An Inside Look at the Process of Innovation-and How to Make it Work for your Business While the need for innovation is widely recognized, the practices that nurture it elude many executives. Winning the Innovation Race examines the three dimensions of innovation-people, processes, and technology-and provides vivid examples of practices that encourage innovation. This comprehensive book describes the forms that innovation takes in industrial organizations and how superior companies manage to sustain innovation through effective management. The practices of PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contributions to Excellence) Award-winning companies are used to illustrate how truly innovative companies make the most of their employees, how they treat product development as a "perfectible process," and how they create reward systems that build cultures of innovation. Some of the vital lessons you'll learn in this unique resource: The virtue of "cheap failures" Why organizational discomfort is needed The role of executive leadership How to sustain a culture of innovation

Table of Contents

Encouraging Innovation. Maximizing Employee Potential. New Product Development. The Power of Process Innovation. Technology. Innovation in the Supply Chain. Managing and Applying Knowledge. Leading the Race Toward Innovation. Winning the Innovation Race. Appendices. Notes. Index.

Author Biography

LEE A. SAGE is Ernst & Young's Director of Automotive Industry Services and is responsible for leading the world's largest automotive consulting practice. Sage is cofounder (with the Automotive News) of the Pace Awards, which recognize innovation in the automotive industry.