinking, Idea-Oriented People
        5. 7.2.5. 5. Master the Art of the Deep Dive
        6. 7.2.6. 6. Develop Your Point of View on Key Issues
        7. 7.2.7. 7. Connect the Dots
        8. 7.2.8. 8. Give People Permission to Give You Bad News
      3. 7.3. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
    5. 8. Become an Idea Factory: How to Produce an Abundance of Great Ideas Even If You Don't Think You Are Creative
      1. 8.1. SCARCITY CREATES VALUE; VALUE CREATES INDISPENSABILITY
      2. 8.2. 10 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR IDEA FACTORY HUMMING
        1. 8.2.1. 1. Inspect Your Idea Factory Regularly
        2. 8.2.2. 2. Identify When and Where You Do Your Best Thinking
        3. 8.2.3. 3. Enhance Your Creative Environment
        4. 8.2.4. 4. Know When to Multitask and When to Unitask
        5. 8.2.5. 5. Think of Creativity as Something You Practice, Not Something You're Born With
        6. 8.2.6. 6. Use Your Innovation Style to Your Advantage
        7. 8.2.7. 7. Expand Your Own Methods for Getting "Unstuck"
        8. 8.2.8. 8. Make the Most Out of Recreation
        9. 8.2.9. 9. Remember to Take Your "Doug Day"
        10. 8.2.10. 10. Devise a Method for Downloading Your Ideas
      3. 8.3. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
    6. 9. Become a Standout Collaborator: Galvanize Teams and Departments to Get New Initiatives Done
      1. 9.1. THE WRIGHT WAY TO COLLABORATE
      2. 9.2. COLLABORATION'S PAYOFF: THE THREE Rs
      3. 9.3. 12 WAYS TO BECOME A STANDOUT COLLABORATOR
        1. 9.3.1. 1. Seek to Be Invited to Participate on Special Project Teams
        2. 9.3.2. 2. Identify What Good Collaboration Looks Like
        3. 9.3.3. 3. Know What Bad Collaboration Feels Like
        4. 9.3.4. 4. Unleash Your Inner Collaborator
        5. 9.3.5. 5. Be an Energizer and Not an Energy Drain
        6. 9.3.6. 6. Lead Collaboratively
        7. 9.3.7. 7. Figure Out the Right Size for Your Team
        8. 9.3.8. 8. Give Thought to Team Composition
        9. 9.3.9. 9. Invite People to Join You
        10. 9.3.10. 10. Recruit People Who Have a Track Record of Results
        11. 9.3.11. 11. Launch Your Project Team Right
        12. 9.3.12. 12. Establish a Group Process
      4. 9.4. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
    7. 10. Build the Buy-In for New Ideas: Tools and Techniques for Selling Your Innovations to Co-Workers, the Boss, and the End Customer
      1. 10.1. WHAT BUILDING THE BUY-IN ENTAILS
      2. 10.2. 8 WAYS TO BUILD THE BUY-IN FOR NEW IDEAS
        1. 10.2.1. 1. Do Your Homework
        2. 10.2.2. 2. Let Others Think it Was Their Idea
        3. 10.2.3. 3. Customize Your Communication Style
        4. 10.2.4. 4. Make it Safe for Buyers to Say Yes
        5. 10.2.5. 5. Focus on Benefits and Overcoming Resistance
        6. 10.2.6. 6. Use the Power of Stories
        7. 10.2.7. 7. Cross Boundaries to Build Support for Your Idea
        8. 10.2.8. 8. Be Persistent
      3. 10.3. HOW TO MASTER THIS I-SKILL
      4. 10.4. A FINAL WORD
    8. Notes
      1. 10.5. CHAPTER 1
      2. 10.6. CHAPTER 2
      3. 10.7. CHAPTER 3
      4. 10.8. I-SKILL #1: EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY MINDSET
      5. 10.9. I-SKILL #2: BECOME AN ASSUMPTION ASSAULTER
      6. 10.10. I-SKILL #3: A PASSION FOR THE END CUSTOMER
      7. 10.11. I-SKILL #4: THINK AHEAD OF THE CURVE
      8. 10.12. I-SKILL #5: FORTIFY YOUR IDEA FACTORY
      9. 10.13. I-SKILL #6: BECOME A STANDOUT COLLABORATOR
      10. 10.14. I-SKILL #7: BUILD THE BUY-IN FOR NEW IDEAS
    9. Acknowledgments
    10. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: Innovation is Everybody's Business: How to Make Yourself Indispensable in Today's Hypercompetitive World
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: October 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470891742