INNOVATING INNOVATION!

In Stemple’s guidebook, he explains why big corporations fail to innovate and what can be done about it.

In corporate culture, innovation is a poorly defined buzzword—something that most organizations tout but rarely support with adequate resources. Instead, startups have become known as the place where true innovation happens in the face of ever changing trends. Stemple, a veteran of more than 20 startups, illustrates how an overreliance on risk-averse, operations-minded people with MBAs has allowed ambitious entrepreneurs to innovate better than established organizations, drawing on the sometimes-chaotic ingenuity of talent that might be missed elsewhere. The author presents 20 innovator traits (including fierceness, ambitiousness, diligence, and so on), divided into five types, and executives can use them to identify prospective employees and understand how to protect, reward, and develop innovation. The book also breaks down the entrepreneurial thought process so that companies can emulate a forward-thinking startup mindset that treats innovation as an emergency and competition as all-consuming. This includes instructions on how to develop “S.W.A.T. Innovation teams” for combating unconventional challenges and new competitors as well as an overview of the benefits that a dedicated “Entrepreneur in Residence” can add to a company. Overall, the guidebook offers practical advice in a passionate manner, with quality citations and plenty of graphs, tables, and visual guides. There is some familiar business jargon, but the book clearly and consistently limns the differences between innovators and operators and plainly states its pro-invention methods. Some aspects of introducing such a mindset into an existing organization are vaguely described; networking seems particularly important, but it’s mentioned only briefly, and there are few tips for abating the friction one may face when emphasizing innovation. Impressively, however, the author shares how he specifically develops and pitches ideas, and he includes a particularly heartwarming story about how his custom-made stickers helped a bullied child. It feels like a missed opportunity that the book doesn’t include more of these affecting moments as well as more of the “failed choices” innovators make.

An enthusiastic resource for business leaders who recognize that they’re falling behind.