The Innovation Acid Test: Growth Through Design and Differentiation

What links the world's most dynamic, successful companies - the companies that are transforming the way we live our lives? Rootling around in the Googlemould, Dr Andrew Jones has unearthed some remarkable connections and consistencies. In The Innovation Acid Test, he lays out for us the defining practices and procedures of a select few of these companies - Southwest Airlines, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Google, Innocent Drinks, Shanghai Tang and others. He pieces them together to reveal a pattern of distinctive ways in which they differentiate themselves from traditionalist firms: from managing their businesses and running their workplaces to talking to their customers and recruiting, motivating and rewarding their employees. From this pattern, he constructs an intriguing model, built on the principles of architecture, design and anthropology. Finally, he sets out the ground rules for implementing that model and creating organizations that are equipped not merely to 'manage the known' but also to 'build the unknown'. The result is a book that will catch the imagination of any reader interested in work and organizations. Today, Generation Y employees and ever-more-demanding customers are setting the agenda for business. The Innovation Acid Test offers a clear guide for any company seeking to transform itself into the kind of human-centred enterprise that is equipped to meet these challenges.