Effective team work is essential if innovation projects are to succeed. How to create high-performing innovation teams provides practical guidance and advice on how to create high-performing teams regardless of type or size of company, organization, or public institution. It offers the reader pivotal tools and insights to use in practice.

Both the theory and practice for creating high-performing innovation teams are discussed and new tools and insights are provided for managers, consultants, and academics. It answers the call for rapid innovation to respond to the increasingly changing market and to shorter product life cycles.

How to create high-performing innovation teams addresses specifically the factors that enable innovation work from the perspective of the organization, the innovation team, and its members. In addition to co-located innovation teams, the book also discusses the differences among global organizations and what to consider in the creation of global high-performing innovation teams.

Index

Prologue

1. Introduction and background

Reading instructions
The purpose of this book - a guideline and hands-on methodology

Innovation - do or die
Planning your innovation portfolio
Incremental and radical innovation
The danger of too slim organizations
Shorter and shorter Product life cycles are - speed up innovation work
Innovate for the future

The group development process and its problems - waste of time
Team building the right way
Group or team - it's not the same! Know the difference
The group development process: forming, storming, norming, performing, and dissolving
Creating high-performing innovation teams - a methodology

Summary

Questions for reflection and discussion: Management-, Team- and Team member perspective

2. Organizational conditions for innovation work

Innovation enablers - factors that enable innovation
Innovation enablers in three perspectives - the organization, the team and the team members
The innovation enablers effect innovation teams' work

Organizational structures and innovation teams
Industrial or post-industrial structure affect innovation capabilities

The innovation process - agile work for faster results
Innovation work - not fuzzy and difficult, but more complex

The facilitator - stimulating successful learning
The facilitator - when and how to support the innovation team

Summary
Questions for reflection and discussion: Management-, Team- and Team member perspective

3. High-performing innovation teams in five steps
Step 1 - ensuring management commitment and support
Management is crucial for long term success
Develop understanding on innovation and innovation teams
The sponsor - key person with an important mission
Be patient, it takes time
Begin with a small project, to learn the methodology
Setting directions - invitation to creativity
Empowerment for innovation

Step 2 - identification of convener
Establish conditions for long term learning
The convener is not a project manager
The convener wants change, in collaboration

Step 3 - preparation of the convener
The role of the innovation facilitator
Crash course - this is what to know about
Creating the innovation team according to project focus
Keep management and sponsor updated during preparation
Manage change resistance
If it stops - restart

Step 4 - create the innovation team
key persons - how to select team members
Function before personality
Criteria to fulfil by members
The power of small innovation teams
Multifunctional vs homogenous innovation teams - what's the difference?
Avoiding internal competition in innovation teams
Effective communication for success
The innovation team - a safe place

Step 5 - Kick off
Before kick off - a last check before take off
Time for action
Considering learning as an outcome
On the kick off - how to prioritize activities
Establishing the innovation team - norms and ways of working
Getting to know each other - professionally and personally
Common ownership and responsibilities - why it matters
Setting innovation related goals and sub goals
Breaking the rules - navigating in the organization
Swearing the blood pact - let's do this, full throttle
After the kick off

Summary

Questions for reflection and discussion: Management-, Team- and Team member perspective

4. Innovation team's continued work

The development of the innovation team - thing to watch out for
Challenges for the newly created innovation team
Avoiding isolation - Increasing collaboration for progress

Questions for reflection and discussion: Management-, Team- and Team member perspective

5. Innovation teams in a global setting - working distributed

Distributed high-performing innovation teams in global companies
Challenges for global companies conducting distributed innovation work

Questions for reflection and discussion: Management-, Team- and Team member perspective