Synopsis:

Today, companies are looking toward "open innovation", understanding knowledge is not anymore proprietary to the company. Instead, they believe it resides in employees, suppliers, customers, competitors, and universities, and if companies do not use the knowledge they have inside, someone else will. Author and innovation thought leader Stefan Lindegaard has written this book to help leaders and intrapreneurs decide if open innovation is right for their own organisations and then shows them how to prepare the organisation to make the quantum leap to open innovation as the new normal.

Several factors paved the way for open innovation paradigms including the availability and mobility of skilled workers, the growth of the venture capital market, external options for ideas sitting on the shelf, and the increasing capability of external suppliers.  Companies embracing open innovation include Procter & Gamble, IBM, Boeing, Cisco Systems, and more. Younger companies such as Netflix are also onboard the open innovation train developing code for their Web site through a Netflix Prize competition in which outsiders are invited to help improve an important algorithm for Netflix's movie recommendation system. With the Foreword by Guy Kawasaki, The Open Innovation Revolution offers companies the tools they need to understand, embrace, and pursue open innovation. 

The innovation role is changing rapidly as companies embrace the open innovation movement, seeking external partners to co-create future products and services. This changes the way companies organise for innovation and it requires a new mindset and new skills. Filled with real-world case studies and interviews, this book provides a thoughtful, practical guide to how corporate innovation leaders can take on this new challenge and achieve measurable success.  

Coverage includes:

• Open innovation- the visionary model that more and more companies are adopting
• Innovation leaders and intrapreneurs- and the essential elements that must be put in place for these people to thrive
• The people-related roadblocks that can impede innovation and some ways these can be overcome
• The personal leadership skills you will need to develop as an innovation leader or intrapreneur 

Author Biography:

Stefan Lindegaard (Copenhagen, Denmark) is a speaker, network facilitator, and strategic advisor who helps companies on the topics of open innovation, intrapreneurship, and how to identify and develop the people who drive innovation. He has served as a strategic advisor and facilitator for innovation leaders and intrapreneurs from such global companies as Bang & Olufsen, Danfoss, Grundfos, Lego, Novo Nordisk, and Novozymes. His work in this field includes a pioneering business plan competition at the industrial giant, Danfoss. The program succeeded so well that it inspired other world-class companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Novozymes to undertake similar programs. Visit his blog at www.15inno.com   

Synopsis:

With the highest number of startups per capita of any nation in the world and massive venture capital investment, Israel is one of the world's entrepreneurship hubs. Start-up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?

With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. The analyses are built on case studies and interviews with some of Israel's most brilliant innovators to make this resource a rich and insightful read.

In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to recreate the “Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.

Author Biography:

Dan Senor, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, has been on the front lines of policy, politics, and business in the Middle East. As a senior foreign policy advisor to the U.S. Government , he was one of the longest-serving civilian officials in Iraq. He has also served in Qatar and studied in Israel. Senor's pieces are frequently published by The Wall Street Journal. Saul Singer is the editorial editor of The Jerusalem Post, for which he writes a weekly column, and the author of Confronting Jihad: Israel's Struggle and the World after 9/11. For ten years, he served as a foreign policy advisor on Capitol Hill.

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Review on The Wall Street Journal.com, Nov 2009 – “Where Tech Keeps Booming”

Synopsis:

The global hubs of entrepreneurial activity, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tel Aviv, all bear the marks of government investment. Along with public intervention that spurs entrepreneurial activity, there are many failed efforts. The book explored key questions: When has governmental sponsorship succeeded in boosting growth? ; When has it fallen terribly short? ; Should the government be involved in such undertakings at all? Boulevard of Broken Dreams adopts an extensive look at the ways governments have supported entrepreneurs and venture capitalists across decades and continents.

By expounding on the complex history of Silicon Valley and other pioneering centers of venture capital, Lerner uncovers the extent of government influence in prompting growth. He examines the public strategies used to advance new ventures, points to the challenges of these endeavors, and reveals the common flaws undermining far too many programs- poor design, a lack of understanding for the entrepreneurial process, and implementation problems. Lerner explains why governments cannot dictate how venture markets evolve, and why they must balance their positions as catalysts with an awareness of their limited ability to stimulate the entrepreneurial sector.

As governments worldwide seek to spur economic growth in ever more aggressive ways, the book offers an important caution, by advocating a careful approach to government support of entrepreneurial activities, through highlighting distinct pitfalls so that the mistakes of earlier efforts are not repeated.

Author Biography:

Josh Lerner, one of the foremost experts in the field, provides valuable insights into why some public initiatives work while others are hobbled by pitfalls, and he offers suggestions for how public ventures should be implemented in the future. Lerner is the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in finance and entrepreneurial management. He is the coauthor of Innovation and Its Discontents (Princeton), The Venture Capital Cycle, and other books.