Not only can big companies be just as nimble as start-ups, they can out-innovate their challengers by combining a start-up mind-set with the powerful advantages that legacy companies have.Over and over, we see big legacy businesses getting beaten to the punch by energetic little start-ups. It seems like innovation can come from only the bottom up or from outside in. But tech experts Vivek Wadhwa, Ismail Amla, and Alex Salkever are here to tell you that "big equals slow and stodgy" is a myth. Based on decades of experience working with the world's leading brands and start-ups, they explore the opportunity legacy companies have to create new markets, supercharge growth, and remake their businesses by combining the scrappy mind-set and tool belt of hypergrowth start-ups with the massive benefits of incumbency: boatloads of customer data, decades of brand equity, robust distribution channels, enormous financial asserts, and more. Equally important, they provide a playbook on how to use their insights in your own company, team, or career. This is a fast-paced, anecdote-rich story that rethinks modern innovation--a book every manager, executive, and ambitious employee will want to read.
Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program and a Distinguished Fellow and professor at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. He has been a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and held appointments at Duke University, Stanford Law School, Emory University, and Singularity University.
Ismail Amla is chief growth officer of Capita. He is responsible for overseeing innovation efforts at Capita and both internal and client-facing transformation efforts globally. Amla was formerly managing partner of IBM Global Services (North America), the company's professional services division and the world's largest consulting organization.