Innovation Project Management

12 Innovation in Action

• Learning Objectives
• To identify some of the different techniques some successful companies use for innovation activities
• To understand that not all companies use the same innovation techniques

INTRODUCTION

There is no clear-cut template for all the activities that an organization must do for continuous innovation to occur. Even though there might be commonly used innovation tools or an innovation canvas, every company has their own business plan, organizational structure and culture for innovation.

All of the companies discussed in this chapter have different approaches to innovation. They all have innovation strengths and weaknesses. For each company, only a few of their innovation attributes related to their unique strengths are being discussed as examples of information presented in earlier chapters.

INNOVATION IN ACTION: APPLE

“Was [Steve Jobs] smart? No, not exceptionally. Instead, he was a genius. His imaginative leaps were instinctive, unexpected, and at times magical. […] Like a pathfinder, he could absorb information, sniff the winds, and sense what lay ahead. Steve Jobs thus became the greatest business executive of our era, the one most certain to be remembered a century from now.

History will place him in the pantheon right next to Edison and Ford. More than anyone else of his time, he made products that were completely innovative, combining the power of poetry and processors. With a ferocity that could make working with ...