Duggan's <i>Corporate Innovator</i> is one of those rare books that you think is focused only on a small subject, but as you turn the pages, you realize each one opens up a whole world.
- Sheena S. Iyengar, S.T. Lee Professor of Business, Columbia Business School, and author of <i>Think Bigger</i>,
A common mistake in corporate innovation is that too much focus is placed on generating ideas, rather than on how to effectively communicate these ideas to other key stakeholders. <i>Corporate Innovator</i> performs an invaluable service in filling this gap by offering powerful and practical frameworks that help innovators build support for their ideas within large corporations. Duggan's expertise and insight in creativity and innovation gives him authority to speak on this topic.
- David Dabscheck, Chief Executive Officer, GIANT Innovation,
<i>Corporate Innovator</i> makes existing knowledge more accessible to and legitimizes the efforts of would-be innovators. Duggan brings his academic curiosity and expertise in organizational strategy to bear, offering motivation, actionable advice, and historical context.
- Kaihan Krippendorff, author of <i>Driving Innovation from Within: A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs</i>,
Offers a well cited, deeply researched examination. Provides distinctive insights on a pivotal topic, making it a useful resource for those trying to instigate an internal change.
Choice Reviews
William Duggan—a leading expert on innovation and strategic thinking—offers a guide to navigating the maze from idea to implementation. He provides practical advice on communicating new ideas effectively, getting buy-in from others, winning allies, and overcoming resistance or outright opposition to innovation. Duggan focuses on the strategy and tactics of building support within the organization, exploring the crucial takeaways from research in psychology about how people react to new ideas. This book includes a series of interviews with successful corporate innovators as well as analysis of historical cases that combine lively storytelling with actionable insights. For anyone in an organization who has been frustrated with the lack of innovation, Corporate Innovator delivers an essential roadmap for going from idea to action.
Part I. Lessons
1. New Ideas: A Theory of Action
2. The First Step: Innovative Thinking
3. Saqqara: The Idea Hierarchy
4. Tunnel Vision: The Curse of the Core
5. The Ally Maze: Up, Down, Across
6. False Friends: The Tyranny of Teams
7. Mind Games: War of the Words
8. The Company as Ally: Pluribus vs. - Unum
9. Meeting of the Minds: Uncommon Sense
10. Are You an Innovator?
Part II. Examples
11. Brown Johnson: Dora the Explorer
12. Joan Affleck: CRUISE
13. Lloyd Trotter: The Innovation Matrix
14. Sara Holoubek: Innovation Competitions
15. Fran Korten: The Working Group
16. Alice Paul: Insider/Outsider
17. General Patton: Room to Maneuver
18. Ella Baker: Organization Innovator
Conclusion: The Minotaur
Bibliography