The Global Brain: Your Roadmap for Innovating Faster and Smarter...

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 304 pages
• Published by: Wharton School Publishing
• Edition: 1st Edition October 22, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 013233951X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0132339513
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.1 pounds

Product Description
This is the eBook version of the printed book. All the talk about "open innovation" and externally-focused innovation assumes that "one size fits all" in terms of what network-centric innovation is and how companies should harness external creativity. But the reality is that there is no one right way to master this tool. For instance, loosely governed community-based innovation projects are a very different animal from tightly-orchestrated development projects driven by a large firm. As the landscape of network-centric innovation becomes more-diverse and more-confusing, there is a desperate need to structure the landscape to better-understand different models for network-centric-innovation. This book brings clarity to the confusion. Further, it argues that managers cannot rely on anecdotal-success-stories they read about in the press to implement a network-centric-innovation-strategy. They need rigorous- and analytical-advice on what role their company should play in an innovatio-network, what capabilities they need to create, and how they need to prepare their organization for this significant-shift in the innovation-approach. This book offers a practical and detailed roadmap for planning and implementing an externally-focused-innovation-strategy. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Back Cover Copy
All the talk about "open innovation" and externally-focused innovation assumes that "one size fits all" in terms of what network-centric innovation is and how companies should harness external creativity. But the reality is that there is no one right way to master this tool. For instance, loosely governed community-based innovation projects are a very different animal from tightly-orchestrated development projects driven by a large firm. As the landscape of network-centric innovation becomes more diverse and more confusing, there is a desperate need to structure the landscape to better understand different models for network-centric innovation. This book brings clarity to the confusion. Further, it argues that managers cannot rely on anecdotal success stories they read about in the press to implement a network-centric innovation strategy. They need rigorous and analytical advice on what role their company should play in an innovation network, what capabilities they need to create, and how they need to prepare their organization for this significant shift in the innovation approach. This book offers a practical and detailed roadmap for planning and implementing an externally-focused innovation strategy.

Reader Reviews
With regard to the term Global Brain, Satish Nambisan and Mohanbir Sawhney refer to "the diverse set of external players that constitute the innovation network for the companies" discussed in this book such as P&G, IBM, Boeing, and Apple]; and Network-centric innovation to describe "the underlying principles of collaborative innovation in such a context." They add that a common theme n their research was their interest in the concept of distributed innovation. That is, "innovation initiatives that are spread across a diverse network of partners." Their vehicle for exploration was the Kellogg Innovation Network (KIN) -- "a forum for senior innovation managers of large companies - affiliated with the Center for Research in Information and Technology that [Sawhney] directs at the Kellogg School of Management. The KIN is an excellent example of the power of the Global Brain in action." Nambisan and Sawhney carefully organize and present their material within five Parts. During the course of their narrative, they respond to questions such as these: Why should companies seek innovation externally during a transition from being firm-centric and network-centric? What are the core principles of network-centric innovation? What are the four basic models and key elements of network-centric innovation? How to develop a contingent framework that maps the context for innovation? Which guidelines can help managers to evaluate the different types of opportunities that are most appropriate to their organization's resources, capabilities, and strategies? What are the implications of network-centric innovation for the emerging economies? What are the common trends in various countries' emerging economies? How to analyze the potential for companies in these countries to "plug into the global brain"? I especially appreciate Nambisan and Sawhney's provision of dozens of real-world examples that illustrate their key points. For example, in Chapter 5 they examine what they characterize as "the orchestra model" that can take two quite different forms: The Orchestra-Integrator model and the Orchestra-Platform model. With regard to the former, they examine Boeing's 787 Dreamliner project and include Table 5.1 (Pages 96-97) that portrays the project's specific elements of network-centric innovation. With regard to the Orchestra-Platform Model, they examine Salesforce.com and the AppExchange Forum. Figure 5.3 (Pages 110-111) illustrates the elements of its network-centric innovation. "In both the Integrator and Platform model, the innovation architecture defined by the dominant firm becomes the context for the network partners to innovate...In both cases, the tricky part is to bring together a diverse set of capable partners who are sufficiently committed to the innovation architecture and to orchestrate their activities in a manner that leads to outcomes that are beneficial to all the network members." After completing their exploration of the Global Brain and "painting a picture of the landscape of network-centric innovation," Nambisan and Sawhney urge their reader to chart her or his own organization's "journey" to position it as a player in the same rich and diverse landscape. "We have a simple mantra for [achieving] this: Think BIG, Start SMALL, Scale FAST." Bon voyage!