From Bench to Boardroom

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

   PDF

2. What Do I Mean by “Innovation?”

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 1-9

3. Can Anyone, and Should Anyone, Lead Innovation?

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 11-14

4. Do You Have What It Takes to Lead Innovation?

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 15-21

5. Putting a Good Innovation Team Together

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 23-37

6. Getting the Right Portfolio Mix of Projects

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 39-61

7. Innovation Project Execution

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 63-79

8. Creating a Culture of Creativity

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 81-88

9. Creating a Learning Organization

   • Clifford L. Spiro

   Pages 89-96

10. Human Resources Issues for Innovation Organizations

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 97-111

11. Globalization of Innovation and Leading Remote Teams

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 113-116

12. Measuring Innovation Effectiveness

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 117-131

13. Earning Followership

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 133-146

14. Patents and Intellectual Property

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 147-155

15. Acquiring and Integrating Technology

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 157-161

16. The C-Suite, Boardroom, and Beyond

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 163-173

17. Closing Thoughts

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages 175-184

18. Erratum to: Can Anyone, and Should Anyone, Lead Innovation?

    • Clifford L. Spiro

    Pages E1-E1

19. Back Matter

    Pages 185-188

    PDF

This must-read guide offers a practical and engaging introduction to the ins and outs of R&D leadership. Innovation is a two-trillion-dollar industry, and, on top of the baseline complexity faced by any manager, the R&D or Innovation leader confronts an additional set of challenges.

Armed with years of experience in roles ranging from scientist to Vice President ofR&D to founder of his own company to innovation career coach, Dr. Clifford L. Spiro shares his insights on a carefully curated selection of topics. This indispensable playbook covers:

• Building, managing, and motivating a team
  
• Setting schedules and goals
  
• Assessing and rewarding project success
  
• Working with other departments
  
• Legal and intellectual property considerations
  

Dr. Spiro’s distinctive blend of big-picturestrategic thinking and day-to-day, nitty-gritty tips (e.g., Five Great Questions For R&D Managers to Ask Every Time) is essential reading for current and aspiring R&D leaders through seasoned managers as well as anyone at an organization that has an R&D, innovation, or technology transfer component. Providing a prescriptive, in-the-trenches assessment of how to lead innovation more effectively, this book ably equips the reader to anticipate potential problems and to succeed both within the R&D department and across his or her company.

• research and development leadership
• Innovation management
• R&D management
• leadership R&D
• hiring for R&D
• innovation portfolio
• human resources for research and development
• measuring R&D effectiveness
• R&D career guide

• Savannah, USA

  Clifford L. Spiro

Cliff Spiro received BS and PhD degrees in Chemistry from Stanford and Caltech. In 1980, Cliff joined GE’s Corporate Research labs, where he worked as a research scientist and manager for 15 years. His research included projects in energy and fuels, synthetic diamonds, and advanced metallurgical and ceramic coatings. Cliff then went on to lead R&D groups in silicone rubber, halogen lamps, water, paper, energy chemicals, and semiconductor processes. Since leaving the corporate world in 2011, Cliff has written three books about research including Leading Innovation, and has coached several corporate clients in their innovation cultures, people, and processes.

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