All kitted out

/ 01 June 2009

The right tools for the task

Devotees of the fast growing market for ‘How to’ books on innovation might ask, ‘Where can we get all these techniques in one place?’ The answer is in this publication. The Innovator’s Toolkit assembles all the tools used by the authors in the international management consultancy they run into one comprehensive manual, and shows how, where and when to use them.

Abraham Maslow – of ‘hierarchy of needs’ fame – said that, ‘If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail’. This book shows how to select better suited and more varied tools to deal with the problems of innovation.

The authors show the steps on a journey to bring an innovative and commercially viable solution to market. They provide a road map showing the key tasks and the techniques used to do them. The roadmap, named the D4 blueprint for breakthrough, leads the innovator to define the opportunity, discover the ideas, develop the solution and demonstrate the solution. Fifty-five detailed techniques provide the tools required to progress through these stages in a planned, systematic and disciplined way.

Although the book provides clear and realistic examples showing how to use the techniques, the authors admit that some of them will need expert guidance to be effective. Many of these techniques may not be in current use by the average practitioner. Who, for instance, can say they have heuristic redefinition, morphological matrix or biomimicry at their fingertips? These are among the techniques that have to be de-mystified before innovators can use them properly. Without adequate training, the process is in danger of being botched with disastrous results for the future of innovation in the organisation.

Training can be costly, but is an absolute prerequisite. It cannot be sensible to embark upon the complex process outlined in The Innovator’s Toolkit unless all those involved are conversant with the tools and techniques and have a supportive culture in which to apply them. Here is where this book offers a valuable bonus. It outlines the curriculum of a training programme that can be readily adapted and applied in-house. Without this preparation, the opportunity afforded by The Innovator’s Toolkit will be wasted.

Reviewed by Don Mason