Books about Innovate from Amazon.com

The Darwinian struggle of business keeps getting more brutal as competitive advantage gaps get narrower and narrower Anything you invent today will soon be copied by someone else—probably better and cheaper.

Many companies thrive during the early stages of their life cycle, only to fall slack during periods of inertia and die out while others surge ahead. But as Geoffrey Moore shows, some notable companies have figured out how to deal with Darwin in their mature years—making changes on the fly while fending off challenges from every quarter..
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Recall the old saying about all work and no play making Jack a dull boy? World-class companies today need play--serious play--if they want to make truly innovative products, argues Michael Schrage, an MIT Media Lab fellow and Fortune magazine columnist. In Serious Play he writes, "When talented innovators innovate, you don't listen to the specs they quote. You look at the models they've created." Whether it's a spreadsheet that tests a new financial model or a foam prototype of a calculator, what interests Schrage is not the model itself, but the behavior that play--be it modeling, prototyping, or simulation--inspires.

Schrage examines the approaches to successful prototyping at companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Microsoft, and DaimlerChrysler and describes the kind of culture that's needed for encouraging innovation. In the last chapter, he lays out the 10 rules of serious play, including: Be willing to fail early and often; know when the costs outweigh the benefits; know who wins and who loses from an innovation; build a prototype that engages customers, vendors, and colleagues; create markets around prototypes; and simulate the customer experience. Well-written and inspiring, Serious Play, is a first-rate user's guide for managers, project leaders, and other innovators. --Dan Ring.
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Lessons from Famous "Invention Factories" Past and Present

Did you know that the incandescent lightbulb first emerged some thirty years before Thomas Edison famously "turned night into day"? Or that Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line came from an unlikely blend of observations from Singer sewing machines, meatpacking, and Campbell's Soup?

In this fascinating study of innovation, engineer and social scientist Andrew Hargadon argues that our romantic notions about innovation as invention are actually undermining our ability to pursue breakthrough innovations.

Based on ten years of study into the origins of historic inventions and modern innovations from the lightbulb to the transistor to the Reebok Pump athletic shoe, How Breakthroughs Happen takes us beyond the simple recognition that revolutionary innovations do not result from flashes of brilliance by lone inventors or organizations. In fact, innovation is really about creatively recombining ideas, people, and objects from past technologies in ways that spark new technological revolutions.

This process of "technology brokering" is so powerful, explains Hargadon, because it exploits the networked nature-the social side-of the innovation process. Moving between historical accounts of labs and factory floors where past technological revolutions originated and field studies of similar processes in today's organizations, Hargadon shows how technology brokers create an enduring capacity for breakthrough innovations.

Technology brokers simultaneously bridge the gaps in existing networks that separate distant industries, firms, and divisions to see how established ideas can be applied in new ways and places, and build new networks to guide these creative recombinations to mass acceptance. How Breakthroughs Happen identifies three distinct strategies for technology brokering that managers can implement in their organizations.

Hargadon suggests that Edison and his counterparts were no smarter than the rest of us-they were simply better at moving through the networked world of their time. Intriguing, practical, and counterintuitive, How Breakthroughs Happen can help managers transform their own firms into modern-day invention factories.

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Thinking to stay ahead of change

In a complex business climate, people need to make informed decisions and learn how to think flexibly A leader's most important asset is the ability to sense changes in the environment and adapt to them quickly. The Prepared Mind of a Leader presents an original and effective way to think more flexibly about innovation, strategy, change, and problem solving. It helps leaders anticipate challenges and prepare for both the intended and unintended consequences of change by laying out a program for developing, maintaining, and mobilizing eight key skills: Observing, Challenging, Reflecting, Reasoning, Imagining, Deciding, Learning, and Teaching. These skills provide a framework that the thoughtful leader or manager can use to approach issues of strategy, innovation, and more. Chapters feature interactive tools that will help readers develop each of the key skills.

Bill Welter (Bartlett, IL) is President of Adaptive Strategies, a consulting firm focused on helping clients in a wide range of industries to deal with change. Jean Egmon (Wilmette, IL) is Director of the Complexity in Action Network and on the faculty at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University..
Price: $15.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"The world's most noteworthy creative leaders share certain traits: They are inspired by a constant desire for originality, they have a sturdy respect for those with true talent, and they are consciously driven forward by a relentless pursuit of excellence." --Matt Mattus

Now that marketers have discovered the value that design brings to their brands, the pressure is on for creative people to continually deliver the newest looks and ideas. It's a whole new world for creatives, and big business is inviting you in. But the design world is becoming less predictable. Now that everything has been designed, what's next?

Matt Mattus is a professional trend-hunter. He knows that whether you are a designer, a marketer or a CEO, you need to stay in front of the cutting edge for your clients. In Beyond Trend, you'll learn how to spot and cultivate the creative traits--in yourself and others--that allow true innovation to occur.

As Mattus leads you through a whirlwind of trend assessments--contemporary and historical movements in art, fashion, architecture, film and even technology--you'll learn how to effectively absorb the world around you and figure out what's next.

After all, it's up to you to move beyond trend..
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Alter a Company's DNA, and Accelerate Its Profits!

Just as your DNA may determine your destiny, a company's organizational DNA may determine its destiny The DNA of Leadership helps you understand how to shape your company's genetic code for success. Expert author Judith E. Glaser identifies the seven vital leadership practices that can reshape an organization into a WE-centric culture-a culture that enables people to effectively work together during times of organizational change. "Graft" these seven practices onto meetings, conversations, and strategic initiatives, and you can leverage talent, maximize results, and boost profits in amazing ways.

Includes profiles of seven major companies, including: VeriSign, New Wave Entertainment, Dreyer's and Edy's Grand Ice Cream, and IBM!.
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