Origins of the Innovation Practitioners Network

In 1997, Bill Wilson, retired Senior Vice President of Innovation Management at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, along with Lanny Vincent and Dick Cheverton, began a collaboration that lead to the publication of The Maverick Way: Profiting the Power of the Corporate Misfit. The book chronicled the practices and experiences of Wilson’s innovation network which was instrumental in successfully transforming Kimberly-Clark—over a period of two decades—from a forest products company to a consumer package goods company. Jim Collin’s work, From Good to Great, refers to Darwin Smith, a so-called Level 5 leader, who successfully led this transformation of Kimberly-Clark. Bill Wilson, and his experiences described in The Maverick Way, is the story behind the story.

As he was writing the book, Dick Cheverton suggested to Lanny Vincent, that it might be a good idea to bring some veteran practitioners of innovation management together to test out some of the emerging themes in the book. From 1998 to 2001, Vincent & Associates, Ltd. underwrote a gathering of between 15 and 35 veteran practitioners of innovation. These annual gatherings were called The Mavericks Roundtable—spirited and stimulating exchanges that left their own lasting impression on those who participated and contributed, so much so, that they kept meeting, even after the original motivation for the gatherings had been accomplished—the writing of The Maverick Way. These practitioners came from a variety of different companies. Some of the more recognizable names included Hewlett-Packard, Weyerhaeuser, Whirlpool, Pitney-Bowes, and Eastman Kodak. Other companies included The Learning Curve, Clif Bar, Hello Direct, Sealed Air Corporation, Molecular Devices and The Sperry Group, among others. Many of these companies continue to participate today in the Innovation Practitioners Network.

In 2003, participants in the previous Mavericks Roundtables decided to conduct an indepth, five-company study, examining how companies with established revenue stream balance the demands and needs of the operating culture with the demands and needs of innovation. The resulting report, entitled “Soft Systems for Hard Cores,” made a modest, but original contribution to the field of innovation management with the description of an implicit but necessary role—innovation midwives. The report was published, under the title “Innovation Midwives,” in the International Research Institute’s journal, Research-Technology Management, January 2005.

One of the findings of this five-company innovation study was a strong correlation between successful innovation efforts and the health of implicit, informal networks of innovation practitioners. The implication was obvious. If the relative health of a company’s implicit and informal network of innovation practitioners matters so much, doesn’t it make sense to spend a little time and effort—in a low-key, implicit fashion—cultivating the heath and development of that network?

In 2004, six subscribing companies answered that question with a resounding “yes.” And thus, the Innovation Practitioners Network was born. The network meets annually and focuses on the principles and practices of Research and Development-based innovating. 

The 2012 Innovation Practitioners Network conference is on Applying Systems Theory to Innovating Practice. For more information call (415) 387-1270 or email lanny@innovationsthatwork.com.

For a copy of the Innovation Midwives report or a free signed copy of The Maverick Way: Profiting the Power of the Corporate Misfit, call (415) 387-1270 or email jane@innovationsthatwork.com. You can also purchase the book at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0966822617/qid=1124312749/sr=11/ref=sr_1_1/002-3185445-0548811?v=glance&s=books