Book Review: Innovation Cell. Agile Teams to Master Disruptive Innovation by Burkard Wördenweber and Uwe Weissflog

Springer, 2005, ISBN 3-540-23559-0AB, £23.

Authors Burkard Wördenweber and Uwe Weissflog used the process of an innovation cell to write this book. And it has worked! The structure combines simulated dialogue between the author and reader, essays and examples, in a way that is accessible and effective. The authors address innovation both from an external view (what happens, what is needed, what people do) and also at a deeper personal level - for example, making connections between the level of trust or organisational relationships between people and the impact this has on the type of communication they are capable of.

The authors distinguish efficiency ("doing things right") from effectiveness ("doing the right things") and develop this idea to show that, for businesses, both these capabilities are necessary, yet each has different requirements for types of approach, people and organisational forms. In particular, the unpredictability associated with innovation is the enemy of the predictable performance of the efficient organisation.

It is from these roots that Wördenweber and Weissflog explain the Innovation Cell of the title. It consists of a band of volunteers who are dedicated to a project, have full control over the project and will disband when the project is over. One aspect of the Innovation Cell that will not be easy reading for a number of IT vendors is that the members of the Innovation Cell must work in one room (implying there are limits to the capabilities of e-collaboration). This assertion connects well to the various social and personal characteristics that the authors link to disruptive innovation (creating a brand new concept). They position geographically dispersed teams as sources of continuous innovation refining and improving existing concepts..

Certain techniques are presented to overcome specific problems. For example, to help select people for an Innovation Cell, there is a description of a drawing and storytelling process that triggers individuals to think deeply about their achievements and strengths. This enables all involved to understand the extent to which individuals will fit into the team.

The book concludes by working through some realities of introducing and running an Innovation Cell in a corporate environment, and then finally tells the story of using the Innovation Cell approach to write the book. In these areas, as in the rest of the book, the authors cover many "difficult to ask" questions in a style that is both friendly and full of insights. They succeed in finding useful and workable connections between the "soft" issues of life, emotions and motivation, and the "hard" commercial need for innovative results. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Peter Thorne

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