Getting Innovation Right: How Leaders Leverage Inflection Points to Drive Success - Hardcover

Kahan, Seth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1118378334 ISBN 13: 9781118378335

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2013

Synopsis

Real-world strategies for uncovering potential and capitalizing on opportunity

Innovation is worth little unless it generates lasting success, and gaining measurable results from new ideas requires more than creative risk-taking. Successful innovation demands a tactical approach, and Getting Innovation Right reveals how your company can secure real traction and growth in the marketplace. With Seth Kahan's outcome-based approach, based on his experience leading innovation initiatives at a diverse range of organizations, you will identify the inflection points that generate market opportunities for your company and leverage the best techniques for securing a foothold in a lucrative new space.

• Offers a framework of 7 key activities for results-driven innovation, from intelligence-gathering through execution
• Goes beyond abstract advice to offer hands-on approaches that are relevant and applicable in any organization
• The companion and follow-up to Seth Kahan's bestselling first book,Getting Change Right and FastCompany.com blog Leading Change

Grounded in market-based reality, Getting Innovation Right is an indispensable resource for leaders looking to drive results and move in fresh directions.

About this title

Review

Q & A with Seth Kahan, author of Getting Innovation Right

Seth Kahan Your first book was about change. How does that relate to innovation?

As I worked hand-in-hand with leaders on their change initiatives, I began to notice that those who succeeded were also adept at introducing new products, services, and ideas into the marketplace. I participated in many of their innovation initiatives and discovered seven key activities the successful leaders practiced with rigor. After I saw firsthand how important these key activities were for success, I wanted to share them with my clients and readers. That's why I wrote Getting Innovation Right.

My approach to organizational change works from the inside out, as opposed to top-down or bottom-up. Effective, lasting change is only possible by first engaging key stakeholders. When everyone in the organization understands the change, they act in a concerted way, even in impossible-to-predict circumstances. The key to sustained change is active engagement of all key stakeholders. The same is true of innovation.

Many think of innovation as freewheeling experimentation. Why does innovation need to be judged by results, not process?

In today's market, mission-driven leaders don't have the time or resources to play around with ideas that die on the vine. They want to go to market, build a presence, and have the resources to turn an idea into something special that will be valued by customers, members, and constituents. If innovation does not produce positive impact in a sustainable way, they see it as a waste of time. Even in research or creative labs, experimentation must lead to results of some kind. Results determine whether a company and a leader are successful.

What do you mean by inflection points, and how can understanding them help someone innovate better?

An inflection point is a decisive shift in the market that either sends you up or down. If you don't see inflection points coming, they can be jarring--and even lethal. But when you learn about the different kinds of inflection points and develop some expertise in using their momentum, you have an edge on everyone else.

Most leaders feel they are at the mercy of major market shifts. Successful innovators understand inflection points and they actively look for them to put their energy to good use. Once you can anticipate an inflection point, you can use it to fuel your innovation. Getting Innovation Right shows you how to do that in detail.

What business challenges will Getting Innovation Right help managers overcome?

Leaders often fall short when it comes to innovation. Getting Innovation Right provides templates, step-by-step instructions, techniques, tools, and practical guidance on how to maximize your innovation' s chances of success in the market. The book helps leaders invest in the leadership talent required to develop successful new products and services, understand how market research can help any new offering, take advantage of market disruptions, discover what customers will be compelled to buy, and accelerate market acceptance.

Who stands to benefit most from reading Getting Innovation Right?

Anyone who faces the pressures of the market, whether that means working with internal customers, delivering on a mission, transforming services to meet a changing market, or developing products. If you need to create more, better, or new offerings, this book is for you.

From the Inside Flap

Innovation is not just a creative approach or new idea. Innovation is about success. If you are only marginally better off than when you started, you have not achieved innovation. To count as successful innovation, your new ideas have to generate measurable gains in the marketplace, for both your customers and your organization's bottom line. How can leaders focus on developing those products and services that can achieve genuine traction and growth?

Getting Innovation Right provides real-world strategies for uncovering—and capitalizing on—the inflection points that drive potential. A positive inflection point is a decisive, favorable shift in your organization's relationship to the market. When you identify an inflection point, it means that your firm is poised to supply a unique solution to an unmet need. Expert innovators are able to sense the potential of positive inflection points and drive activity to stimulate or take advantage of them. When harnessed, they propel you forward, growing your base, generating loyalty, and moving you up-market.

To help you uncover and take advantage of these opportunities, Seth Kahan has distilled seven key activities that produce results-driven innovation. These activities make the difference between leaders who are haphazardly shooting in the dark with good ideas and those who consistently and systematically uncover potential, capitalize on opportunity, and generate traction that drives success in the marketplace. By focusing your efforts around these strategies, you will leverage best techniques and ultimately secure a foothold in a lucrative new space. Most importantly, you will move past the idea that innovation is a culture or mindset, recalibrating your definition so that it depends solely on outcomes.

Based on Seth Kahan's extensive consulting work bringing new products and services successfully to market across a wide range of organizations, this tactical approach will help any leader guide innovation efforts, from initial information gathering to optimal execution. Getting Innovation Right is a real-world practi-tioner's guide and an indispensable resource for driving better results.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1118378334
• ISBN 13: 9781118378335
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272