The Innovation Equation: Building Creativity and Risk Taking in Your Organization

By Paul Lockwood Brown and Jacqueline Byrd

Book Overview

A Step-by-Step Guide for Building Innovative Capacity in Organizations

"Practical in so many ways, this book should top your reading chart if you are at all interested in the business of being more innovative-- or coaching others. I use the term -- business because innovation is no longer a soft skill, but one that drives organizational success."
-- Dr. Mitchell Kusy, coauthor of Fast Forward Leadership



This definitive guide for building innovative capacity in organizations teaches you how to create an environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and risk taking. Based on the work of Richard E. Byrd, a pioneer in the field of organization development, this book includes an assessment tool for determining what drives creativity and risk taking and offers a four-step process for building innovative capacity in individuals.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787962503
• ISBN13: 9780787962500
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Pfeiffer
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Foundation for Understanding Innovation via Risk and Creativity

The authors provide a great, brief assessment on innovation. I really enjoyed how they define innovation as creativity and risk. I mostly agree with this definition, although innovation need not always tie in with risk. Still, this bold definition makes this book worthwhile, so kudos to the authors for providing such as succinct and practical definition. The authors explain innovation in multiple different ways that really drive the point home, but are beneficial enough as to not feel repetitive. The only part where I give it 4, instead of 5 stars, is when the authors try to give practical advice on driving team and organizational innovation. The tips here are broad and somewhat lacking. Overall, however, a great book on the topic.

Thorough and Practical

Byrd and Brown show how innovation can help organizations grow and how the lack of innovation can stifle companies. Recognizing that it takes all types of people to have a functioning organization, this book helps individuals, groups and organizations recognize their innovative strengths and weaknesses. Equally important are the stop signs that inhibit organizational growth. Many people talk about the value of innovation in organizations but this book takes that discussion much further, defining and thoroughly analyzing innovation and, more importantly, providing the reader with tools that can be easily applied.