Applying Innovation

Innovation is an important force in creating and sustaining organizational growth. Effective innovation can mean the difference between leading with a particular product, process or service and simply following the pack with the risk of stagnation and decline. Innovation transforms mediocre companies into world leaders and ordinary organizations into stimulating environments for employees.

This book contains a step-by-step approach to applying high impact innovation in any organization. High impact innovation requires close attention to the five key types of knowledge — goals, actions, teams, results and community and perhaps of equal importance the relationship between all five. This book will show how to develop a knowledge management process where individuals anywhere in an organization can share innovation related information.

Applied Innovation Management (AIM) is about making changes to products, processes or services inside every organization, that adds value to customers both internal and external. AIM is a symbiosis of innovation management, strategic planning, performance measurement, creativity, project portfolio management, performance appraisal, knowledge management and teams. Competing books offer in depth insights into the theory of one or more of these areas. AIM provides the essential ingredients from each area that combine together into one easy to apply recipe for organizational growth.

The term innovation is ambiguous and frightening for some readers. Traditional innovation management books are about visions of organizations that can create world beating products and grow to dominate entire sectors of industry.This approach is entertaining but allows many readers to shy away from the term, in the realization that such visions are rarely realized and often depend on chance. Applied innovation management is about practical techniques that occur everyday in leading organizations and which can be practiced easily in any organization from one individual up to large extended organizations comprising hundreds of thousands of individuals. The essential ingredients are identical — goals, actions, teams, results and community! Innovation theory is extremely important and informs the content of innovation plans in organizations.

This book is about putting structure around that content. This book is unique which are both a threat and an opportunity. The threat comes from wondering why other books have not focused on applying innovation in organizations i.e. teaching students how to build and apply practical innovation management systems. The opportunity comes from this book being a possible first. Other books approach innovation by telling us why it is important, what researchers say about what is important and what some companies have done. They appear to universally stop short at showing students how to structure and implement an innovation management system for any organization.

There are a number of Innovation Management books aimed at the student market. All of these books offer their own unique approach to helping students understand the importance of innovation, what practice is successful in organizations and of course endless methodologies and check lists.

This book is different. It cuts through the theory and gets students working on a practical and hands-on approach to managing innovation using a knowledge management system. Each and every chapter is focused on formatting and storing information that can be used to create an innovation management system. Readers are encouraged to practice the lessons in the book using their own knowledge management system and visit the book web site for case studies and other materials.

The word 'competition' may be too strong for this book. An alternative view is to see the book as a practical and applied 'accompaniment' to established theoretical books on innovation management. This book should appeal to instructors who want to reduce the 'chalk and talk' and increase the hands-on practicality of their courses in innovation management.