Book excerpt: In clear language, The Innovation Mandate shows leaders a step-by-step process to continually generate great ideas, implement them, and maximize their value to benefit both customers and investors. In today’s ultracompetitive marketplace, the difference between success and failure is innovation. From small entrepreneurial startups to global Fortune 500 companies, innovation--the steady flow of new ideas--drives sustained success. It allows a company to introduce new products and services, effectively connect with customers, sharpen the supply chain, efficiently manage finances, and hire and retain the best people. Without a steady stream of new ideas, even the best company will slow down, atrophy, lose market share, hemorrhage customers, and eventually close or be sold. The Innovation Mandate offers a clear and straightforward pathway to profitable innovation. It demystifies the concept, making it easy to understand, implement, and measure. The book centers around three simple concepts: innovation generates profits; innovation, in the form of new, profitable ideas, can come from anywhere; and identifying, harnessing, evaluating, and implementing these new ideas cannot be left to chance. Additionally, the book offers a five-point checklist to ensure your company is innovation ready.