About the Book

Several years ago Bill Miller and I published 4th Generation R&D, a detailed study of the process for achieving breakthrough innovations.  We are gratified that the book remains in print, now beyond its 10th printing, and that it has become a standard reference work in R&D management and in academia.

Over the intervening years as my colleagues and I have worked with many companies, it has become obvious that there’s a need for a more general book that provides an overview of both the strategic and the human dimensions of innovation, and of the business processes to support them.  This material should be useful not just for R&D managers, but also for people from top management and throughout the organization who are concerned with the innovation performance of their firms.  This is the goal of the present book, Permanent Innovation.

We pleased to share our learnings with you, and hope that you find the book interesting and useful.

Table of Contents

Preface:  The Culture Of Innovation by Hartmut Esslinger	9
Introduction	13
Part 1 Innovation Foundations	19
Chapter 1:  Great Ideas, Great Innovations, Great Businesses	21
Chapter 2:  Innovation & Strategy: The Nature of Change & The Necessity of         Innovation	35
Chapter 3:  The Essential Definitions	51
Part 2 Permanent Innovation Methodology	65
Chapter 4:  Innovation Strategy & Methodology	67
Chapter 5:  Creativity:  Methodology for Great Ideas	79
Chapter 6:  Great Choices:  Targeting	113
Chapter 7:  Great Innovations: Transforming Great Ideas into Business Value	129
Chapter 8:  Great Planning:  Market Development	165
Part 3 Innovation Culture and Infrastructure	173
Chapter 9: Creative Methodologies in the Innovation Process: Inside the Black Box	175
Chapter 10:  Great Businesses & Permanent Innovation: Normalizing the Innovation Culture, the Innovation Organization, & High Performance	191
Chapter 11:  The Innovation Infrastructure	221
Part 4 Your Innovation Action Plan	239
Chapter 12:  Doing It:  38 + 2 great ideas to get started with	241
Acknowledgments	247
About the Author	249
Notes	256

Preface [excerpt]

The Culture Of Innovation
By Harmut Esslinger
Founder and co-CEO of frog design

Normally, the foreword to a book such as this is full of compliments, but in this case I should also like to complement Langdon’s thoughts with some of my own.  First, however, let me note that in this excellent work Langdon analyzes, describes, and recommends with both humanistic vision and meticulous, process-oriented pragmatism, how to achieve and sustain “Permanent Innovation.”  This is a remarkable contribution to the literature on innovation, and I am very happy that he has written it.

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