The authors map out a work system that was key to Procter & Gamble transforming its innovation practices from a slow-paced, cautious incrementalism toward a leaner, more entrepreneurial model able to make bigger and riskier long-term bets.
Starting in 2016, P&G began “innovating how they innovated”, supported by a strong leadership commitment to working differently.
The newly envisioned future included P&G exploring many smaller scale innovations within and across business units, with quick learning, conducted in close collaboration with consumers and driven by their problems and needs.
Kathy Fish began this initiative by studying what innovation practices had produced “irresistible superiority” in the past.
Describes how P&G, a leading, long-established company instituted a systematic program of changing the system through which the work of innovation gets done. This system has eight action levers that collectively shape a supportive and productive work environment. Taking these actions in a coherent, coordinated fashion at Procter & Gamble, changed the operating environment and the company’s innovators adapted their behavior to the new system.
