To succeed, innovation must be followed up

Making Innovation Work
How to Manage It, Measure It, and Profit from It, by Tony Davila, Marc J. Epstein, and Robert Shelton, 350 pp., Wharton

School Publishing 2007

According to the authors, innovation represents the opportunity for any organization to survive, grow, and influence the direction of an industry.

Blockbuster development does not guarantee success, but must be followed up with successive streams of innovation. Leading companies develop innovation portfolios that they can use to sustain long-term growth.

Although many myths surround innovation, the authors believe innovating is not any more difficult than implementing other management activities.

"Making Innovation Work" challenges misconceptions and lays out the tools necessary for an organization to harness, manage, and execute innovation successfully and profitably. It provides a start-to-finish process for defining strategy, integrating innovation and business strategy, balancing creativity and value capture, neutralizing organizational "antibodies," building innovation networks, and measuring and rewarding.

Thus, we see innovation is not about secret formulas; it is about good management.

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