Creating the Innovation Culture : Leveraging Visionaries, Dissenters and Other Useful Troublemakers

Why dissenters can be an organization's most valuable asset and how to transform dissent into innovation

Innovation is essential to competitive survival in today's global marketplace. But in the majority of traditional organizations, innovators are perceived as counter-productive dissenters, single-minded troublemakers who are difficult to manage and politically naive. Written by a leading international expert on change management, this groundbreaking book explores the vital link between the need for innovation in the e-business world and the new role of dissenters as agents for constructive change. With the help of numerous case examples and anecdotes, Frances Horibe helps managers appreciate the value that dissent can bring to an organization, and she provides proven strategies and hands-on advice on how to encourage innovation and manage creative dissent, while avoiding paralyzing conflicts. Readers learn about the new role of managers as political handlers who help develop and support new ideas and sell them to senior management, and much more.

Frances Horibe (Ottawa, Ontario) is President of VisionArts International, Inc., a firm that assists organizations to manage radical change. Her clients include: Bombardier, Environment Canada, Industry Canada (Strategis Marketing), Women's Teachers Federation. Previously she was Vice-President of Quality and Consumer Care for Achieve International, a management consulting firm. She speaks regularly to diverse groups, including: Ontario Society of Training and Development, Strategy Institute Conference on Knowledge Workers, American Society of Quality, Canadian Airlines, Canadian Association of Human Resource Planners, Texas AUniversity and Xerox. She is the author of Managing Knowledge Workers.