I was recently given a copy of "Innovation Passport - The IBM First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Journey from Research to Reality" by Mary Jo Frederich and Peter Andrews, and I realized the depth of my innovation "geekness" when I flew through it in one sitting!  Let's be honest here, this is a book written by innovation practitioners for innovation practitioners.  Normal buyers of fluff management books will not get past page 20 of this book.  This is serious "nuts and bolts" innovation management, product management and portfolio management all wrapped up into one book.  And that's a GOOD thing!

A lot of books written lately about innovation and product management tend to focus on the basics of culture, climate, process, etc.  Innovation Passport, includes those things as well, but goes much, much further.  It is a peek inside the research culture of IBM.  It is a primer on collaborative innovation with your clients.  It is a process manual of setting up (and maintaining) a solid innovation management and product management program.  It is a handbook on how to commercialize ideas...the real definition of innovation.

A couple of really nice features in the book include frequent "Lessons" sprinkled throughout each chapter which zero in on key points to remember on the specific topic.  I found myself turning page corners where these lessons were called out.  Secondly, the book walks through IBM's process set in a chronological fashion as it unfolds along the FOAK roadmap.  For example, in the "front end" it describes how ideas take shape, how to create solid partnerships and how to choose the best projects.  Once the FOAK is established, the "back end" pieces are further explored.  These include, clarifying project plans, ensuring the work gets done and portfolio management.  It even includes a step-by-step guide on establishing a Innovation Program for your own organization.

As an Innovation Management and Product Management practitioner, this book was very enjoyable and enlightening to read.  It is a very technical book...full of product development jargon, project management discipline and idea/innovation management process.  However, that is what really separates this book from many others, it is written at the practitioner level.  For those of you who follow along on this blog, and who are also at the practitioner level, I'd recommend a copy.  If anything, it is a rare peek inside a world-class organization that demonstrates excellence in collaborative innovation.

For more information, the authors have set up a blog at:  http://innovationpassport.blogspot.com/