Innovation is the management mantra of modern business. Either a business has it, gets it, or disappears into mediocrity.

As this book argues, in a globalised economy marked by hyper-competition and rapid commoditisation, innovation stands out as the distinctive attribute of companies with peer-beating results (think Apple, IKEA, Google).

According to business guru Gary Hamel, who inspired and introduces Innovation to the Core, organisations need to embed the DNA of innovation – the materials, tools, metrics, processes and IT systems – deep within their management systems and organisational cultures in order to make innovation an “everywhere, all-the-time capability”.

And drawing on a wealth of examples, including IBM, GE, Proctor & Gamble and Whirlpool, the authors go some way towards demonstrating how innovation, rather than being the pursuit of a single, creative department within an organisation, should be an all-hands philosophy.

As Hamel says, “In a world of ever-accelerating change, innovation is the only insurance against irrelevance.” And this guide promises some practical lessons in the development of not just an innovative streak but an innovation backbone.

Innovation to the Core: A blueprint for transforming the way your company innovates. By Peter Skarzynski & Rowan Gibson. Published by Harvard Business Review. Price $35.00. ISBN: 9781422102510