Innovation and Imagination at Work 2004

• R Carnegie & M Butlin, Managing the Innovative Enterprise , Business Council of Australia Innovation Study Commission, Melbourne, 1992.

  This is perhaps the most significant publication on innovation in Australia. Its a bit heavy going in parts but is a must read for the serious student of innovation.

• P Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles, Heinemann, London, 1985.

  Drucker is, well, Drucker! In 2003 he was voted the most influential management guru of the last fifty years . His focus on innovation aligned with marketing was clearly ahead of its time. Although not essential reading, it is useful to examine the role of innovation if marketing is viewed as the core driver of business.

• G Hamel, ˜Bringing Silicon Valley Inside, Harvard Business Review , SeptOct 1999.

  It is very interesting to read this post the bursting of the dotcom bubble. You will need to assess for yourself whether you agree with Hamels assumption that the fundamental distinction between mediocre mass creators and revolutionary wealth creators lies in entrepreneurship (as opposed to stewardship ).

• G Hamel, Leading the Revolution , 2nd edn, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2003.

  This is a very good read. It examines the underlying principles behind the radical innovation of companies and individuals. It explores and identifies the key criteria for building companies that are geared for success in an increasingly non-linear world.

• A Hargadon & R Sutton, ˜Building an Innovation Factory, Harvard Business Review ,MayJune 2000.

  Hargadon and Suttons paper focuses on how the best innovations have systematised the generation and testing of new ideas. It considers organisation and attitude and has very little to do with nurturing solitary genius. Essential reading.

• R Pfeffer, The KnowingDoing Gap: How Companies Turn Knowledge into Action, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1999.

  This book is well worth reading. It confronts the paradox of companies that know a lot but do too little. It shows how successful organisations turn knowledge into action.

• R Phillips, Innovation and Firm Performance in Australian Manufacturing , Staff Research Paper, Industry Commission, September 1997.

  A useful article because it is one of the few dealing with the Australian environment. Not essential reading unless undertaking serious research on the Australian scene. Cultural change is not easy to achieve.Two tools that I have found extremely useful are:

• The Investors in People program (in Australia www.ncsi.com.au; internationally www.iipuk.co.uk). This program is the best tool I have found for easing the cultural change process. It aligns the training needs of the organisation with its strategic direction and is a very powerful tool for developing a culture supportive of change.

• The Innovation Index contact mackenzie.strategic@bigpond.com

My own company, MacKenzie Strategic, has developed a diagnostic tool called the Innovation Index , which enables an organisation to rate itself in terms of innovation. It determines the areas that need to be addressed to overcome any shortcomings and provides an action plan for implementation of an innovation strategy.

In its simplest form, the Innovation Index identifies the key criteria of highly innovative enterprises and rates the organisation being assessed against these criteria. This diagnostic analysis clearly identifies any shortcomings in the organisations approach to innovation, thereby allowing the necessary improvements to be made.