Executing Transformative Innovation

By Henri Swan

The world as we know it today is made of collective innovation accumulated through millions of years and copied, improved, and scaled by successive civilizations and dynasties. Innovation tends to take place in an ecosystem where the entrepreneurial spirit is prevalent, with access to good research institutions and ample funding, enabling a vibr

• Language: English
• Publisher: Impact Ventures Press
• Release date: Nov 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868979101

Henri Swan

www.TheInnovator.us

Book preview

Executing Transformative Innovation

For Startup, Corporate, NPO and Governments

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.

John F. Kennedy

Henri Swan

Author, Innovator, Entrepreneur, Investor, Speaker, and Lecturer

Executing Transformative Innovation.

Copyright © 2023 by Henri Swan.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except when used for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The advice, insights, and execution strategies found within may not be suitable for everyone or any situation. This work is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher be held responsible for the results accrued from the advice in this book

This book may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For more information or to contact us, visit: www.TheInnovator.us

Silicon Valley, California

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

First Edition Published 2023

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022900311

Independently published.

ISBN: 979-8-8689-7910-1

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INTRODUCTION

W

e face pressing challenges. Eco-degradation, diseases, and new risks brought by the misaligned resources spent on bad innovation that challenged human development.

The solution lies in leveraging breakthroughs in technologies and sciences and a paradigm shift in venture funding, propelled by the fourth industrial revolution, enabling equitable and sustainable innovation models. Moreover, the nature of the innovation-driven development model demands a worldwide assessment and reshaping of leading innovation hubs, urgently of great relevance to ensure a better tomorrow.

We are at the dawn of business management’s first century. It is our challenge to capture the opportunity we have been given to ensure that those of us who seek to build the next big thing will have the how-to they need to impact the world positively, across tech, health, and science-based innovation.

This book aligns entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, and exit to a rigorous footing, through emerging and proven practices, perfected by Silicon Valley’s pioneers. It is a must-have walkthrough "blueprint for founders seeking to launch, fund, grow or exit their startup; along with investor, engineer, product developer; corporate innovation, investment or acquisition leader", advisor, and academic lecturer; in need of expanding their horizons, on taking to market innovation with impact.

It is an ideal reference manual, based on first-hand insider scope of thought leadership, packed with research from top tier institutions with actionable insights on startup, corporate innovation, and venture capital ecosystem showcasing a 360-degree cycle of innovation execution "masterfully crafted in a single volume of 400 pages with over 100 illustrated graphs and charts".

This volume leverages the experience of prominent innovators by capturing past, current, and projected future innovation, with deep dive into how innovation happens through each stage, and what to do or not to do during its execution. This shall be a prime source for anyone eager to understand or excel in innovation or venture capital.

DEDICATION

To the pioneer of Modern Tech and Scientific Innovation

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The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane. Nikola Tesla

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One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. Two Nobel Laureate Marie Curie

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If I had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. Henry Ford

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Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein

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If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.  Alfred Nobel

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A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock pile when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind. Antoine Saint-Exupéry

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Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Steve Jobs

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Instead of thinking outside the box, get rid of the box.

Deepak Chopra

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Women In Science Can Also Have Impact. Nobel Laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier

CHAPTER I

WHAT’S INNOVATION

Innovative Culture:

Innovation vs Invention vs Patent:

First Wave of Tech Innovation:

Second Wave of Tech Innovation:

Third Wave of Tech Innovation:

What’s not Innovation:

Takeaways:

CHAPTER II

WHAT’S DISRUPTION

Disruptive innovation:

The Theory of Disruption:

Takeaways:

CHAPTER III

BAD INNOVATION

The two sides of Innovation:

The Hidden Impact of Technology:

The Hidden Impact of Knowledge:

Digital age potent problems:

Impact of Technology on Innovation by 2030:

Takeaways:

CHAPTER IV

GOOD INNOVATION

Good Innovation Urgently Needed:

Innovation Positive Impact:

Impact Innovation for Organization:

Patents Protection vs Monopoly:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR and ESG):

The Future of Work:

Takeaways:

CHAPTER V

HOW TO INNOVATE

Converting Idea to Product or Service:

Design Thinking Innovation:

Open Innovation and Launch Pad:

Lean Startup and Business Model Canvas:

Innovation Emerging Practices:

Markets Ripe for Disruption (Cash Cow) 2030:

Innovation Execution Pathways:

Takeaways:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CLOSING REMARKS

preface

O

ur media perpetuate a myth that entrepreneurs are born not made, by glorifying prominent innovators like Gates, Jobs, and Bezos; because they possess a superior sense of predicting the future, visualize a product then build it like a master chef performing masterful skill in front of your eyes.

This book will replace the entrepreneur myth with practical key steps from converting ideas into product vision and then iterating through sustainable startups with revenues and growth till exit. Enabling anyone to be an entrepreneur, as long you are driven, flexible, and a fast learner located anywhere in this world.

We will exclude the business school elaborate theories that had no relevance outside academia or large organization designed for the industrial era and focus on execution based on collective intelligence learned in Silicon Valley through years of execution by dealing, investing, and advising 1000’s startup, along top venture capital investors, Fortune 500 acquirers and Unicorn Exit.

To innovate, you do not need an MBA, Ph.D., or 10 years in R&D labs; rather a curious mind, a thirst to impact the world positively not changing it and the drive to make it happen no matter what.

Start by assessing your passion and desire to improve one product or service by 3X or more, that you happen to use or consume, then connect your vision to your skills, ability, and how you can disrupt a whole industry that becomes your purpose.

Innovation is not about a Startup that is worth billions through financial engineering but fails to sustain itself without new investments, monopolistic acquisition by market dominant players, or the false narrative of changing the world spread by certain business schools since the world cannot improve without their elite’s technocrat analyst and must depend on them to do so.

Instead, the world as we know it today is made of collective innovation accumulated through millions of years and copied, improved, and scaled by successive civilizations and dynasties which will be discussed further.

This book is about bringing clarity and transparency into the knowledge economy and helping accelerate its evolution further, by democratizing innovation execution and thought leadership, accessing actionable insights to level the playing field and help shape the current and future generation of innovators from across the world on how to execute incremental improvement to the human lives and solve pressing global challenges of our times.

Each chapter will take a deep dive into past, current, and future state projection and how to contribute or capitalize on each stage of future human evolution through disruptive innovation that solves pressing challenges instead of creating new ones.

And help avoid the repeat of the Covid-19 disaster that affected and impacted the human species in every aspect, and proven in a very harsh way, how vulnerable and unprotected we are against a virus iteration known to us for centuries as seasonal flu; even with perceived access to information i.e., unfiltered web that’s causing more harm than good.

CHAPTER I

WHAT’S INNOVATION

Innovative Culture:

America emerged from a British colony with 2.4 million habitants in the 18th century to become the strongest military power in the world, made possible through innovation that still powers and sustains major economic and social progress. It has increased per capita income more than sevenfold since the 19th century, has added three decades to the average lifespan, and has revolutionized the way we live and share information.

Innovation tends to take place in an ecosystem where the entrepreneurial spirit is prevalent, with access to good research institutions and ample funding, enabling a vibrant

collaboration between individuals that foster innovation.

The university system in America is unusual among industrialized countries to have a long history of interaction with the commercial corporation The Industry, where many of the innovative activities within universities rely on the input of both ideas and people along with generous financial support. As an example, work done at UC Berkeley on the Unix operating system relied on people from Bell Laboratories (acquired by NOKIA) spending time on the campus. Such interactions are very rare in Europe, Japan, or most developing countries, but are becoming common gradually.

A key aspect of an ecosystem's success in Silicon Valley is its venture capital sector, which grew from invisible privately financed to an engine that fed a larger part of the economy through stock market exit and recycled funding of both, post IPO startup and large V.C funds from public money through Limited Partners.

Physical proximity between venture capitalists, academia, and entrepreneurs is often critical for early-stage startups to access immediate advice as needed (located within the same metro area) but becomes less needed for later-stage startups. Ecosystems that support the commercialization of innovations solving pressing human challenges in areas such as the life sciences, energy, mobility, health, and agriculture are the future, as the major tech pioneer of the first digital platform wave become entangled with consumer groups and government regulators to remediate their negative impact.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have been learning how to build high-growth companies for over half a century. They have had experience not only with university research but with research and development in companies, from which many innovative ideas emerged on a global scale.

An entrepreneur knows how to start and run a startup, which is a very different experience from being part of a large company. Many have connections with both universities and with commercial corporations, these dual accesses are a prominent part of the Silicon Valley culture that can be difficult to replicate elsewhere, as many are willing to move among institutions and sectors, thereby bringing their experience to new endeavors.

University faculty may be smart and creative, but many have no idea of what it means to go to market, how to launch a startup, how to handle sales and growth, and so on. Technical entrepreneurs tend to see the glass as half full, but often they need to help convince potential investors that the glass is not half empty, Yi Cui, Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University, agreed.

They need to learn lean and execution-driven management skills or partner with founders with those skills to be successful. In such cases, a startup may need to learn how to work with a large company, especially in areas that require large investments.

The transfer of technology from universities often takes place through the creation of new companies (Startup), that attract talented and experienced executioners to turn the invention into a prototype, gather customer interest, and take a technology to market or be acquired by a larger company that can do so, they are the bridge between academia and public impact.

Technologies generally are not transferred from university, but rather people, to help bring the ability to innovate if