Innovation leaders promote and address the innovation agenda intheir company. Through personal conviction or competitive necessitythey are obsessed with providing superior value to customersthrough innovation. They know how to mobilize their staff behindconcrete innovation initiatives and do not hesitate to personallycoach innovation teams.For innovation to occur leadership has to be collective. Tocreate a momentum for innovation in their company, leaders fromdifferent functions need to team up, to build innovation networks.Innovation leadership is not just an innate talent that can beselected at the hiring level. It can be developed within anappropriate company culture through careful leadership development,typically achieved through career management and coaching.Innovation leaders also need to stay on board and it is theresponsibility of the top management team to create an attractiveclimate to develop and keep its innovation leaders.There are plenty of books that deal with innovation, or with newproduct development, or with leadership; this is different in itsfocus on the specifics of innovation leadership - thatparticular form of leadership that stimulates and sustainsinnovation.This book maps the broad territory of innovation leadership andcontributes new thinking on the focus of the emerging leadershiprole of the CTO; distinction between 'front end' and'back end' innovation leaders; the concept of aligningleadership styles with strategy; and the chain of leadershipconcept.Combining practice-based and empirical research-basedobservations with simple conceptual frameworks, illustrated by manycompany examples and case stories from a broad range of industriesin the US and Europe, this is a systematic presentation ofinnovation drivers and their implications in terms of what leadersneed to do to make it work.

Preface: Mapping the Innovation Leadership TerritoryAcknowledgmentsPart I: Defining and Characterizing InnovationLeaders1. A Special Form of Leadership for Innovation?The Leadership FactorFacing the Innovation ImperativesDefining and Characterizing InnovationInnovation Leaders: A Different Breed?Mapping our Journey2. What's Special about Innovation Leaders?Innovation Leaders Share Six AttributesInnovation Leaders Tend to Focus on a Stage of InnovationInnovation Leaders Work on Process and Culture3. Stimulating Bottom-Up InnovationEncouraging Bottom-up Innovation: Classic ApproachesBuilding an Innovation Culture: Four Drivers4. Steering Innovation Top DownSeeing Innovation as a Competitive NecessitySetting up a Process, Governance System and OrganizationalMechanismsMobilizing People on Innovation-Enhancing CampaignsGetting Involved in Innovation Searches and Projects5. Appointing an Innovation ConductorCTO or CIO?The First Mission of CTOs: Technological InnovationThe Changing Role of CTOs: From Managing to LeadingThe Emerging Role of Corporate EntrepreneurFacing the Challenge as Part of the Top Executive TeamPart II: The Leadership Imperatives of InnovationStrategies6. Recognizing the Leadership Imperatives of Your InnovationStrategyFormulating an Innovation StrategyAligning Your Management Efforts with Your StrategyActivating Specific Change Levers to Support Your Strategy7. Leading the Development of New/Improved Products orServices Required: Team Sports Coaches to Foster InnovationDisciplineInnovation Leaders as Tough Team Sports CoachesStraightening Out Medtronic's Innovation ProcessLimits of the "Team Sports Coach" Leaders8. Leading the Creation of a Totally New Product or ServiceCategory Required: No-Nonsense Sponsors to Steer the NewVentureInnovation Leaders as No-nonsense SponsorsNew Business Creation at Tetra Pak: Reinventing the Food CanEvolving Leadership Imperatives in New Business Creation9. Leading the Creation of a Totally New Business System orModel Required: Pragmatic Architects to Put All SystemElements in PlaceInnovation Leaders as Visionary but Pragmatic ArchitectsTiVo: A Business System/Model InnovationLessons from the TiVo Story10. Leading the Development of New/Improved CustomerSolutions Required: Conductors to Deliver an Enhanced CustomerExperienceInnovation Leaders as Orchestra ConductorsSenseo: An Innovative Customer SolutionBuilding and Leading an Innovation-Focused PartnershipPart III: Developing a Cadre of Innovation Leaders11. Building an Innovation Leadership Environment: TheLogitech CaseLogitech: Ordinary or Extraordinary Company?Logitech's Innovation-stimulating DriversLogitech's Innovation-enhancing Culture and ValuesLogitech's Pragmatic and Effective Innovation ProcessLogitech's Future Challenges12 Attracting, Developing and Keeping InnovationLeadersAssessing Your Innovation Leadership ResourcesSelecting and Hiring Innovation LeadersDeveloping Innovation LeadersRetaining Innovation LeadersInnovation Leadership in a NutshellAppendix A Innovation in Leadership and OrganizationalCulture ModelsAppendix B Guidelines for Using the IDEO Video for'Idea Management' TrainingAppendix C Factors Affecting the Innovation Climate of aCompanyIndex