Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity

Introduction

If you say 'innovation and creativity are vital to growth', nine out of ten people agree with the statement. But when you ask if people know how to practise and inspire creativity in their day to day life, nine out of ten people say no.

—Kris Murrin, co-founder of ?WhatIf!, newdesign, September 2001

'Innovation', 'creativity' and 'design' are surely amongst the most frequently used – and abused – words in business today, not least because excelling in these areas is widely acknowledged to be associated with business success. But while most managers agree that innovation and creativity are essential to assuring long-term success, many struggle with realising it in their businesses, and translating it into everyday reality. It has been four years since the first publication of this book, and while clearly some progress has been made – and existing chapters have been changed to reflect the latest insights and thinking – even fairly recent surveys indicate that significant dissatisfaction with results prevails (see for example Box I.1).^[1]

Box I.1 Results from a Boston Consulting Group Survey, March 2005

• 87% believe innovation essential to success

• 74% of senior executives report increased spending on innovation

• 51% dissatisfied with innovation results

This is still partly due to the variety of meanings associated with these terms (even though companies at the leading edge have understood that innovation is about more than just R&D and products), partly due to a gap in current ...