Lone individuals are not the primary drivers of innovation. Hard work, incubation, non-linear progress, and rich environments are the best circumstances for innovation to thrive. The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun The Myths of Innovation provides a great perspective on what goes on behind the scenes of innovative ideas. He pokes holes primarily in the notion of epiphany, the spontaneous, ...

Innovation Tournaments by Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich Innovation management is currently enjoying a lot of coverage in business books and is positioned as the latest corporate competitive advantage. Being known as innovative is the hallmark of success and differentiation in the market. As the outcome of innovation is typically a new product or service, the question becomes: “how do I most ...

Design Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean by Roberto Verganti The discipline of design is aimed at the creation of meaning, according to Roberto Verganti in his book Design Driven Innovation. Design’s role is the creation of a conversation between a firm, its customers, and a critical network of “interpreters” who are engaged in discovery ...

Dealing with Darwin: How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution by Geoffrey Moore Differentiation In the first chapter of Dealing with Darwin Geoffrey Moore, author of the classic Crossing the Chasm, writes about the dynamics of innovation. He begins by identifying the primary motivation behind innovation: differentiation. In the absence of innovative products and services, offerings in the marketplace ...

Investors and equity markets demand increasing levels of growth from companies, but very few companies can sustain or repeat the level of expected growth. Innovation is the answer to this expectation, but the processes that move new products and services to market often result in improved offerings for existing customers. This opens the door for disruption from down-market competitors. The Innovator’s ...

The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen What is disruptive innovation The term “disruptive” is frequently used to describe successful businesses and business strategies, but Clayton Christensen has a specific definition of disruption in The Innovator’s Dilemma. For Christensen, disruption occurs when a firm enters a market by providing a “not good enough” solution to a problem that an incumbent company is already ...