The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge (Harvard Business Review) [Hardcover]

I found the depth of research astounding. I felt the accurate observations highlighted by the book are of use to any organisation, both Blue chip and SME, to ensure they do not waste vital resources and change their current profit centres unnecessarily.

The book helps to break down the understanding needed to innovate innovation management into a discipline that can be taught as a subject area on any MBA course. It breaks down all aspects needed in the process of innovation from the inception of the idea to the perspiration needed to commercialise it. It highlights how the notion of the synergy effect can be leveraged and its importance in management of a process.

This book compliments my research on how companies can grow by understanding the risks and complexities and the need to understand the importance of management.

I hope all the readers benefit in the same way I have.

In their previous collaboration, Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution, Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble recommend following "Ten Rules" throughout a collaborative innovation process. They affirm the value of strategic experiments because they can have high revenue growth potential, focus on emerging or poorly defined industries, test an unproven business model, involve radical departure from existing business, require allocation of at least some existing assets and competencies, develop new knowledge and capabilities, create discontinuous rather than incremental value creation, have greater uncertainty across multiple functions, tend to be unprofitable for several quarters (or more), and offer little (if any) indication of performance, at least initially. In other words, strategic experiments can be - and almost always are -- messy and unpredictable.

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of a statement by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: "I don't care a fig about simplicity on this side of complexity but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity." Now consider what Govindarajan and Trimble observe in their Introduction: "There is a Rainier-like summit in the innovation journey. It is the moment a company says yes! That's a great idea! Let's take it to the market! Let's make it happen!...Getting to the summit can seem like the fulfillment of a dream, but it is not enough. After the summit comes the other side of innovation - the challenges beyond the idea. [begin italics] Execution. [end italics] Like Rainier, it is the other side of the adventure that is actually more difficult. It is the other side that holds hidden dangers. But because the summit itself has such strong appeal, the other side is usually an afterthought. It is humdrum. It is behind the scenes. It is dirty work."

The "journey" metaphor is appropriate because Govindarajan and Trimble embarked (like Odysseus) on a ten-year journey during which they completed research on a number of well-known and well-respected companies (e.g. Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, The New York Times, and Unilever) and interviewed dozens of senior-level executives at dozens of other companies that include Aetna, Allstate, Ben & Jerry's, BMW, Citigroup, GE, Harley-Davidson, Mattel, Procter & Gamble, Sony, and Timberland. What they learned about what works, what doesn't, and why during efforts to reach "the other side of innovation" is shared in abundance in this book.

The challenge for leaders of innovation initiatives (whatever the scope and nature of those initiatives may be) must help their organization to achieve and then sustain an appropriate balance between "foundational" operations that are on-going and repeatable, and, experimental operations that non-routine and often disruptive. To help prepare leaders to meet this challenge, Govindarajan and Trimble explain how to

o Build a dedicated team
o Define a partnership of the team with the "Performance Engine"
o Obtain support from senior-level executives
o Anticipate and prepare for resistance and conflict
o Achieve buy-in
o Devise and conduct a "disciplined" experiment
o Identify information needs
o Focus on learning when evaluating results
o Achieve transparency through effective communication
o Create a framework for accountability

These are worthy objectives, to be sure, but by no means easy to achieve. It is important to keep in mind that all organizations are works in progress and the same is true of each of those who are involved with them. Innovation initiatives are by nature messy, disjointed, flawed, and (yes) frustrating. Hence the importance of seeing each "failure" as a precious learning opportunity. It is possible to be prudent without also being risk-averse. Credit Govindarajan and Trimble with providing a wealth of valuable information, accompanied by rock-solid advice that is anchored in real-world situations.

It is not necessary but, in my opinion, highly desirable to read their earlier book, Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution, first before reading this one.

This is a well structured and argued book that looks at the execution challenge of innovation. The distinction it calls between idea generation and innovation is already well established but it provides an insightful analysis into the nature of the challenges of successful radical innovation - the reasons why innovation is risky and the issues that need to be considered in setting out to succeed.

A great analysis of the issues with some new thinking both in perspective and expression