Innovation That Fits : Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the RIGHT Innovation Strategy for Your Business

Innovation is more urgently necessary than it's ever been. Now, three leading experts on commercializing innovation systematically sort through the wreckage of yesterday's strategies, learning lessons and identifying ideas worth preserving and adapting. To prepare this book, the authors thoroughly examined the record of more than 250 innovation programs from organizations of widely differing sizes and industries, from 1998 through 2003. Based on this unprecedented research, they reveal the right time to use each innovation 'arrow', how to account for contingencies and risks; and how to focus on core innovation challenges — not just superficial symptoms. Along the way, the authors define a focused, integrated model for innovation: one that is more nuanced and complex, but also better-grounded, more durable, and far more effective. Innovate or die. Companies have heard that message loud and clear—but they still struggle with how to actually make it happen. INNOVATION THAT FITS reveals what works and what doesn't, helping you build a focused, sustainable innovation strategy that fits your business and your marketplace. The authors draw on an unprecedented study of 250 recent corporate innovation initiatives in industries ranging from manufacturing to biotech, retail to information technology. They offer a clear-eyed assessment of every leading approach: its advantages and drawbacks, its execution challenges, and where it's most likely to work (or not). Corporate venturing: Mature venturing approaches that link tightly to core strategic goals "Asset-lite" innovation: Defining smart, aggressive IP management strategies—and understanding their limitations Innovation-by-alliance: Realizing the promise and overcoming the perils of partnership Whether you're a corporate executive or entrepreneur, long-term growth through innovation is a priority. This book will help you define and design better strategies for innovation, show you how to better execute them, and help you navigate the minefields on the way to success. Drawing from an unprecedented study of 250 recent corporate innovation initiatives in industries ranging from manufacturing to biotech, retail to information technology, the authors present a clear-eyed assessment of every leading approach: its advantages and drawbacks, its execution challenges, and where it's most likely to work (or not) Provides a reality-check for would-be innovators of various stripes. This book aims to take the hype out of innovation and instead gives a practical roadmap to actually make it happen.