Innovation to the Core: Best Practices from the Best Innovators

by Stephen J. Andriole

Everyone wants to innovate. But most companies are terrible at invention, innovation, and entrepreneurialism. Many companies talk a good game -- "we're an innovation culture" -- but in fact they're pitifully staid and innovate mostly in the past; that is, toward business models, processes, and technologies that are anchored solidly in the 20th century.

What can companies that truly want to innovate do when they cannot get out of the way of their own cultural constraints? One approach is to study what the best innovators have done and try to repeat their successes by following the formulas that have worked for the most successful innovators.

Let's first look at the champs and their best practices. We'll end with a list of questions you can ask yourselves about what and how to innovate. While your corporate culture and senior management team may ultimately not permit you to innovate, at least you'll know how the best innovators do what they do.