Synopses & Reviews
GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT IN INNOVATION. FAST.
Companies that innovate successfully get six key things right: planning, pipeline, process, platform, people, and performance. If you want to seek out new opportunities and develop a better way of doing things, then you need to get them right, too. Innovation: Fast Track to Success will teach you the key skills you need to excel in innovation and accelerate your career development.
• Innovation in a nutshell: a series of frequently asked questions to give you a concise overview of the subject
• The top 10 tools and techniques you can use to help you develop your approach to innovation
• Simple checklists to help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your abilities and those of your team
• Advice on leading your team: how to decide your leadership style and build your team
• Tips on how to progress your career, whether it’s your first 10 weeks in the job or you’re looking to get right to the top
Don’t get left behind—set out on the Fast Track today.
Synopsis
Companies that innovate successfully get six key things right. These are planning, pipeline, process, platform, people, and performance, and you need to get them right too. This book gives you a practical framework that will help you seek out new commercial opportunities and develop new and better ways of doing things. For innovation to be more than a buzzword it has to be deeply integrated into a team's structure--this book presents an integrated approach that will accelerate your move from buzzwords to practical steps to implementation.
About the Author
Andy Bruce is widely acclaimed as an authority in innovation management – covering the creative and innovation process from ideas to implementation. He has worked with corporate and public sector clients over the last 15 years to help improve performance and profitability through the introduction of what he refers to as an integrated innovation framework.
In the late 1990s, Andy founded two companies specializing in innovation and project management. The first, SofTools, develops web-based applications to enable management visibility, control and confidence over their pipeline of new ideas and their portfolio of implementation projects. The second, Project Leaders International, provides consulting and training services to assist the adoption of innovation and project management best practices.
Andy previously worked as a management consultant, focusing on the design and implementation of organizational change. Clients included corporates such as EDS, Nokia and Coca-Cola, as well as UK public service organizations such as the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Defence, Trust hospitals and even political parties.
Before working as a consultant, he served a short service commission with the Army, (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) and worked in a variety of engineering and commercial roles for a manufacturer of computer-driven production machinery – his last two years as a company director working on market research projects in Australia.
Andy gained a BSc at Southampton University in 1981 and an MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management in 1990. He is also currently Programme Director of the International Business Accelerator programme at Henley Business School.
He has written a total of eight business books, including the bestselling Strategic Thinking and Project Management titles in the Dorling Kindersley Essential Manager series.
David Birchall is a Professor at Henley Business School and has developed innovative management programs, and researched and advised organizations on innovation performance. He has worked on projects in many European countries and spoken extensively at conferences in the United States and Asia. With George Tovstiga, David co-authored Capabilities for Strategic Advantage: Leading Through Technological Innovation. His current research focuses on capabilities in business building.
Table of Contents
The Fast Track way ix
About the authors xii
A word of thanks from the authors xiv
Innovation Fast Track xvi
How to use this book xx
Fast-Track-Me.com xxi
A AWARENESS 1
1 Innovation in a nutshell 5
2 Innovation audit 17
B BUSINESS FAST TRACK 29
3 Fast Track top ten 33
4 Technologies 61
5 Implementing change 79
C CAREER FAST TRACK 93
6 The first ten weeks 97
7 Leading the team 115
8 Getting to the top 139
D DIRECTOR’S TOOLKIT 155
T1 Team innovation audit 159
T2 Integrated innovation framework 165
T3 Market and competitor scanning 169
T4 Creativity techniques 177
T5 Innovation project checklist 181
The Fast Track way 187
Glossary 189
Index 199