Greg Satell - Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age

As soon as I seein my twitter feed or at Harvard Business Review, or anywhere elsethat Greg Satell has written a new piece, I know that I am going to learn something new and it is going to be fun to read. In particular, Satell writes brilliant stuff about what it actually takes to design and implement an innovation strategy. Its the kind of stuff I find useful to discuss with my students in my class and the executives I coach.

Robert Sutton, Professor of Business and Engineering at Stanford University, IDEO Fellow, author of Scaling up Excellence, Weird Ideas That Work and The No Asshole Rule

Innovation in a startup isnt the same as innovation in a large company, just as pursuing a fundamental discovery in a scientific lab isnt the same as building an application on top of an initial insight. In Mapping Innovation, Greg Satell helps us make sense of it all and apply the right strategies to the right problems. Its a great read too.

Steve Blank, lecturer, Stanford University and UC Berkeley Haas Business School, author of The Startup Owners Manual

Greg Satell has a deep instinct about how innovation and technology are changing business. His unique writing perspective makes us all smarter by his inquiry into the inner workings of the innovation experience. We all learn from his journey of discovery.

Dr. James Canton, CEO, Institute for Global Futures, author of Future Smart

Greg is a superb blend of integrity, creativity, and professionalism. Insightful, responsive, and diligent, he always makes sure he gets the facts straight. In my field, where life and death hang in the balance, thats really important and I appreciate it immensely.

Ron DePinho MD, President, MD Anderson Cancer Center

In my role as Chief Strategist for a $10 billion enterprise, innovation is always top of mind and Greg Satell provides a wonderful, practical guide in Mapping Innovation. More than just clever gimmicks or buzzwords, it presents a simple, easy-to-use framework derived from some of the worlds most innovative organizations. Greg knows his stuff from firsthand, upstream business experience too. For me thats key.

Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategist, Publicis Groupe

Greg is a talented writer, which comes naturally given his wide-open thinking and overall fantastic strategic perspective that is refreshingly different.

Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer, eBay

The trick to innovation is balancing serendipity with design, of creating a well-planned space for the unexpected. Greg has walked that thin line well. His principles are simultaneously pragmatic and welcoming to unexpected ideas from unexpected quadrants. That is the kind of reality your innovation process demands.

Alph Bingham, cofounder and former President and CEO, Innocentive

Many people write about innovation. Greg Satell is one of my favorites. He combines thorough research and innovative viewpoints with a practical style that makes his work relevant to practitioners. Gregs work has always been an insightful and enjoyable source for my own thinking.

Alex Osterwalder, inventor of the Business Model Canvas, author of Business Model Generation and Value Proposition Design

I have long been a fan of Greg Satells writings on innovation and, for the past five years or so, we have used him as a source of innovation inspiration and good ideas in the joint executive program on Driving Strategic Innovation, that is a partnership between MITs Sloan School of Management and IMD.

What sets Greg apart from other observers of the innovation scene is his broad range of vision and references, his practical experience, and the effectiveness of his writing. There are few people I know who can weave these three attributes together as well as Greg has done. I think he has made a mark on social media and through his Forbes and Harvard Business Review writing that has made him one of the more visible commentators on innovation related issues today, and I would look forward to any innovation project that he is associated with.

Bill Fischer, Professor of Innovation Management, IMD, author of Reinventing Giants and The Idea Hunter

Im always delighted to read what Greg Satell has to say about business and technology. His insightswhich draw from such diverse areas as history and scienceare must-reads.

Samuel Arbesman, Research Fellow, The Long Now Foundation, author of The Half Life of Facts and Overcomplicated

As a scientist, a physician, and an entrepreneur, I enjoy reading Greg Satells writings because they are insightful and thought provoking. In our current healthcare transformation initiative, I am often faced with very complex problems with no clear or precedent solution. I find myself referring back to past articles by Greg as I find them helpful as I think through particularly challenging issues.

Lynda Chin, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Innovation Officer, University of Texas

Greg Satells writing offers a thought-provoking take on innovation in media, science, and technology, which helps me think more clearly about issues in my business. He is also adept at situating todays challenges in a broader historical context, which makes it a great read too.

Michael Rubenstein, President, AppNexus

There has never been a greater need to accelerate innovation than today and Greg Satells new book, Mapping Innovation, provides a brilliant guide to doing just that. Its a must-read, buy it today!

Daniel Burrus, author of the New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight

Innovation and strategy must be closely intertwined for organizations to succeed, yet they are often treated as two distinct areas. Greg Satell is one of the best thinkers today at the intersection of the two. He has an excellent grasp of the theory involved, and combines it well with his practical experience as a manager and strategist.

Tim Kastelle, Associate Professor of Innovation Management and MBA Director, University of Queensland

Greg Satell is a thoughtful, insightful, and entertaining writer. His articles always make me think. I would read and recommend any book Greg writes.

Saul Kaplan, founder and Chief Catalyst, The Business Innovation Factory, author of Business Innovation Factory

There are many writers these days trying to explain the impact of technology and why it might be different this time. Greg Satells writing is different because he covers not just the surface activity but the implications of technologys influence on how people interact with machines, algorithms, and each other; how this affects the way business is done; and why that matters for the present and the future.

His work is both stimulating and thought-provoking. On my own website, in which I curate writing of interest to clients, friends, strangers and, most of all, me, I have found that Gregs articles invariably generate more page views and commentary than those of any other author/thought leader I post. I would love to see him expand his thoughts into a book-length effort.

Jonathan Low, partner at Predictive LLC, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Work and Technology at the Department of Labor, author of The Invisible Advantage

Copyright 2017 by Greg Satell. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.