Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game

"The probability of failure in corporate innovation outside of a firm's core business is staggeringly high. Yet, the vast majority of existing books about innovation focus on startups and their entrepreneurs, methodologies, and ecosystems. Few, if any, focus on corporate innovation, those leaders who champion it, and how to maximize their chances of success. Corporate Explorer fills this gap. In January 2021 alone, there were over 10,000 Google searches for business innovation. Innovation is as much about method, strategy, organization, and culture, as it is about leadership and individual leaders. At the center of every story of corporate innovation is a 'Corporate Explorer' who dares to go where others do not, a leader capable of closing the gap between knowing what needs to be done to grow new businesses and actually doing so. We are living in a time of unparalleled disruption that has been heightened by Covid-19 and the digital revolution that is taking place across industries. Managers see these opportunities and know that firms that innovate during times of crisis are more successful in the long term than those that do not. This book gives them practical guidance for how they can act on these instincts, help their firms succeed, and grow their own careers."--
Corporate Explorers Transform Disruption Into Opportunity With This Proven Framework Innovation used to be seen as a game best left to entrepreneurs, but now a new breed of corporate managers is flipping this logic on its head. These Corporate Explorers have the insight, resilience, and discipline to overcome the obstacles and build new ventures from inside even the largest organizations. Corporate Explorers are part entrepreneurs, using innovation disciplines to jump start cutting-edge ideas, and part change leaders, capable of creating support for investment. They see that corporations already own the ideas, resources, and—critically—the talent to build new ventures. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Bosch, LexisNexis, and Analog Devices enable managers to put these assets to use and gain an upper hand over startups that threaten to disrupt them. Corporate Explorer is a guidebook to the practices that enable these managers to go from idea into action. It demonstrates how success is not only possible but may offer entrenched companies better odds than venture-capital backed startups. This actionable and proven framework explains how managers can become successful corporate innovators; it includes tools to: Learn how to apply innovation practices with greater discipline Turn great ideas into a full-time job as an innovation leader Experiment with and scale original business models Transform innovation programs into a thriving source of new business Attract, retain, and motivate entrepreneurial talent Energize employees by creating a realistic way to innovate These lessons come from the trailblazers of corporate innovation—Andrew Binns (Change Logic), Charles O'Reilly (Stanford Graduate School of Business), and Michael Tushman (Harvard Business School)—who have decades of experience helping entrepreneurial-minded executives activate employees to become Corporate Explorers. Entrepreneurs take notice—it's time for Corporate Explorers to set the pace and chart the course for disruption.