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Below you'll find articles by Robert B. Tucker, as well as links, when available, to the publication where the article originally appeared. We add new articles as they appear in print, so check back frequently for updates.

American Manufacturers: It's Time to Innovate or Evaporate
The USA lost three million manufacturing jobs in the last three years, and countless marginal players have ceased operations. There is a deep sense of resignation in this sector that asks, “how can we possibly compete with China when all they do is produce knockoff products with a wage scale that is so much lower than ours?” Can American manufacturing be saved? This articles argues that it can, but only by embracing innovation as imbedded process. Here are four strategies for launching an Innovation Revolution in your company.

Presenting Innovation in a Way That Gets to 'Yes'
As the global economy improves and CEOs get past their hunker down/cut costs/survival mentality, the question of how to drive growth becomes paramount. But getting senior management to take action on innovation often needs a catalyst, and a solid strategy for getting them to say "yes." This article, which originally appeared in the e-newsletter, Tucker on Innovation, offers methods you can use to champion innovation in your organization.

Selling Your Ideas: A Critical Executive Skill
Building the buy-in for your ideas is a key determinant of your success, both inside and outside of your organization. How do your idea-selling skills stack up? Here are some tips on how to improve them!

Seven Strategies for Generating Ideas
This article, which first appeared in The Futurist (www.wfs.org), makes the case that ideas are the lifeblood of all organizations, whether the mission is to invent breakthrough products or simply to solve day-to-day problems. Master seven Ideation Strategies that innovation vanguard organizations are using to fortify their idea factories, such as “focus on the unarticulated needs of customers,” and “involve customers in new ways” along with methods for involving suppliers in ideation efforts.

Sparking Growth Systematically
This article, which appeared in Harvard Management Update (www.hbsp.harvard.edu) discusses one of the hottest issues in the Innovation Movement, the design and implementation of "idea management systems." Three proven models, used by Citibank, Appleton Papers and Whirlpool, are used as case examples: the Top-Line, All-Enterprise Approach; the Innovation Team Model; and the Innovation Catalyst Model.

Innovation: Core Competency for the 21st Century
This article, which appeared in the journal Strategy & Leadership argues that organizations, having tried an endless array of alternatives, are now accepting enterprise-wide innovation as a key operational discipline. Just as, in the past, they adopted the disciplines of quality, planning, and management, the discipline of innovation is quickly becoming the critical business skill of the 21st Century. Learn what your organization must do to capitalize on this trend.

Strategy Innovation Takes Imagination
This article first appeared in the Journal of Business Strategy and urges company leaders to realize that no matter how bulletproof their current business model, it will be challenged by new ones. The new reality is that business models have shelf lives, like loaves of bread at the supermarket. Article addresses six places to "jumpstart your search for imaginative new business concepts for your firm," including #5, Look for Opportunities in How Customer Needs Are Currently Understood.

Succeeding with Your Bright Ideas
There are many ways to come up with better ideas. But to succeed consistently, you need to consciously define and identify your creative process. This article, which appeared first in Executive Update, Greater Washington Society of Association Executives' official publication, (www.executiveupdate.com) discusses the need to articulate a strategy for keeping your "idea factory" in peak performance levels.

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