Disciplined managerial leadership and teamwork are keys to
innovation. Innovation should be driven by the end customer, not
by R&D. Aim to create unique market space and make competition
irrelevant. The 7Es innovation framework identifies seven
essential stages in the innovation process. The Cochlear case
provides an instructive example of a structured innovation
process. Organic growth based on innovation is the surest path
to sustainable growth and profitability. Mergers and
acquisitions (M&A) are a high-risk substitute for innovation
strategy. Innovation should be managed as an open process
involving a variety of partners. As management guru Peter
Drucker pointed out, entrepreneurial management and innovation
were the drivers of the exceptional employment and profit growth
in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing on
insights from this period, Drucker argued that innovation is due
more to purposeful, systematic hard work rather than simply “a
flash of genius”. It is, therefore, important to