The First Mile: A Launch Manual for Getting Great Ideas into the Market

You have a great idea, now what?

That first milewhere an innovation moves from an idea on paper to the marketis often plagued by failure. In fact, less than one percent of ideas launched by big companies end up having real impact. The ideas aren’t the problem. It’s the process.

The First Mile focuses on the critical moment when an innovator moves from planning to reality. It is a perilous place where hidden traps snare entrepreneurs and roadblocks slow innovators inside large companies.

In this practical and enlightening manual, strategic adviser Scott Anthony equips innovators with new tools, questions, and examples to speed through this crucial early stage of innovation. You’ll learn:

How to evaluate your idea’s strengths and weaknesses using the DEFT” processDocument, Evaluate, Focus, and Test
Fourteen recipes from an experiment cookbook” to gain confidence in your idea or business
Why spinouts,” wrong turns,” and other challenges commonly trip up innovationand the practical strategies you can use to avoid them
Why innovators need to seek chaos in an age of constant changeand other essential leadership skills

Drawing on his decade of experience as an innovation adviser and investor, Anthony describes hard-won lessons from disruptive start-ups and global giants alike. The First Mile will give you the knowledge and confidence to travel this perilousbut ultimately promisingterrain.

The first mile can be a scary place, but you don’t have to traverse it alone. This book can help.