Summary of “Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age” by Greg Satell (2017)

Innovation and Creativity Business Strategy R&D Management Strategic Planning

Introduction

“Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age” by Greg Satell is a comprehensive guide that offers a structured approach to innovation, particularly valuable for those involved in R&D management and strategic planning. This book emphasizes that innovation is not a one-size-fits-all process but requires thoughtful navigation through a complex landscape. Satell dispels myths about innovation, emphasizes the importance of diverse strategies, and provides actionable insights rooted in real-world examples. Below is a structured summary highlighting key points and actionable steps.

1. Understanding Innovation

Key Point: Innovation is a multifaceted and non-linear process; it involves more than just breakthrough inventions.

Concrete Example: Satell highlights the iPhone. While not the first smartphone, it innovated in user experience by integrating various existing technologies (touchscreen, apps, internet browsing). This shows innovation can be a synthesis of existing components.
Actionable Step: Evaluate your innovation needs. Determine whether your organization requires breakthrough innovation or can achieve significant gains through improved user experience or incremental improvements.

2. The Innovation Matrix

Key Point: Satell introduces the “Innovation Matrix,” a tool for categorizing innovation into four types based on problem definition and domain knowledge.

Concrete Example: IBM’s transition to service-led solutions from hardware is depicted as a domain knowledge extension rather than a new problem solution. This strategic shift facilitated increased business relevancy.
Actionable Step: Map your innovation initiatives. Classify your projects on the innovation matrix to identify strategies that align best with your existing domain knowledge and the clarity of the problem being addressed.

3. Four Types of Innovation

Key Point: The Innovation Matrix divides innovation into four types: sustaining, breakthrough, disruptive, and basic research.

Sustaining Innovation: Continuous improvements to existing products.
Example: Toyota’s iterative improvements on the Camry model.
Actionable Step: Focus on customer feedback to improve current products gradually.
Breakthrough Innovation: Solving well-defined problems with new approaches.
Example: Apple’s development of the iPod solved the problem of digital music portability.
Actionable Step: Engage interdisciplinary teams to brainstorm novel solutions for existing problems.
Disruptive Innovation: New solutions that disrupt existing markets.
Example: Netflix transitioning from DVD rental to streaming disrupted traditional video rental markets.
Actionable Step: Analyze market trends and emerging technologies to identify potential disruptions.
Basic Research: Exploratory work to discover new knowledge.
Example: Bell Labs’ fundamental research leading to the invention of the transistor.
Actionable Step: Invest in R&D without immediate commercial objectives to build foundational innovations.

4. Innovating Collaboratively

Key Point: Collaboration is essential for effective innovation. This can include partnerships with other companies, research institutions, or even competitors.

Concrete Example: Procter & Gamble’s Connect + Develop initiative encourages collaboration with external partners for innovation, resulting in products like Swiffer and Olay Regenerist.
Actionable Step: Establish open innovation platforms where internal and external stakeholders can contribute ideas and solutions.

5. Navigating Organizational Culture

Key Point: An organization’s culture can significantly influence its capacity for innovation. Elements like openness to risk, a blame-free environment, and empowerment of employees play critical roles.

Concrete Example: Google’s 20% time policy allowed employees to spend a fifth of their work time on projects that interest them, fostering innovations like Gmail and AdSense.
Actionable Step: Create a supportive environment by encouraging risk-taking, removing the fear of failure, and allowing employees time to work on innovative projects.

6. The Role of Leadership

Key Point: Effective leadership is crucial in steering the innovation process. Leaders must cultivate vision, foster an innovation-friendly culture, and be willing to make tough decisions.

Concrete Example: Lou Gerstner’s leadership at IBM transformed the company by shifting focus from hardware to services, which required bold strategic shifts and inspiring a new vision.
Actionable Step: Develop and communicate a clear innovation vision and ensure leaders at all levels align with this vision.

7. Leveraging External Ecosystems

Key Point: Successful innovation often involves making use of external ecosystems including startups, academia, and global networks.

Concrete Example: General Electric’s collaboration with Quirky, a startup for crowd-sourced product development, which accelerated bringing innovative consumer products to market.
Actionable Step: Engage with external innovation networks. Partner with startups, research institutions, and participate in global innovation ecosystems to harness external expertise and technologies.

8. Balancing Exploration and Exploitation

Key Point: Organizations need to balance exploration of new possibilities with the exploitation of existing capabilities. This dual focus can lead to sustainable innovation.

Concrete Example: 3M’s “15% rule” which allows employees to spend a portion of their time exploring new ideas, balanced by its strong emphasis on executing and iterizing its core products.
Actionable Step: Implement structured time for exploration while maintaining rigorous focus on improving and leveraging current product lines.

9. Metrics and Measurement

Key Point: Tracking the right metrics is crucial to manage and scale innovation effectively. Traditional financial metrics often fail to capture the potential and progress of innovation activities.

Concrete Example: Amazon’s use of metric-focused experimentation to improve customer experiences – such as A/B testing to optimize the purchasing process.
Actionable Step: Define innovation-specific metrics that go beyond financial performance, such as number of new ideas generated, customer satisfaction scores, or market share growth in new categories.

10. Building Innovation Capabilities

Key Point: Developing an innovative organization requires investing in capabilities such as talent development, technological infrastructure, and strategic foresight.

Concrete Example: IBM’s InnovationJam, a massive online brainstorming session involving employees, clients, and partners, which helped generate thousands of ideas and fostered a culture of innovation.
Actionable Step: Create platforms for collective ideation and continuous learning within the organization to keep capabilities aligned with evolving innovation needs.

Conclusion

“Mapping Innovation” by Greg Satell is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in R&D management and strategic planning. Its actionable advice, grounded in real-world examples, underscores the importance of a nuanced and structured approach to innovation. By understanding different types of innovation, fostering a supportive culture, leveraging external ecosystems, balancing exploratory and exploitative activities, and measuring progress with appropriate metrics, organizations can navigate the complexities of innovation and achieve sustainable growth.

Innovation and Creativity Business Strategy R&D Management Strategic Planning