Customer Reviews

The Innovation Wave: meeting the corporate challenge

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm an innovation and strategy manager in The Netherlands and I've read many books and articles on the subject. This book stands out, because it offers a huge amount of information, best practices, thoughts, dilemma's and paradoxes on the subject. The author is responsible for running the Innovation Exchange Initiative at London Business School at wich Innovative companies exchange information. This position garantuees she can tap into the latest insights on innovation.
The book also has contributions from great thinkers on Innovation, like Gary Hamel, Costas Martides and so on.
I'm preparing my MBA dissertation on the subject of Innovation and this book offered the best insights so far.
Mind you: this book is NOT an easy to follow 5-step guide to innovation walhalla. You really have to think for yourself!
My overall opinion: highly recommended.

The core themes of this book are:
* that change is constant and continuous innovation the only viable response
* that successful innovation requires 'an holistic approach that aligns strategy and vision, process, leadership style and culture to the innovation ambition'
* that there are many ways to start on the journey, but the journey never ends. Innovation is ultimately a way of life.

The text is made up of sound advice, well arranged, and interspersed with short essays by experts in the field (such as Gary Hamel and Costas Markides). Each chapter ends with a summary list of 'anchor points'.

There is a good last chapter of suggested further reading.

This book takes great guru speak by interesting people like Gary Hamel and Costas Markides and adds to it insightful commentary by the author. Bettina von Stamm is not just an editor of all this wisdom; she is obviously expert in her own right, drawing on deep experience to navigate the reader through the "endless sea of innovation challenges". As entertaining as it is helpful.