Strategic Innovation and Management Books

The Little Black Book of Innovation

Author: Scott D. Anthony
Innovation may be the hottest discipline around today-in business circles and beyond. And for good reason. Innovation transforms companies and markets. It's the key to solving vexing social problems. And it makes or breaks professional careers. For all the enthusiasm the topic inspires, however, the practice of innovation remains stubbornly impenetrable.

No longer. In The Little Black Book of Innovation, long-time innovation expert Scott D. Anthony draws on stories from his research and field work with companies like Procter & Gamble to demystify innovation. In his trademark conversational and lively style, Anthony presents a simple definition of innovation, breaks down the essential differences between types of innovation, and illuminates innovation's vital role in organizational success and personal growth. This unique hybrid of professional memoir and business guidebook also provides a powerful 28-day program for mastering innovation's key steps: (1) Finding insight, (2) Generating ideas, (3) Building businesses, (4) Strengthening innovation prowess in your workforce and organization. With its wealth of illustrative case studies and vignettes from a range of companies around the globe, this engaging and potent playbook is a must-read for anyone seeking to turn themselves or their companies into true innovation powerhouses.

Innovator's DNA

Author: Clayton M. Christensen, Hal Gregersen, Jeff Dyer
In The Innovator's DNA, authors Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and bestselling author Clayton Christensen (The Innovator's Dilemma, The Innovator's Solution) build on what we know about disruptive innovation to show how individuals can develop the skills necessary to move progressively from idea to impact.

By identifying behaviors of the world's best innovators—from leaders at Amazon and Apple to those at Google, Skype, and Virgin Group—the authors outline five discovery skills that distinguish innovative entrepreneurs and executives from ordinary managers: Associating, Questioning, Observing, Networking, and Experimenting.

Once you master these competencies (the authors provide a self assessment for rating your own innovator's DNA), the authors explain how you can generate ideas, collaborate with colleagues to implement them, and build innovation skills throughout your organization to sharpen its competitive edge. That innovation advantage can translate into a premium in your company's stock price—an innovation premium—which is possible only by building the code for innovation right into your organization's people, processes, and guiding philosophies.

Practical and provocative, The Innovator's DNA is an essential resource for individuals and teams who want to strengthen their innovative prowess.

Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal

Author: Mark Johnson
Transformational new growth remains the Holy Grail for many organizations. But a deep understanding of how great business models are made can provide the key to unlocking that growth.  With this book, you can turn business model innovation into a managed process and a more predictable discipline. To play a new game, on a new field, you need a new game plan. "Seizing the White Space" gives you a language and framework for understanding both the core space of your existing enterprise and the white space you hope to seize. Think of this as your playbook for conquering the unknown.

The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times

Author: Scott D. Anthony
Throughout history, forward-thinking businesspeople have launched game-changing innovations and entire businesses during economic downturns—and have gone on to achieve astounding success. Consider: Hewlett-Packard, United Technologies, and Revlon all started in the Great Depression. And Microsoft, Genentech, and The Limited were all founded during recessions.  How have the innovators behind these breakthrough firms managed this feat? In "The Silver Lining", Scott Anthony shares insights gleaned from extensive examination of winning companies from a diverse array of industries. In any bust time, you need to pare costs to the bone while also planting and nurturing the seeds needed for tomorrow's growth. This practical and compelling book—packed with powerful ideas, tools, and examples—positions you to surmount this seemingly impossible challenge.

The Innovator's Prescription

Author: Clayton M. Christensen, Jerome Grossman, Jason Hwang
It is a commonplace that the U.S. healthcare system is broken, but the discussion often degenerates into a debate about who is responsible. This book takes a different approach, focusing on what is wrong with the healthcare system and needs to change so it can work better. As is pointed out again and again, disruptive changes will be needed to get from A to B. The authors suggest that the best candidate entities for leading the transition to healthcare in the new mode might be employers that profit from the good health of their employees. Then there is the intriguing possibility of expanding the role of integrated healthcare providers.

The Innovator's Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work

Author: Joe Sinfield, Mark Johnson, Scott D. Anthony, Elizabeth J. Altman
Building on the concept of Clayton Christensen's breakthrough book "The Innovator's Dilemma",  Scott Anthony, Mark Johnson, Joseph Sinfield, and Elizabeth Altman take the subject of disruptive innovation to the next level in "The Innovator's Guide to Growth": implementation.

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

Author: Clayton M. Christensen, Michael Horn, Curtis W. Johnson
In his long-awaited book, Clayton M. Christensen and coauthors Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson take one of the most important issues of our time—education—and apply Christensen's now-famous theories of "disruptive" change using a wide range of real-life examples. Whether you're a school administrator, government official, business leader, parent, teacher, or entrepreneur, you'll discover surprising new ideas, outside-the-box strategies, and straight-A success stories.

Seeing What's Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change

Author: Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, Erik A. Roth
The world's leading expert on disruptive innovation and his team of researchers introduce a groundbreaking model that will enable "outsiders" with no proprietary information to predict how innovations will impact firms and industries—and to make the right decisions while there is still time to make them.

The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

Author: Clayton M. Christensen
This book picks up where "The Innovator's Dilemma" left off, providing organizations of any size a way of approaching the creation of disruptive growth businesses. Written with Deloitte research director Michael Raynor.
The Wall Street Journal rates The Innovator's Solution as one of the top 5 best books on business and the Internet.

Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market—And How to Successfully Transform Them

Author: Richard N. Foster, Sarah Kaplan
Based on a concept first advanced some 70 years ago by economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Foster and Kaplan propose that corporations can outperform capital markets and maintain their leadership positions only if they creatively and continuously reconstruct themselves.

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Author: Clayton M. Christensen, Michael Raynor
This best-selling book helps managers understand that when dominant companies ignore disruptive innovations because they don't interest their mainstream customers, they miss the next great wave of industry growth.