Here be Dragons was written in response to requests from readers of Beyond Crisis (John Wiley, 2010), which introduced the "Cycle of Renewal." Readers wanted to know what the Cycle of Renewal looked like "on the ground"; how would you get started? How would you decide which tools to use? Who would do the work? What would it look like on a daily basis? And, most importantly, what impact would you see on business performance? Here be Dragons addresses these questions in two ways. The first, The Columbus Project, describes the journey taken by a fictional organisation (FutureParts Vehicle Supplies) which was set the challenge of renewing itself. The staff of FutureParts are entirely fictional, but they represent some of the characters and organisational structures that form the context for change in many organisations. The story illustrates some of the common hurdles and tools, so that business leaders may recognise some of the characteristics of what works and what does not as they spearhead organisational change. The second part of the book is a Pilot's Guide to the tools which the Columbus Project used to help the business renew itself. The tools are designed to enhance the ability to think long term while being effective in the short term - balancing the paradoxes leaders face on a daily basis. Both parts focus pragmatically on why each tool should be used, when and how they should be used, together with the results to expect and how each fits into the Cycle of Renewal.
Whereas innovation has become part of daily language, in practice, realizing new product and new service development is a complex and daunting task for engineers, design engineering managers, managers, and those involved in other functions in organizations. Most books on innovation management approach this topic from a managerial or economic perspective; this text takes the actual design and engineering processes as starting point. To this purpose, it relates product design and engineering processes and their management to sources of innovation, collaboration with suppliers, and knowledge providers (for example, inventors and universities), and users. The managerial aspects get ample attention as well as the socioeconomic aspects in the context of product design and engineering. For this wide range of topics, the book provides both theoretical underpinning and practical guidance. Readers and students will benefit from this book by not only understanding the key mechanisms for innovation but also by the practical guidance it offers. The author uses diagrams, models, methods, and steps to guide readers to a better understanding of innovation projects. This practical approach and the link to theory make the book valuable to practitioners as well as engineering students.
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