Book Review by Kendra Brosseau

 “Companies can’t survive without innovating. But most put far more emphasis on generating big ideas than on executing them – turning ideas into actual breakthrough products, services, and process improvements.”

In the book, “The Other Side of Innovation,” by Chris Trimble and Vijay Govindarajan, the authors provide clear guidance for developing innovative ideas that cannot (or should not) be developed within an organization’s day-to-day operations (i.e. the organization’s Performance Engine). The authors elaborate on two kinds of "teams" in most firms. The Performance Engine; or the portion of the business focused on the day to day execution of the business - creating products, shipping products, etc. This portion focused on earning profits, performing consistently and efficiently. The other type of team, the one focused on leading innovation projects, is called the Dedicated Team. The authors note that many things that this team does are in direct conflict with the Performance Engine. The Dedicated Team talks about "breaking all the rules," which, "sounds like breaking the Performance Engine.” There is direct conflict between the goals and expectations of the two teams.

A Book Review by Kendra Brosseau

In this ever-changing, competition based society, there are so many challenges and demands that an entrepreneur faces in order to succeed in business. The book, “How Stella Saved the Farm” by Chris Trimble and Vijay Govindarajan, is a “wild and wooly yarn about making innovation happen”. This parable helps you understand that your idea is only the beginning, and examines ways in which to take your thoughts, and make it into a reality. ”How Stella Saved the Farm”, delivers eight core ideas to guide your own innovation initiatives to success; and will help you avoid some of innovation’s most “toxic myths”. You will discover how to build the right type of team, and how to learn quickly from experiences as your initiative proceeds. In this short, 130 page book, you will examine different types of leadership abilities, evaluate your organizational history, review your company’s finances, employee attitudes, new product introduction, and organizational charts; learn the value of flexibility;  understand how to make tough hiring and promotional decisions, and examine the cultural diversity that may exist within a company. By having the main characters as animals, it makes those difficult issues, somewhat less “bullying”, but still very realistic, and enjoyable to read. This book was a quick and amusing, and would really benefit anyone who currently has a business, wants to expand, or is just looking into an idea they have. It ultimately makes you look at your company’s next step(s) and who truly stepped up to “save the farm”.

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A Book Review by Dar Schwanbeck

SWITCH How to Change Things when Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

A Book Review by K. Janzen  

Change is a constant in our lives and yet how much do we really understand the process of change.

If you have tried to change your eating habits to lose weight, you know that it is difficult. If you are trying to influence change on a global level (like, for example, the Global Organization for Parliamentarians Against Corruption) it is really, really hard.

Many business challenges also involve change; you may need to change the attitudes of customers or a business or a corporate environment. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference in your business.

The authors break change down into three main elements: First, the rational mind (the Rider), needs to understand why the change is important, how it will work and the small steps that will...