
Driving Innovation from Within
A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs
Kaihan Krippendorff(Author)
Columbia University Press
Published on 22. October 2019
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-231-18952-1 (ISBN)
Description
Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are society's main source of innovation. Young founders leave college with a big idea, get to work in a garage, and build something that changes the world. Typical corporate employees, strangled by slow-moving bureaucracy, are blocked from making transformative discoveries.
In Driving Innovation from Within, strategist and advisor Kaihan Krippendorff disproves one of today's biggest business myths to highlight lessons for innovators and leaders. He reveals how many of the modern world's most impactful creations were invented by passionate employee innovators. If it were left up to go-it-alone entrepreneurs, we would not have mobile phones, personal computers, or e-mail. Distilling more than 150 interviews with internal innovators and leading experts along with insights from the latest research and today's most successful companies, from Tencent and Amazon to Mastercard and Starbucks, Krippendorff lays out a step-by-step playbook to unlock innovation from the inside. He maps the barriers that frustrate efforts to disrupt from within and provides tools to remove them, detailing how visionary leaders can create islands of freedom inside an organization to activate existing employees' potential and beat startups at their own game. Driving Innovation from Within is a practical and inspiring guide to leadership from all levels for those who want the fulfillment of changing the world without leaving their job in order to do it.
In Driving Innovation from Within, strategist and advisor Kaihan Krippendorff disproves one of today's biggest business myths to highlight lessons for innovators and leaders. He reveals how many of the modern world's most impactful creations were invented by passionate employee innovators. If it were left up to go-it-alone entrepreneurs, we would not have mobile phones, personal computers, or e-mail. Distilling more than 150 interviews with internal innovators and leading experts along with insights from the latest research and today's most successful companies, from Tencent and Amazon to Mastercard and Starbucks, Krippendorff lays out a step-by-step playbook to unlock innovation from the inside. He maps the barriers that frustrate efforts to disrupt from within and provides tools to remove them, detailing how visionary leaders can create islands of freedom inside an organization to activate existing employees' potential and beat startups at their own game. Driving Innovation from Within is a practical and inspiring guide to leadership from all levels for those who want the fulfillment of changing the world without leaving their job in order to do it.
Reviews / Votes
Named one of the 10 best business books of 2019. * Toronto Globe and Mail * Named a best business book of 2020. * Corpnet * This smart and wide-ranging book will convince you that it's often more promising to be an 'intrapreneur'-someone who innovates from within an established organization-than an entrepreneur. If you work for an organization and are itching to become more creative-to tap the resources of your company to create something amazing-Driving Innovation from Within is an essential read. -- Daniel H. Pink, author of <i>When, Drive,</i> and <i>To Sell Is Human</i> Startups get the headlines, but established companies are often the real innovation heroes. Driving Innovation from Within is chock full of examples and tools to help internal innovators combine entrepreneurial energy with assets of scale to innovate with impact. -- Scott D. Anthony, senior partner at Innosight and author of <i>Dual Transformation</i> and <i>The Little Black Book of Innovation</i> Amidst great global competition and rapid technology shifts, continuous innovation is what drives long-term impact and success. And the number one source of innovation for companies is their own employees. Kaihan shows how large organizations, not just startups, can be a place where entrepreneurs innovate, build, and adapt for the future. -- Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and coauthor of <i>Blitzscaling</i> Innovation and creativity can come anytime from anywhere. Companies planning to succeed far into the future have to accept that the best ideas don't come from working in silos-and may even seem to go against the strategies that have driven past success. But game-changing, innovative ideas can be fostered within organizations by embracing collaboration, co-creation and diversity of thought. Kaihan Krippendorff provides practical, actionable steps for breaking down silos, igniting the drive to collaborate and accepting the new opportunities that will soon come your way. -- Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard Kaihan Krippendorff has written a stunningly engaging book on innovation that is as smart as it is practical. -- Amy C. Edmundson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School, and author of <i>The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth</i> Krippendorff's description of the six attributes of successful corporate intrapreneurs and the seven barriers that they face make this book required reading for anyone who wants to innovate inside of a company. -- Steve Blank, Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley Haas Business School, and coauthor of <i>The Startup Owner's Manual</i> Driving Innovation from Within is a fresh new approach to succeeding in our highly uncertain business climate. -- Marshall Goldsmith, author of <i>Triggers, Mojo,</i> and <i>What Got You Here Won't Get You There</i> This book speaks a truth: most innovation isn't the realm of entrepreneurs; it occurs as smart leaders unleash the creativity and intelligence of their teams, turning employees into world-class innovators. And, while many books offer tools that might work, this one offers tools that have been proven to work at the most innovative companies. How refreshing. -- Liz Wiseman, author of <i>Multipliers</i> and <i>Rookie Smarts</i> Innovation is the lifeblood of every great company - the key is to identify it and then nurture it to success. Krippendorff's book is a useful guide that any business, government, and organization should read to ignite innovation from the bottom up. -- Parker Harris, cofounder of Salesforce In Driving Innovation from Within, Kaihan Krippendorff shines a light on those entrepreneurial spirits who take action to reshape methodology and buck trends within their organizations. In an era of business where disruption is the name of the game, this book provides a guide for employees to effect the same changes that startups do. -- Verne Harnish, founder of the Entrepreneurs' Organization and author of <i>Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)</i> An excellent work. Driving Innovation from Within provides powerful insights and tools for enacting change from an expert in business strategy, growth, and transformation. With Kaihan Krippendorff's advice and stories from the front line of internal innovation, prospective intrapreneurs will find the sparks to fuel progress and grow their organizations. -- Josh Linkner, founder and former CEO, Detroit Venture Partners If you want to accelerate innovation in your organization and grow faster, provide a supportive environment for internal innovators. With this book Kaihan Krippendorff shows you how to create an innovation-enabling narrative, then tear down bureaucratic barriers and leverage capabilities to stay ahead. With rich analyses and engaging examples his recommendations come to life. -- George S. Day, Geoffrey T. Boisi Professor Emeritus, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania [Krippendorff] offers an unusual combination of scholarly insight and practical application wrapped in clear, lucid, and engaging prose that encourages thoughtful action on the part of the reader. . . . Essential. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
10 b&w figures and tables
Dimensions
Height: 160 mm
Width: 234 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
568 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-18952-1 (9780231189521)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2019
1st Edition
Columbia University Press
€33.99
Available for download
Person
Kaihan Krippendorff is the founder of Outthinker and the Outthinker Strategy Network, a global community of corporate strategy leaders committed to staying ahead of the pace of disruption. Recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the top emerging business thinkers to look out for, he is a professional speaker and the author of Outthink the Competition: How a New Generation of Strategists Sees Options Others Ignore (2011), among other business strategy books. A former McKinsey consultant, he is a strategic advisor to numerous leading corporations.
Content
Foreword, by Rita Gunter McGrath
Introduction: What My Clients Taught Me
1. The Real Innovators Among Us
2. Six Attributes and Seven Barriers
3. Intent: Choosing to See and Seize Opportunities
4. Need: Knowing Where to Look
5. Options: How to Generate Disruptive Ideas
6. Value Blockers: Neutralizing "Corporate Antibodies"
7. Act: Getting Permission to Experiment
8. Team: Building an Agile Team
9. Environment: Creating Islands of Freedom
10. For Leaders: How to Unleash Internal Innovation
Appendix A. Are Entrepreneurs the Innovators?
Appendix B. Value Blockers Checklist
Appendix C. Team Frameworks
Appendix D. Innovative Outperformers
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction: What My Clients Taught Me
1. The Real Innovators Among Us
2. Six Attributes and Seven Barriers
3. Intent: Choosing to See and Seize Opportunities
4. Need: Knowing Where to Look
5. Options: How to Generate Disruptive Ideas
6. Value Blockers: Neutralizing "Corporate Antibodies"
7. Act: Getting Permission to Experiment
8. Team: Building an Agile Team
9. Environment: Creating Islands of Freedom
10. For Leaders: How to Unleash Internal Innovation
Appendix A. Are Entrepreneurs the Innovators?
Appendix B. Value Blockers Checklist
Appendix C. Team Frameworks
Appendix D. Innovative Outperformers
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index