Chapter 17

Learning to manage innovation and entrepreneurship

Learning objetives
By end of this chapter you will develop an understanding of:

Reviewing and consolidating the key themes in the book

Exploring key influences con how to manage the innovation process
effectively
Identifying key skills at individual, team and organization level associated
with effective innovation.
Developing the ability to review how well individuals and organizations
manage the process
Practising taking an audit approach to improving innovation and
entrepreneurship

Introduction
Lets try to summarize the key themes in the book. In part i we introduced the
idea of innovation not as some luxury to be thought about occasionally but
as a business and social imperative. Unless established organizations change
what they ofter the World and the ways they crate and deliver that offering,
they are likely to fall behind their competitors and even disappear. On a
more positive side , creating new busines through coming up with and
deploying ideas is well established as a powerful source of economic growth
not to mention a great way to make the successfull entrepreneurs behind
those ideas very wealthy

The energy and passion which drives through the process is

entrepreneurship : the seing and making real of opportunities. It is clearly
involved in a star_up where a new business requires and indidual/small group
to channel their creative energy and drive to make something new. But its
also needed in an established company where renewal comes through
stimulating and enabling the same drive and creativity to deliver both a
stream of improve ment innovations and also the occasional inspired lead
which helps reinvent the business. And increasingle such drive . energy and
enthublished is being harnessed to more than economic growth- in start-ups
and established organizations where the challenges of sustainability are being
picked up. Social entreprencurship is literally about changing the world. But it
uses the same basic engine.
This process works right across the economy, whether we are talking about
cars, clothes or silicom chips. It isnt condfined to manufacturing: it works just
as

Making Innovation Happen

Innovation is generic process, running from ideas through to their
implementation. Despite the many diferents ways in which we see it playing
out in manufacturing or services, at heart the process is about weaving
knowledge and resources together. And its this creative tapestry that we
have to organize and manege as we move through finding opportunities
mobilizing resources, developing the venture and capturing the value.