Wow! eBook
Mission-Driven Innovation: How to Lead Technology in a Complex World
Author(s): Anita Friis Sommer (Author)
- Publisher: Grammar Factory Publishing
- Publication Date: August 11, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 290 pages
- ISBN-10: 1998528995
- ISBN-13: 9781998528998
Book Description
Traditional innovation models are no longer sufficient.
Senior leaders in R&D, operations, product development, and transformation must navigate accelerating complexity while still delivering measurable results. Agile, Stage-Gate®, and other proven approaches remain powerful—but today's innovation environment demands more than methods alone. It requires alignment across strategy, governance, leadership, finance, and technology under deep uncertainty.
Mission-Driven Innovation offers a practical roadmap for building innovation systems that deliver stronger business performance, meaningful progress for the planet, and positive impact for people.
Inside, you will learn how to:
- Lead innovation in complex, uncertain environments
- Align strategy, governance, and leadership into one coherent system
- Build high-performing teams driven by trust, learning, and purpose
- Integrate Agile, Stage-Gate, and systems thinking into a unified operating model
- Deploy AI and digital technologies as intelligent infrastructure for innovation
This book bridges theory and practice, drawing on real-world transformation leadership and research-based insight. It's an invitation for leaders ready to turn innovation into a driver of both competitive advantage and positive change.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Mission-Driven Innovation contains many of the principles that are important if you want to innovate with speed and quality. The ideas are practical, grounded in real examples, and relevant enough that they made me think about where and how I could begin applying them in my own organization."
John Hansen, Senior Vice President, LEGO Group
"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mission-Driven Innovation. The book combines compelling storytelling with practical innovation leadership and offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to turn bold ideas into real-world impact."
Hansjörg Reich, Senior Director, Global Business Development, Procter & Gamble
"Mission-Driven Innovation is clear, coherent, and highly actionable. It offers leaders a thoughtful approach to innovation and transformation while not taking the path of management dogmatism."
Torben Vedel Borchert, Scientific Director, Novo Nordisk Foundation. Former Vice President for Discovery at Novozymes
"A thought-provoking book that encourages leaders to rethink how innovation is managed in an increasingly complex world. The practical examples make the ideas tangible and highly relevant."
Lars Enevoldsen, Chief Development Officer, AVK Holding A/S. Former Senior Vice President at Kamstrup and Group Vice President for Technology Innovation at Grundfos
"Anita Sommer combines rigorous research, practical leadership experience, and a deep understanding of technology innovation into a framework that is both timely and highly actionable. Mission-Driven Innovation has the potential to become an industry standard for leaders seeking to create innovation systems that deliver both business growth and meaningful impact."
Andrea Kates, MIT Entrepreneur in Residence. Author of From Stuck to Scale. Global corporate transformation specialist and tech startup CEO
"Mission-Driven Innovation addresses one of the defining leadership challenges of our time: how to innovate and adapt when the future is increasingly uncertain. It offers valuable perspectives for leaders driving technological and organizational transformation."
Arun Majumdar, Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford
