Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovations in Mature Firms

by Abbie Griffin

Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovations in Mature Firms zeros in on the cutting-edge thinkers who repeatedly create and deliver breakthrough innovations and new products in large, mature organizations. These employees are organizational powerhouses who solve consumer problems and substantially contribute to the financial value to their firms.

In this pioneering study, authors Abbie Griffin, Raymond L. Price, and Bruce A. Vojak detail who these serial innovators are and how they develop novel products, ranging from salt-free seasonings to improved electronics in companies such as Alberto Culver, Hewlett-Packard, and Procter & Gamble. Based on interviews with over 50 serial innovators and an even larger pool of their co-workers, managers and human resources teams, the authors reveal key insights about how to better understand, emulate, enable, support, and manage these unique and important individuals for long-term corporate success. Interestingly, the book finds that serial innovators are instrumental both in cases where firms are aware of clear market demands, and in scenarios when companies take risks on new investments, creating a consumer need.

For over 25 years, research on innovation has taken the perspective that new product development can be managed like any other (complex) process of the firm. While a highly structured and closely supervised approach is helpful in creating incremental innovations, this book finds that it is not conducive to creating breakthrough innovations. The text argues that the drive to routinize innovation has gone too far; in fact, so far as to limit many mature firms' ability to create breakthrough innovations. In today's economy, with the future of so many large firms on the line, this book is a clarion call to businesses to rethink how to nurture and thrive on their innovative workforce.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Entrepreneurship, Audiobook, Technology

235 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2012

Reviews

[Fritz (Hrvoje · Rating 1 out of 5]

Empty fluff

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars for "it was ok". I had to read it for class and two of the authors are from U of I.

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There are two types of innovations: incremental & breakthrough. This book is interested in the latter and the role of the "serial innovator" aka someone who is able to keep coming up with breakthroughs because they are intrinsically motivated (curiosity on real-life problems to solve) but also extrinsically motivated (wants to create a successful commercial product that will solve that problem).

I learned some new things about different processes used in corporations to develop products, how they compete with each other, and how they spend their time trying to change their existing products while coming up with a brand new thing that no one has ever seen before. Sometimes I'm really turned off by how driven these people are to keep "innovating", like it's a nonstop gotta-gotta-gotta find a new way for people to spend money (?). Sometimes I'm reading the description of how passionate and caring a serial innovator is to look for the next world problem and thinking about how $3 billion would solve world hunger (Kelly Brownell).

And this book isn't written for me, but for people whose job it is to identify potential serial innovators for their companies + for aspiring serial innovators. Also, there's a chapter on how to manage these "special people" since their roles could appear as if they're not doing any work for a long time but really they're just incubating ideas.

Every time Tom Osborn's name came up, I had to #lol in the margins. His dedication to the menstrual pad. . .is to be admired. . .>.>

I did enjoy the "love letter to students" section in the last chapter, though. It felt inspiring/motivating/life-affirming about finding a job that is a good fit for you, that it doesn't have to be serial innovator or anything because doing something you don't want to do is bad for you and the people you're working for.

[University of Chicago Magazine]

Bruce A. Vojak, MBA'90
Coauthor

From our pages (July–Aug/12): "Focusing on innovators in the middle levels of large firms, the authors look at people such as Carol Bernick who, as a marketing executive at the Alberto Culver Company, created Molly McButter fat-free butter flavoring and Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning—now a significant portion of the company's revenue stream. By examining the practices and behaviors of these individuals, the authors, including associate dean for administration in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Engineering Bruce A. Vojak, explain how they used their interpersonal, organizational, and political skills to bring their ideas to life."

[Toshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is one genius in a company of ten. There is 2 geniuses in a company of one hundred. Three in a company of one thousand. However, there is none in a company of ten thousands, because they were driven out of the company. This is shocking, but quite understandable reading through Chapter 1 to 4 (half thickness of the book). I see many Serial Innovators in P&G. For me who is aspiring to be a SI, Chapter 1 to 4 is pretty much the important pages. Lots of stories how they did, how they thought, etc. I took notes of several key points. The rest is basically for managers. However, the last part “the love letters to our customers” are quite motivational to read.

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed read focused on serial innovators. Great book for managers of innovative personnel.

[Mohamed Ali Said · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent for anyone thinking about creating new Products and wanting to learn the real world of product development in real companies.