THE OTHER SIDE OF INNOVATION - Vijay Govindarajan

Companies can’t survive without innovating. But most put far more emphasis on generating Big Ideas than on executing them—turning ideas into actual breakthrough products, services, and process improvements.

That’s because “ideating” is energizing and glamorous. By contrast, execution seems like humdrum, behind-the-scenes dirty work. But without execution, Big Ideas go nowhere.

In The Other Side of Innovation, Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble reveal how to execute an innovation initiative—whether a simple project or a grand, gutsy gamble.. Drawing on examples from innovators as diverse as Allstate, BMW, Timberland, and Nucor, the authors explain how to:

• Build the Right Team: Determine who’ll be on the team, where they’ll come from, how they’ll be organized, how much time they’ll devote to the project, and how they’ll navigate the delicate and conflict-rich partnership between innovation and ongoing operations.

• Manage a Disciplined Experiment: Decide how team members can quickly test their assumptions , translate results into new knowledge, and measure progress. Give innovation leaders a tough but fair performance evaluation.

Practical and provocative, this new book takes you step-by-step through the innovation execution process—so your Big Ideas deliver their full promise.

Vijay Govindarajan is the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business and the Founding Director of the Center for Global Leadership at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and the 2008 Professor-in-Residence and Chief Innovation Consultant for General Electric. Chris Trimble, a well-known innovation speaker and consultant, is also on the faculty at Tuck.

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Thomas Edison said it over a century ago. No one listened.
When companies launch innovation initiatives, they typically allot almost all of their time and energy on that initial one percent — the thrilling hunt for the breakthrough idea. But the much ballyhooed burst of inspiration … is merely a starting point. The real innovation challenge lies beyond the idea. It lies in a long, hard journey — from imagination to impact.
For ten years, Govindarajan and Trimble have studied one critical question, one that vexes even the best managed corporations: What are the best practices for executing an innovation initiative?
Regardless of the type of innovation, the crux of the challenge is always the same. Business organizations are not designed for innovation, they are designed for ongoing operations. And there are deep and fundamental conflicts between the two.
Drawing on examples from innovators as diverse as Allstate, BMW, Harley Davidson, IBM, Nucor, and Timberland, the authors show how to avoid the most common poisonous myths about innovation, how to build the right team for any initiative, and how ensure you learn quickly from experience as the initiative moves on.