Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1441087 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 2495 pages

Synopsis
Based on the real-life, practical experiences of a range of leading organisations and individuals, this engaging, thought-provoking book brings together ideas, insights, tools and techniques to help you meet the challenge of innovation. It is provided with case studies from Nortel, Unilever and Anglian Water amongst others. Combining powerful ideas with practical example, "The Alchemy of Innovation" is an inspiring and informative read - and an invaluable guide. This book will be of interest and use to senior managers, directors and leaders of innovation throughout the organisation. The Foreword is given by: James Dyson.

From the Author
'Innovation' - the word of the moment. Yet how many of our organisations manage innovation successfully?

I've always thought of work as creative. All work is about bringing something into existence that wasn't there before: a new product or service, perhaps; but also a tidy filing system or a clean floor. Yet, with the growth of industrialisation - and its half-brother, bureaucracy - innovation has become the province of the maverick: the lone individual battling the system and winning out against all the odds.

I think innovation is too important to be left to the mavericks. But most of our organisations exist, not to innovate, but to do the same things repeatedly and to a high standard. And so the question arises: how can we organise people to innovate?

This book starts with the idea that innovation results from a constellation of activities: research and development, marketing, project management, teamwork, knowledge management, training. Innovation is born of a creative culture and an organisation that builds learning into its core processes. It's the alchemy between all these different elements that makes organised innovation a possibility.

I've gathered a group of talented and wise people to explore innovation from these different viewpoints. And I've added some material of my own, putting innovation into context as an organisational activity - and as a fundamental feature of our humanity.

For me, this book was a journey of exploration. I didn't realise until I'd finished it that it marks the beginning of a much longer journey. I hope you enjoy the process of discovery as much as I have.

Customer Reviews

Innovation is a way of being
I throughly enjoyed this book on innovation giving me an even wider perpective on innovation and what it means to innovate. What I assimultated from this faboulous book is that innovation is not just something that fabricates with a new peice of technology or 'technologial innovation', but accumulates to much more. Rather it is a 'way of being', a reson detre(reason to live) in that the organisation must have the appropriate structures in place so that the ultimate success of innovation can be optimised. Whilst some other key writers in the field such as Peters, Utterback and even Drucker look at the academic perspective on innovation, this author provides much more examples to add life and reality to the concept of innovation. An excellent read............... not to be missed!