The Innovation Zone: How Great Companies Re-Innovate for Amazing Success

218 Pages·2009·1.78 MB·English

by  Thomas M. Koulopoulos

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PRAISE FOR THE INNOVATION ZONE
“Innovationisnotaboutserendipityandchance.It’saskillanddisci-
plinethatcanbetaughtandrefined.TheInnovationZonewillteach
youhowthebest,brightest,andmostinnovativecompanieshavedone
justthat—anditwillchangethewayyoulookatinnovation!”
—CHRISCHOLLECCI,VICEPRESIDENT,
RESEARCHVENTURES&LICENSING,PARTNERSHEALTHCARE
“Withsomuchhypeandhopehangingonthespiritandvalueofinno-
vationinthesetryingtimes,itisnosmallwonderthatmanyarticles
andbooksarebeingwrittenaboutthistopic.Fortunately,TheInnova-
tionZoneisoneofthoseabouthope,nothype,andiscriticalreading
foranyoneoranygroupseriousaboutunderstandingandapplying
innovationideasandconceptstogeneratevalue.”
—EUGENES.MEIERAN,SENIORFELLOW,INTEL
“Innovationisnotacommodity.TheInnovationZoneabsolutelydoes
notfallintothistrap.Itprovidesstoriesofhowthebestcompanies
re-inventthemselves,howtheyre-innovate.Itemphasizestheprocesses
theyhavegonethroughinmakingre-innovationareality.Implement
similarprocesses—appropriately—inyourorganization,andyou’realso
ontheroadtosuccess.”
—BOBGALLIERS,PROVOST,BENTLEYUNIVERSITY;
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,JOURNALOFSTRATEGICINFORMATIONSYSTEMS
“TheInnovationZonechallengesconventionalwisdomthatinnovation
issomethingspecialandunique.ThereisnocreativeclassintheInno-
vationZone,onlypeoplewhobringtheirexperience,ideas,passion,and
willingnesstolearn.Koulopoulosshowsyouhowtotaketheseandcreate
thenewsolutionsthatdriveandsustainperformanceandproductivity.”
—MARKP.MCDONALD,GROUPVICEPRESIDENT,
GARTNEREXECUTIVEPROGRAMS
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“Koulopoulosdebunksthemyththatinnovationisonlydonebygeniuses
inblindingflashesofinspiration.Throughstoryandexampleheexplains
howordinarypeopleachieveinnovationthroughareasonedprocess,
insideasupportiveenvironment,withextraordinaryresults.Hedoesn’t
lecture,butdrawsconclusionsfrominterestingstoriesofcompaniesthat
havesuccessfullyinnovated.Theresultisabookthatisbothengaging
andinspiring.”
—JOHNTHOMAS,PRESIDENT,PARSONSDEVELOPMENTCORPORATION
“InTheInnovationZone,Koulopoulosdefinesandexplainsthatmost
ephemeralandessentialofallhumanqualities—theabilitytocreate
somethingthat’sasignificantdeparturefromwhat’scomebefore.I
highlyrecommendthisbookforanyonewhowantstounderstandhow
wegottowherewearetodayandhowwe’llgettowhereverweendup
tomorrow.”
—GEOFFREYJAMES,SALESMACHINEBLOGGER,CBSINTERACTIVE
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THE INNOVATION ZONE
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T H E
I N N O VAT I O N
Z O N E
HOW GREAT COMPANIES
RE-INNOVATE FOR AMAZING SUCCESS
THOMAS M. KOULOPOULOS
Davies-BlackPublishing
MountainView,California
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PublishedbyDavies-BlackPublishing,adivisionofCPP,Inc.,1055JoaquinRoad,
2ndFloor,MountainView,CA94043;800-624-1765.
SpecialdiscountsonbulkquantitiesofDavies-BlackPublishingbooksareavail-
able to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For
details,contacttheDirectorofMarketingandSalesatDavies-BlackPublishing:
650-691-9123;fax[phone].
Copyright2009byThomasM.Koulopoulos.Allrightsreserved.Noportionof
thisbookmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinany
formormediaorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,record-
ing,orotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher,except
inthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalarticlesorreviews.
Davies-BlackanditscolophonareregisteredtrademarksofCPP,Inc.
VisittheDavies-BlackPublishingWebsiteatwww.daviesblack.com.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
13 12 11 10 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Koulopoulos,ThomasM.
Theinnovationzone:howgreatcompaniesre-innovateforamazingsuccess/
ThomasM.Koulopoulos.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN978-0-89106-234-9(hardcover)
1.Organizationalchange. 2.Creativeability. 3.Technologicalinnovations.
4.Organizationaleffectiveness. 5.Successinbusiness. I.Title.
HD58.8.K6742009
2008034693
658.4’063—dc22
FIRSTEDITION
Firstprinting2009
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Tomyfather,whotaughtmethe
mostimportantlessonofinnovation:
Nevergiveup!
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
AbouttheAuthor xix
Introduction:InnovationinanEraofUncertainty xxi
CHAPTER1. UnexpectedPossibilities 1
CHAPTER2. BuildinganInnovationProcess 27
CHAPTER3. LeadingInnovation 45
CHAPTER4. Innovation2.0 67
CHAPTER5. Open-MindedInnovation 85
CHAPTER6. TheSevenLessonsofInnovation 105
CHAPTER7. MeasurementandTechnologyinInnovation 135
CHAPTER8. GlobalizationandaNationalInnovationAgenda 151
Epilogue 171
Appendix 177
Notes 195
Index 197
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PREFACE
Myprofessionalfascinationwiththetopicofinnovationbeganmany
yearsagowhenmyfriendJimChampyfirstintroducedmetothelate
management icon Peter Drucker. Drucker’s matter-of-fact and very
practicalapproachtoinnovationseemedtometobeinstarkcontrast
tothesortofinnovationideologyIhadgrownupwith,whichplaced
innovation on the top of some distant Mount Olympus in reach of
onlythegodsandtheworld’sgreatestminds.
OvertheyearsmyinterestininnovationgrewasIbuiltmyown
company,DelphiGroup(whichIlatersoldtoalargemultinational),
ran a global innovation lab, and ultimately found my way back to
consultingandwriting.DuringmuchofthattimeItookuntoldmen-
talnotesaboutinnovation,howitworkedandhowitdidn’t.Eventu-
ally that ended up in a capability assessment I developed and used
withhundredsoforganizations,aswellasanappointmenttorunan
innovation research center at Babson College, all of which finally
becamethefoundationforthisbook.
Still, the lens for all of this was consistently what Drucker had
taughtme.
Iamprivilegedtohavehadaveryspecialandlong-standingrela-
tionship with Peter. He and I met at his Claremont home several
times, and he spoke at many Delphi Group events. Among many
otherthings,overtheyearswediscussedawidevarietyoftopicsthat
have shaped and guided much of my own approach to innovation.
WhatwillalwaysremainwithmeaboutPeterisnotthegreatnessof
hismindortheclarityofhisthinking,bothofwhichwerewithout
peer,butratherhisabilitytomaintainfocusdespitethebackground
noise that so often distracts most of us. Today I think this clarity is
whatwemostlackwhenitcomestothetopicofinnovation.
Whileinnovationmaybethelatesttopicfordiscussioninmany
organizations,Druckerwasalongtimeproponentofideasandconcepts
xi
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xii THE INNOVATION ZONE
about innovation, which today many are rediscovering. At the core
ofhisphilosophyonthetopicwasabelief,whichhewroteaboutin
his 1985 book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, that innovation was
mostlyaboutsimple,commonsenseprocessesthatneededtobeput
in place and made into a discipline. Drucker was nothing if not
practical.
In my own work with many organizations struggling with in-
novation I have found this to be eminently true. We far too often
overaggrandize innovation. We make it something that only the
superhumanamonguscanachieve.Weascribeittoamysticalability
thatyouareeitherbornwithoracquirethroughsomedivineprovi-
dence.Inpartwedothistotakeourselvesoffthehook.Afterall,we
aremeremortals;howcanwebeexpectedtobeasinnovativeasthese
greatminds?Nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.
I’veseeninnovationworkinmundaneandinvisiblewaystocre-
ate the foundation for some of the most amazing success stories in
this book. However, much of what passes for innovation is just the
visibletipofanenormousicebergofprocessesandpractices.Thusno
one can replicate the behaviors and the process of innovation by
looking at the end result, any more than you can learn how to hit
homerunsbyanalyzingtheshapeofabaseballbatinsteadofdevel-
opinganinstinctiveunderstandingofhowtoswingthebat,howto
anticipatethepitcher,andhowtoplaythewindandtheballpark.In
thecontextofanorganizationtherulesarenodifferent.Thechem-
istry of innovation is invisible; it cannot be understood by simply
looking at the end result and trying to fast-forward to it. And the
greatestofanyorganization’sinnovationsisneverinaspecificprod-
uct;it’sintheinnovationofthebusinessmodelitself.
That, in short, is the purpose of this book, to look beyond the
obvious and to understand the building blocks of innovation that
mustalwaysbeinplaceforinnovationtosucceed.
But there is no single approach to innovation. Instead, ap-
proachesareasnumerousasorganizations,cultures,andpeople.This
isabookofstoriesaboutthewayinnovationtakesplace—storiesthat
talk about the essential lessons and laws of innovation that we all
need to learn and to teach our children in order for tomorrow’s
organizations,governments,andsocietiestoadaptanddealwiththe
tremendousuncertaintyandchangestocome.Theyarestoriesthat
I’ve learned from decades of working with organizations of all sizes