Agile Innovation : The Revolutionary Approach to Accelerate Success, Inspire Engagement, and Ignite Creativity

**Find your company's unique innovation style, and nurture it into a powerful competitive advantage**Praised by business leaders worldwide, **__Agile Innovation__** is the authoritative guide to survival and success in today's "innovate-or-die" business world. This revolutionary approach combines the best of Agile with the world's leading methods of Innovation to present a crisp, articulate, and proven system for developing the breakthrough capabilities every organization must master to thrive today and tomorrow. You already know that effective innovation doesn't happen by accident—it is achieved by careful design. Agile Innovation addresses the three critical drivers of innovation success: accelerating the innovation process; reducing the risks inherent in innovation; and engaging your entire organization and your broader ecosystem in the innovation effort. The key frameworks described here build on the proven success of Agile to provide a comprehensive and customizable Innovation Master Plan approach to sustained innovation improvement in the five critical performance areas: strategy, portfolio, process, culture and infrastructure. Major topics include: the power of Agile in the innovation process, how to overcome innovation risk, the best tools to evoke engagement and collaboration, branding as an integral element of innovation, and the best leadership skills and practices that create the special environment that enables transformative growth. Readers will learn specifically how to create better ideas, develop them more efficiently, and work together more profitably and effectively to achieve breakthroughs. The insights offered in this book are highlighted in 11 detailed case studies illustrating the world's best innovation practices at Wells Fargo, Nike, Volvo, Netflix, Southwest Airlines, NASA,__The New York Times__, and others, in dozens of specific business examples, in two dozen powerful and unique techniques and methods, and a full set of implementation guidelines to put these insights into practice. Key Insights: * Understand how to implement the many ways that innovation efforts can be accelerated to achieve even greater competitive advantage * Learn to create a culture of innovation, greater engagement, and rich collaboration throughout your organization * Discover how to reduce risk and accelerate learning * Implement your own unique plan to enhance collaborative innovation, from leadership through operations * Integrate key agility principles into your strategic planning decisions for sustained improvement * Explore dramatic new approaches to open innovation that optimize large scale innovation * Apply the latest and best technology tools to enhance innovation, reduce risk, and promote broad participation. This is a must read book, a practical guide for fostering a culture of innovation, nurturing creativity, and efficiently developing the ideas that drive strategic growth. And since innovation is not imitation, you know that copying the ideas and strategies of other successful organizations will not produce the desired outcomes. Hence, all leaders must develop their own way of innovating and nurture the right style of collaborating for their own organization. This book will guide you to find your own unique pathways to success. Blaze your own trail to the high levels of innovativeness and organizational agility by learning from the expert guidance and practical, actionable advice offered throughout this important book. Agile Innovation: A Revolutionary Approach to Adapt to Change and Accelerate Success 1 Contents 13 About This Book 19 Mastery of Innovation 20 Why Don’t Large Firms Innovate? 21 Part I: The Innovation Revolution 25 Chapter 1: Starting at Sprint Zero: A Better Way to Innovate 29 Wait, Is There . . . Resistance to Change? 32 The Secret Sauce of Innovation 34 Be Your Own Revolution 41 Chapter 2: Becoming Agile Rapidly and Painlessly 45 Individuals and Interactions 47 Working Innovations 49 New Habits 51 Customer Collaboration 51 Adapt or Die 54 The Challenge 55 Chapter 3: Transforming How We Work 58 Innovating Is Learning 60 Transforming Ideation 62 From Insight to Disruption 64 The World Is Changed 65 Transforming Execution: From Assumptions to Evidence 73 Transforming Time: From Meetings to Productivity 74 Transforming Organizations 76 Summary: Eight Organizational Principles 78 Chapter 4: Thriving in Change 83 Defining the Innovation Process 84 Change and Mind-set 86 A Framework for Transformation 90 The Innovation Master Plan 91 Part II: Managing Innovation for Tomorrow 95 Chapter 5: Accelerating Success 97 The Need for Speed 97 The Scrum and the Sprint 99 The Agile Software Sprint 102 Innovation and Extreme Sports at Wells Fargo 104 Uncertainty 105 The Agile Innovation IdeaScrum 106 Social Workflow 113 The Research Cycle: Need Finding, Modeling, Ideation, and Prototyping 116 Need Finding 118 Proactive Innovation 120 Modeling 121 Ideation 122 The Customer Value Proposition 123 Prototyping 125 Volvo + Apple + Symbio + Agile = Creating a New In-Car Interface in Record Time 125 Insight 129 The Agile Innovation Process 129 Facilitating the Workflow 129 Spontaneous Innovation 132 Gathering Feedback 135 Chapter 6: Reducing Innovation Risk 139 A System for Innovation 140 Strategy for Agile Innovation 142 Inward and Outward Awareness 142 Differential Diagnosis 143 Articulation of the Corporate Utility Function 144 Chartering of Self-Optimizing Innovation Teams 145 Development of a Pivotable Portfolio 146 Portfolio Thinking 147 The Venture Model 149 Four Types of Innovation 149 Innovation Portfolio Design 152 Step 1: Define the Strategic Terrain 152 Step 2: Determine the Performance Requirements for the Innovation Effort 154 Step 3: Design the Innovation Selection Process 155 Step 4: Build the Portfolio 160 Step 5: Make Ongoing Portfolio Improvements 161 Portfolio Success Factors 163 Measure to Manage 164 Broader Innovation Portfolio Metrics 166 Automating Portfolio Management 168 Redux: The Pivotable Portfolio 168 Summary 172 Chapter 7: Engaging with Collaborative Teams 174 Transcending Limitations 174 What Is Innovation? 176 People Are the Core 177 The Virtuous Cycle: Key Elements of the Innovation Culture 179 The Right Skills 180 The Right Roles in the Innovation Culture 183 Creative Genius 183 Agile Innovation Champions 185 Agile Innovation Leaders 187 Promoting Comprehensive Transformation at Wells Fargo 189 Summary: Innovation Culture Metrics 193 Chapter 8: Building Agile Innovation as a Core Competence 195 Agile Coaching 196 Facilitating and Managing Collaboration 197 Choice 197 Trust and Respect 197 Open Flow 198 Honesty 199 Decision Making 200 Interaction 201 Accountability 202 Removing Roadblocks 202 Orchestrating Team Rhythm 203 Innovation Is a Team Sport 205 Summary: Courage Is a Core Competence 208 Part III: Leading the Revolution: From Plans to Actions 211 Innovate as If Your Life Depends on It 211 Chapter 9: Developing Agile Leadership 213 How Apollo 13 Was Able to Return to Earth 214 Is Failure an Option? 222 Leadership and Uncertainty 222 Don’t Settle 223 The Self-Actualized Innovator 224 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 225 Self-Actualizing Organizations 227 Metavalues 228 Action Steps: It’s All about Leadership 230 What Is Your Passion? 231 Chapter 10: Cultivating Core Creativity 233 Seeing More Deeply 234 Multivisioning 240 Great Stories 243 Practice 244 From Fear to Flow 247 Chapter 11: Achieving an Iconic Brand 250 Branding and Totems 251 Overcoming Brand Blind Spots: A Case Study 252 Brands and Archetypes 255 The Warrior 256 The Magician 256 The Trickster 259 Storytelling 261 The Business PanoramaTM 263 Creating Your Icon 268 Chapter 12: Optimizing Your Infrastructure 270 Exploration and Production 271 Dealing with Uncertainty 272 The Virtual Infrastructure 273 Collaboration and Ideation 273 Workflow 274 Portfolio Management 274 Engagement 275 Connectability 276 Dashboards 276 Engagement in a Shared Mental Space 276 Facilitating Innovation 281 The Physical Workplace for Innovation 283 Summary 287 Chapter 13: Advancing Open Innovation 289 Engaging Smart People in Your Innovation Effort 289 Agile + Open = Ecosystem Innovation 293 Openness in Business Ecosystems 295 Technology-Enabled Openness 296 IdeaXML 297 Nonbinary Trust Models 298 Electronic IP Policy Servers 299 Social Workflow 299 Innovation Collaboratories 300 Transactionalized Idea Search 300 The Enterprise Social Extranet 301 The Next Generation Tool Set 303 The Promise of Intelligent Openness 305 Chapter 14: Traveling the Road to Revolution 308 10 (Easy) Steps 308 The Revolutionary Leader: What Kind of Revolutionary Are You? 312 The Visionary 312 The Scholar 312 The Rebel 312 The General 313 The Diplomat 313 The Secret Agent 314 The Power of Commitment 314 Chapter 15: Using Agile Strategy to Shape Your Organization’s Future 317 Acceleration 318 Agile Strategy: The Evolution of Innovation 320 Three Eras of Innovation Tools 322 Agile Strategy and the Acceleration of History 326 The Approaching Singularity 330 The Agile Economy 331 Our Conclusion: Agile Capitalism 332 Appendix A: Critical Questions 339 Questions About You 339 Innovation as a Process 341 Corporate Culture and Management 342 Competition 344 Intellectual Property (IP) 344 Customers 345 Strategy and Leadership 345 Appendix B: Resources for Your Revolution 348 The 12 Agile Principles Adapted for Innovation 348 The Eight Cs of Transformational Change 349 The Elevator Test Statement 350 Ideation Lenses and Perspectives for Multivisioning 351 The Business PanoramaTM 353 Appendix C: Definitions 354 Notes 367 Acknowledgments 375 About The Authors 378 Index 381 End User License Agreement 18 Find your company's unique innovation style, and nurture it into a powerful competitive advantage Praised by business leaders worldwide, Agile Innovation is the authoritative guide to survival and success in today's "innovate-or-die" business world. This revolutionary approach combines the best of Agile with the world's leading methods of Innovation to present a crisp, articulate, and proven system for developing the breakthrough capabilities every organization must master to thrive today and tomorrow. You already know that effective innovation doesn't happen by accident—it is achieved by careful design. Agile Innovation addresses the three critical drivers of innovation success: accelerating the innovation process; reducing the risks inherent in innovation; and engaging your entire organization and your broader ecosystem in the innovation effort. The key frameworks described here build on the proven success of Agile to provide a comprehensive and customizable Innovation Master Plan approach to sustained innovation improvement in the five critical performance areas: strategy, portfolio, process, culture and infrastructure. Major topics include: the power of Agile in the innovation process, how to overcome innovation risk, the best tools to evoke engagement and collaboration, branding as an integral element of innovation, and the best leadership skills and practices that create the special environment that enables transformative growth. Readers will learn specifically how to create better ideas, develop them more efficiently, and work together more profitably and effectively to achieve breakthroughs. The insights offered in this book are highlighted in 11 detailed case studies illustrating the world's best innovation practices at Wells Fargo, Nike, Volvo, Netflix, Southwest Airlines, NASA, The New York Times , and others, in dozens of specific business examples, in two dozen powerful and unique techniques and methods, and a full set of implementation guidelines to put these insights into practice. Key Insights: Understand how to implement the many ways that innovation efforts can be accelerated to achieve even greater competitive advantage Learn to create a culture of innovation, greater engagement, and rich collaboration throughout your organization Discover how to reduce risk and accelerate learning Implement your own unique plan to enhance collaborative innovation, from leadership through operations Integrate key agility principles into your strategic planning decisions for sustained improvement Explore dramatic new approaches to open innovation that optimize large scale innovation Apply the latest and best technology tools to enhance innovation, reduce risk, and promote broad participation. This is a must read book, a practical guide for fostering a culture of innovation, nurturing creativity, and efficiently developing the ideas that drive strategic growth. And since innovation is not imitation, you know that copying the ideas and strategies of other successful organizations will not produce the desired outcomes. Hence, all leaders must develop their own way of innovating and nurture the right style of collaborating for their own organization. This book will guide you to find your own unique pathways to success. Blaze your own trail to the high levels of innovativeness and organizational agility by learning from the expert guidance and practical, actionable advice offered throughout this important book. "Effective innovation doesn't happen by accident - it happens by design! Agile Innovation is the field guide to designing and implementing effective innovation methods and projects, and facilitating collaborative processes that enable people to solve complex problems and create breakthrough solutions. The book offers a comprehensive Innovation Master Plan Framework, which provides five critical performance areas and how to optimize them for sustained innovation improvement. Agile Innovation teaches how to discover and develop better ideas, learn and work together more profitably and effectively, and create breakthroughs"-- Provided by publisher