Innovation that Fits: Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the RIGHT Innovation Strategy for Your Business [Paperback]

Michael Lord (Author), Donald deBethizy (Author), Jeffrey Wager (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131438204 | ISBN-13: 978-0131438200 | Publication Date: February 18, 2005

Innovation is more urgently necessary than it's ever been. Now, three leading experts on commercializing innovation systematically sort through the wreckage of yesterday's strategies, learning lessons and identifying ideas worth preserving and adapting. To prepare this book, the authors thoroughly examined the record of more than 250 innovation programs from organizations of widely differing sizes and industries, from 1998 through 2003. Based on this unprecedented research, they reveal the right time to use each innovation 'arrow', how to account for contingencies and risks; and how to focus on core innovation challenges -- not just superficial symptoms. Along the way, the authors define a focused, integrated model for innovation: one that is more nuanced and complex, but also better-grounded, more durable, and far more effective.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Lord is Director of the Flow Institute and Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business at Wake Forest University, where he teaches strategy and entrepreneurship in the full-time and executive MBA programs at the Babcock Graduate School of Management. Dr. Lord's research and consulting work focuses on new venture creation, high-tech acquisitions and spinouts, and global venturing. His work on innovation has been featured in a variety of academic and practitioner outlets, including the Harvard Business Review, and he serves as an advisor on innovation strategy to a diverse group of companies, both large and small.

Donald deBethizy is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Targacept, Inc. Using new computational drug discovery technologies and focusing on novel biological targets, Targacept is developing therapies for numerous central nervous system disorders such as ADHD, Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression, and pain. Targacept was spun out of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in 2000, raising record levels of first- and second-round venture financing along the way. For his leadership in founding Targacept, Ernst & Young recognized Dr. deBethizy as an "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2002.

Jeffrey Wager is founder and managing member of CPP Advisors, an innovation-focused advisory and consulting firm. CPP structures and facilitates strategic transactions to support clients' innovation commercialization needs, including venture investments, licensing deals, partnerships, M&A, and spinouts. Dr. Wager's advisory and consulting practice focuses on the life sciences and spans the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Previously, he led due diligence and investment management activities for leading venture firms in the U.S. and Japan. Dr. Wager continues to serve as an advisor or board member for many of the organizations he has advised or helped found.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Product Details

chapter one of Innovation That Fits [PDF]

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (February 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131438204
• ISBN-13: 978-0131438200
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back To Basics, June 6, 2005

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Innovation that Fits: Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the RIGHT Innovation Strategy for Your Business (Paperback)

If you have looked through the business section of your local book store over the last ten years or so, one word seemed to appear in about a quarter of all titles - innovate. From management gurus to the media, they all have been preaching the innovation doctrine. It almost seemed that regardless of what you did in the innovation space, as long as you were doing something was all that mattered. It seemed that the risks associated with this move forward mantra did not seem to get much press. The only risks discussed was the death penalty not innovating sentenced the company to. Well now that the new economy has been shone to be a bit overheated, a new look at the innovation craze was needed. That is where this book comes into place.

After more then one company innovated themselves out of existence it started to look like, that in retrospect many innovation strategies, structures and processes where left a little wanting. Now it looks like the bottom line is being looked at again and a little more sober view of innovation is being taken. This book helps the reader get back to solid business plans for innovation. The authors state that innovation in no less important, but that we need to get back to viewing the cost benefits of the risks that innovation presents. They give the reader very clear and solid ideas on how to balance innovation gone mad and do nothing stagnation.

Overall I found the book easy to read and understand the key points. The authors give you real examples of both failures and success on the innovation front. I found the book to be a valuable tool to remembering that doing something just for the sake of doing something cane lead to some vary difficult choices. It is well worth the time to read the book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid advice, January 28, 2008

By 

Referential (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innovation that Fits: Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the RIGHT Innovation Strategy for Your Business (Paperback)

Avoid so many of the innovation fads and fashions. Read this book. Solid and practical advice for how to organize and manage innovation. Good pros and cons and a balanced approach overall.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just forget it, July 8, 2006

By 

ARMAN KIRIM, PhD (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Innovation that Fits: Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the RIGHT Innovation Strategy for Your Business (Paperback)

This is not a book on innovation. It is about building paper castles first and then trying to tear down with supoosedly empirical evidence. What it says at the end of all that boring and trivial reading is that a firm should not divert its attention to outside-the-firm areas of innovation and instead should focus on core innovation. Eureca! OK, but how are they going to do that? Nobody knows. Just be focused on your innovastion efforts and don't ask more questions. Don't waste either your money or your time on this book and serve your nerves.