Weekend Leadership Reading: 3/29/19

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Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular work days. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about innovation in corporations.

From BCG: Most Innovative Companies 2019: Rise of AI, Platforms, and Ecosystems

“BCG’s latest innovation survey surfaces some big trends. Strong innovators are extending their edge over weaker rivals by embracing AI—in their products and services as well as in how they create them. They’re also increasingly looking to platforms and ecosystems as a way to benefit from external data, ideas, and capabilities. And there are some interesting shifts in this year’s roster of the 50 most innovative companies.”

From Omar Abbosh, Vedrana Savic, and Michael Moore: What Sets the Most Effective Innovators Apart

“In a study of C-level executives at 840 companies from eight countries and 14 industries with revenues over $500 million, we identified a small number that appear to be bucking the trend. Their secret: They strive to innovate in ways that would have a major impact on markets and society, and they revamped how their organizations pursued innovation and brought their capabilities together in a single ‘architecture.'”

From the London Business School: 5 keys to unlock innovation

“Most companies realise they must innovate or be left behind. Easier said than done? Here’s how.”

From Dashun Wang and James A. Evans: Research: When Small Teams Are Better Than Big Ones

“Indeed, one of the most universal shifts in the innovation sector in recent years has been the growth of large teams in all areas of research and development, while solitary inventors, researchers, and small teams have all been on the decline. This fundamental shift is critical for science and innovation policy, as it points to large teams as optimal engines for tomorrow’s largest advances.”

From Adi Gaskell: Companies Are Failing To Get Value From Innovation

“Innovation is something that everyone says they want to do, but it seems increasingly clear that this desire is often rather superficial. For instance, recently I wrote about a new study from Harvard Business School showing that innovation is rarely a top priority for executives. Indeed, just 30% placed it in their top 3 issues to focus on in the coming years.”

From Jeffrey Phillips: Innovate on Purpose: The “whole product” is more relevant than ever

“You simply must tip your hat to Geoffrey Moore and others who created the concept of the ‘whole product.’ I’ve written about this concept several times, and I raise it again because the underlying ideas are about to become really important in innovation circles. If you haven’t read Crossing the Chasm or aren’t quite familiar with what a ‘whole product’ is, then it may make sense to go and read up. When you are done, come back and let’s continue the conversation about why whole products are about to become a lot more interesting.”

From Greg Satell: To Drive Innovation, We Need To Hire For Diversity And Empathy

“The first thing I tell them is that there has been no definitive research that has found that any specific personality type contributes to innovation. In fact, in my research I have found that there is not even a particular kind of company. If you look at IBM, Google and Amazon, for example, you’ll find that they innovate very differently.”

Book Suggestions

Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A Moore

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice by Clayton M. Christensen , Karen Dillon , et al.

Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age by Greg Satell

You may enjoy reading my post, “Englishmen can’t short straight: Lessons in Innovation.”

Every week I share some recommendations of business books that I think are worth a look. Follow this link to the most recent list.

Every Monday, I do a blog post about business reading and business books. Follow this link to the most recent post, my review of The Leader Habit.

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