Research

Endorsements

In such a slowly growing world, strategic innovation is critical to success. Govindarajan and Trimble offer concrete rules that managers can use to drive growth. Their emphasis on "theory focused planning" is a good fit with high-performance company culture. This book is a great addition to your toolkit.
–Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO, General Electric Company

An extremely important book...
Govindarjan and Trimble show why disruptive innovations cannot be completely isolated from the existing organization.
Forget, Borrow, and Learn are indeed the three central implementation challenges for leaders of disruptive innovations.
–Clayton M. Christensen, Professor of Business Admin., Harvard Business School

The slow-growth global economy creates opportunities for those who dare to innovate and experiment with new strategy concepts. Govindarajan and Trimble suggest a compelling approach for how to execute these concepts, backed by real-life examples.
–Ram Charan, coauthor, Execution and Confronting Reality

This book provides specific examples of the themes of forgetting, borrowing, and learning, highlighting them as key to innovation. Many companies get lost in the middle of the innovation process, but these authors show how to turn breakthrough ideas into breakthrough growth.
–John B. Menzer, President and CEO, Wal-Mart International

Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators makes a compelling case: In today's complex marketplace, the survival of the fittest is determined by a company's aggressive pursuit of growth—that is, creating, leveraging, managing, and sustaining it. Govindarajan and Trimble's analysis shows just how vulnerable established companies are, and how they can avoid failure by unlocking themselves from a narrow and nostalgic business model.
–Robert L. Nardelli, Chairman, President & CEO, The Home Depot, Inc.

Strategic innovation is the major source of economic value creation for investors and for our society. Yet mature corporations often fail at this very important activity—not because of the lack of ideas but because of the lack of execution skills. Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators is a wonderful primer on how to execute and is a must-read for any senior executive interested in how to successfully grow and innovate.
–Glenn A. Britt, Chairman and CEO, Time Warner Cable, Inc.

Govindarajan and Trimble have produced an enormously important book! The challenges of building growth businesses inside existing organizations are well known; the solutions are not. In Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators the authors have combined solid theory, relevant case examples, and simple wisdom... The notions of forgetting, borrowing, and learning will likely become major bases of logic in our organization.
–Leonard A. Schlesinger, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Limited Brands, Inc.

Innovation and growth are inextricably linked—a key to corporate success. This book helps you get it, and get there.
–Sir Christopher Bland, Chairman, British Telecom Group

This insightful book asserts that established, successful companies must become skilled in strategic innovation; that is, skilled in creating new businesses that depart significantly from historic ideas and assumptions about how businesses succeed. By analyzing strategic experiments in diverse industries, the authors diagnose the root cause of failure and illustrate how observing ten rules for strategic innovation will substantially enhance the chances for success. Great reading!
–Ray Stata, Chairman, Analog Devices Inc.

Govindarajan and Trimble provide a common-sense roadmap for breakthrough growth. Indeed, a new high-growth business within a large organization will struggle if it cannot forget, borrow, and learn—the three central challenges the authors identify. The rich and dramatic examples in this book show the way.
–Indra Nooyi, President, PepsiCo.

Truly the primer for and advanced placement of a new paradigm within an existing organization. Best practices, as well as worst potholes to avoid, are explicitly detailed in this all important work on innovation. America's—indeed, the world's—future is innovation, and Govindarajan and Trimble get one to think outside the box.
–Alan G. Hassenfeld, Chairman, Hasbro, Inc.

As many of us know from experience, it is a daunting challenge for established companies to breathe life into an entirely new business. Govindarajan and Trimble do a terrific job of pinpointing key factors that can turn potential into meaningful, sustained results.
–Robert W. Lane, Chairman, CEO and President, John Deere Company

Driving innovation is one thing for a start-up company—but it poses entirely different challenges for a large, established corporation. Govindarajan and Trimble not only map the differences but also provide a guidebook for managing strategic innovation that leverages the benefits, while discarding the baggage of being large and established.
–Richard J. Harrington, President & CEO, The Thomson Corporation

Drawing on a series of case studies, Govindarajan and Trimble's fascinating new book explores the challenges corporations face while pursuing strategic innovation. At the heart of Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators is an actionable, systematic approach to business innovation. The authors offer fresh, compelling insights into the opportunities and perils of the innovation process. This book is essential reading for corporations and entrepreneurs alike.
–N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies, Ltd.

Successfully building innovative new businesses is the critical challenge for established companies that want to thrive. Ten Rules clearly outlines many of the roadblocks to building breakthrough businesses and creates a strong, practical framework for success. Through the novel concepts of forgetting, borrowing, and learning, Govindarajan and Trimble have developed a compelling, hands-on guide for business leaders driving growth.
–Christina L. Shea, Senior Vice President, External Relations, and former President, New Ventures Division, General Mills, Inc.

Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators is a fabulous contribution to the literature on innovation and organizational competitiveness. Govindarajan and Trimble's research and synthesis of the dynamic-capability literature provide breakthrough insights for managers interested in deeply understanding the roots of innovation and organizational change. Better yet, they couple their fresh ideas with a diverse set of detailed cases in which managers put these ideas into practice. This book will be of great value to both scholars and practitioners.
–Michael L. Tushman, Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

An original and powerful book! The authors demystify the process of how promising, new ventures can fail or bring about breakthrough growth. This is one of the best books, if not the best, on the management of innovation.
–Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, USC, and coauthor, Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values and Defining Moments Shape Leaders

The most difficult managerial challenge facing business leaders today is how to grow through innovation! This book offers us true thought leadership regarding this challenge, not the usual cookbook solutions! The authors emphasize the critical dilemmas at hand to achieving innovation-driven growth. The path-breaking research, so well reported, will provide guidance and inspiration to all those coping with the implementation of innovation and growth.
–Peter Lorange, President and Nestlé Professor of Strategy, IMD International

Old dogs can learn new tricks. Govindarajan and Trimble tackle the toughest challenge in business: They show executives of established firms how to translate strategic dreams for growth into real business realities. A wise, insightful read.
–Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, S. W. Ascherman Professor of Strategy, Stanford University, and coauthor, Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos