Relentless Growth: How Silicon Valley Innovation Strategies Can Work in Your Business (Hardcover)

by Christopher Meyer (Author) "Have you ever received one of those birthday cards that plays "Happy Birthday" when you open it?..." (more)
Key Phrases: measurement mess, innovation portfolio, growth attitude, Silicon Valley, Growth Attitude, Silicon Graphics (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In this overview of how Silicon Valley developed innovation strategies, Meyer (Fast Cycle Time, Free Pr., 1993) offers practical insights that can be adapted for use by service and manufacturing organizations. He assumes that change creates opportunity, that it is essential for growth, that those standing still are falling behind, that the skills required for innovation can be learned and managed, and that the underlying processes that drive change are fundamentally different from those used to manage daily operations. Therein lies the dilemma faced by many organizations that, because of their segmented alignment, do not have a defined innovation process or the cross-functional commitment, cooperation, or capacity to implement desired change. This book includes a five-element model for innovation and covers the important roles that people, organizational leadership, strategic alignment, and shared information can have on the innovation process. Recommended for academic and public libraries.?Norman B. Hutcherson, Beale Memorial Lib., Bakersfield, Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Edward R. McCracken Chairman and CEO, Silicon Graphics Computer Systems Relentless Growth proves that you don't have to work in Silicon Valley to master innovation. Whether it's a manufacturing or service business, any company can do it. While the Valley may astound and amaze us with dazzling new products, Meyer shows it is their "process of innovation" that is the truly exciting news. His stories are fun to read and offer invaluable guidance on how to lead and manage innovation. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684834464
• ISBN-13: 978-0684834467
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,496,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sustaining rapid growth is harder than starting out well., August 6, 1999

By	David Stengle (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As with his first book, Meyer artfully combines theory and practice in how to deal with success. This book applies well to any business aiming for high (35%+ per annum) growth and the tremendous strain this places on having a shared understanding of the company's goals, direction, and values.

Meyer presents many attributes of successful, aggressive information-age companies and provides stimulating ideas about where and how to steer an organization's culture. Maintaining a sense of urgency and challenging things that brought about current success are hard to do, but this book sheds some light on how to avoid complacency.

I find the book a tad chauvinistic about Silicon Valley, but the area certainly has an enviable track record. I do think his ideas will work elsewhere. :)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unveils the business secrets of Silicon Valley's champions, July 10, 1998

By A Customer

Drawing from the experiences of Silicon Valley's "best and brighest," Meyer shows how innovation can be learned and managed. He introduces a model that synthesizes the core elements of innovation and he explores the organizational nature and leadership characteristics of successful high technology firms. Meyer succeeds in conveying the intangible dynamics of these exceptional enterprises. The book is rich in insights that apply to organizations who are striving for a competitive edge. Meyer shows how knowledge, creativity and passion are pivotal to creating weath and shaping the future.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irresistible Concept Explained Well, June 4, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Developing successful new products and services is one of the most difficult tasks that a company has. Unless your products and services have very long life cycles (something that occurs less and less these days), your growth will depend a lot on how well you perform. The book's premise is that starting with the processes that work for the rapid growth, short life cycle companies in Silicon Valley, you can gather important insights. That's a sound and intriguing idea, and it is well executed by Christopher Meyer. One of the things I liked was that he looked beyond Silicon Valley to find how other companies of all sizes and types were employing the same principles. One of my favorite examples in the book was of Emerson Electric.

Here are the book's chapter titles: (1) Knowledge -- The Motherlode of Value (2) The Loose-Tight World of Innovation (3) Leading . . . with an attitude (4) Strategy in a $20 Billion Startup (5) Relentless Approach to Innovation (6) Collective Power of Pairs (7) Measuring Your Measurement System (8) Getting from Here to There

The key point of the book is that each company needs to create an attitude among its people which fosters growth. Meyer does a good job of comparing and contrasting what what makes innovation work from what makes running existing operations excell. Unless you create this attitude, the normal operating needs will push out the needs of innovation.

Building on Intel's Andy Grove's advice about paranoia, Meyer proposes having positive paranoia in regard to the need or positive momentum and change. He also encourages companies to look outward solely, rather than inward. He wants a flatter organizational structure that blurs the organizational boundaries among functions. He favors promoting people who have a passion for innovation and what your company does. He suggests stretch goals that are acted upon, with the whole process repeated.

I found the thoughts in the book to be accurately portrayed and very appropriate advice. A number of the examples were also new to me, which made the book more interesting. A good adjunct to this book is Mike Pessemier's original research from the 1970s on how the best companies develop new products. The case studies in this book draw on important lessons from that research.

Don't sit on your laurels. Develop your innovation attitude by applying the lessons of this book as a first step! That's the kind of leadership that can make a difference!