Wazoku contributes to ’60 Leaders on Innovation’ book

It’s already been a stellar literary year for Wazoku and its extended family, so we are delighted today (23 August) to share the latest instalment – our Chief Strategy & Product Officer Rosemarie has contributed a chapter to ‘60 Leaders on Innovation’.

It’s a new eBook featuring the great and good of the global innovation industry – CxOs, academics, technologists, innovation experts, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and more – answering 22 challenging innovation questions. Rosemarie’s chapter asks, ‘What is the role of the C-Suite in empowering innovation?’, a topic and theme that we are very familiar with at Wazoku.

The importance of engaging the c-suite

Without an engaged and active c-suite, any innovation programme will struggle to realise its potential. Business leaders need to show they are committed to innovation and not something they are doing as a box-ticking exercise. They must lead by example – be passionate, challenging, brave and show that they take innovation seriously.

Whether it’s engaging with an open innovation community such as the InnoCentive crowd of ‘solvers’ or using idea management software to crowdsource ideas from employees and other communities, business leaders need to stand up and show that innovation is a priority for them.

The world is facing such enormous challenges right now, and we work alongside clients such as Enel to come up with solutions to some of those challenges, particularly around sustainability. Enel is committed to its innovation programmes from the top down, and that senior commitment is something we strive for with all our clients.

We asked Rosemarie for her thoughts on becoming an author:

“It was an honour to contribute to a book that also features some of the brightest minds in innovation and a testament to the esteem in which Wazoku is held around the globe. My chapter in the book focuses on the need for senior involvement in innovation programmes, something in which we place the highest importance.”

“Innovation is more important than ever and getting c-suite buy-in is vital to the success of any innovation programme. I’m proud to help to spread the message via the 60 Leaders book.’”

Other chapters in the book include ‘What is Open Innovation?’ and ‘What Makes a Company Innovative?’ and you can register here to get a free copy.

The Wazoku literary canon

It’s been a successful year already for Wazoku’s literary efforts. In January 2021, we launched ‘One Smart Crowd: How Crowdsourcing is Changing the World One Idea at a Time’, and in June 2021, new Wazoku chairman Martin Fincham wrote his book ‘Diary of a Novice NED – a guide to going plural and developing a portfolio career as a non-executive director’, in which he draws on his extensive experience as a non-executive director.

One Smart Crowd is written by Wazoku CEO Simon Hill and InnoCentive founder Alpheus Bingham. It celebrates the individuals within a crowd, focusing on the people behind some of the greatest and most impactful ideas humanity has seen.

’60 leaders on Innovation’ joins the exclusive list of Wazoku authored or co-authored books and is a powerful read for anyone with even a passing interest in innovation. It’s packed with insight and original thinking and is highly recommended.

Please have a read and let us know what you think.