Executive summary

Innovation drives growth, profitability and sustainability. This chapter argues that the ability to innovate is the primary capability that every leader and business needs. But although most managers understand the importance of innovation, they dont understand how to do it.

A useful way to think about innovation is to break it into two parts : the front-end (concept development) and the back-end (implementation). Contrary to prevailing logic, it is the front-end that poses the biggest challenge for managers. This is because the front-end tends to be fuzzy, chaotic and experimental, which is at odds with the largely rational, analytical processes taught at most business schools .

To overcome this hurdle , this chapter presents a four-stage system for generating front-end ideas:

1. building an individual and collective idea mindset

2. developing a shared understanding of a range of idea concepts

3. learning and applying a number of idea tools

4. embedding a number of idea practices.

This four-stage system will greatly improve your chances of developing breakthrough , business-building ideas.