World’s best innovators awarded for excellence

Management consultant and author Nicholas J. Webb identifies the world’s most innovative organizations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 03, 2010 – Redding, Calif. - What ingredients are needed for an innovation-rich atmosphere? And what do innovation superstars have in common? In his newest book, The Innovation Playbook, management consultant and author Nicholas J. Webb dissects the innovation mystery, identifying the anatomy of what he calls Innovation Superstars. After studying more than 200 companies – from Sierra Nevada Brewery to Hewlett Packard – Webb targeted a handful of organizations that deliver world-class customer experiences. These companies ooze innovation from the ground up.

Webb, CEO of management consultant firm Lassen Innovation, will continue selecting a company each month based on its ability to make innovation a truly systemic part of the organization. Studies show the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Bloated management systems that hinder or completely block innovation initiatives have created a negative trickle-down effect, further slowing U.S. competition. In fact, some studies suggest more than 95 percent of consumer products fail in today’s marketplace. Webb contends risky innovation isn’t the source of these failures, rather a rampant pattern of risk-analysis emphasis is at fault. Organizations solely focused on reducing risk are preventing themselves from enjoying the benefits of breakthrough innovation.

“In a fast-moving market, focusing on innovation risk management is like rearranging the furniture on the deck of the Titanic,” he said. “Market success is what happens to your competitors while you’re evaluating product feasibility.”

In The Innovation Playbook, Webb catalogs what’s wrong with innovation today, and then prescribes a step-by-step solution system capable of transforming companies to world class innovators. His Innovation Superstars represent some of the best U.S. companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Adobe, Sierra Nevada, Snap-on tools, Nielsen, Fisher Investments and others. These complex companies are swimming in a hyper-competitive market, which makes them even more remarkable.  These organizations are aware that “success is a secondary byproduct of learning how to systematically serve others,” Webb said. “Our organizations are the physical manifestations of our daily focus.”

Because innovation is such an elusive topic, it wasn’t easy finding companies willing to talk about their policies and system deployments throughout their individual enterprises. However, Webb was able to immerse himself in the daily workings of these amazing organizations, where he found the pattern that ties them all together – a formula that has worked for organizations large and small. Look for The Innovation Playbook this fall.

“To invent is to fail,” Webb said. “To fail is to learn … to learn is to succeed.”