Innovation the Cleveland Clinic Way: Powering Transformation by Putting Ideas to Work

Unlock the secret to groundbreaking innovation with this game-changing guide

Innovation means putting ideas to work. It is a discipline that can be learned, practiced, and leveraged to propel meaningful transformation and sustainable success, and it is proving to be the margin of difference in the largest concentrated sector of our economy: healthcare. This is where the stakes may be highest because the transcendent ideas that come from the patient bedside or laboratory bench don’t just translate to a bottom line, they improve and extend human life.

Since its inception in 1921, Cleveland Clinic has been at the forefront of life-saving innovations in healthcare, pioneering a new model of care, advancing surgical techniques, and developing cutting-edge medical technologies. It has revolutionized the industry with a proven and tested working model for mission-driven, results-oriented success—one that is applicable to industries beyond healthcare.

In Innovation the Cleveland Clinic Way, Thomas J. Graham, MD, describes the Clinic’s unique approach. Learn:

• How to align the innovation strategy with your organization’s mission
• How to identify your organization’s innovation assets and put them to work
• How to foster collaboration within and across teams to spark creative ideation
• The process of taking “napkin ideas” through successful commercialization
• The most common innovation pitfalls and how to avoid and address them
• Cleveland Clinic’s 10 commandments of innovation and the six degrees of innovation

Packed with enterprising solutions and inspiring examples, this practical guide will equip any individual or institution seeking to affect purposeful transformation. Use these best practices to put ideas to work and turn yours into a high-innovation organization.

Thomas J. Graham, MD, is the Chief Innovation Officer of Cleveland Clinic and Vice Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery. A prolific inventor with nearly 50 worldwide patents and a serial entrepreneur, he is a renowned orthopaedic surgeon whose practice is the premier destination for the care of the professional athlete’s hand and wrist. He is regularly recognized as one of “America’s Best Doctors.”

“While progress in research and technology hold tremendous potential to improve human health, the healthcare industry must also contend with unprecedented change and complex challenges. Tom Graham offers far-sighted and practical strategies for applying technology to democratize and accelerate health innovation. Approaches like these are exactly what is needed to transform healthcare and realize its potential to help us lead healthier and more productive lives.”
—Mike Rhodin, Senior Vice President, IBM Watson and Watson Health

“Innovation the Cleveland Clinic Way is a jewel of a book. Brilliantly written and phenomenally insightful, it explains in lucid terms the philosophy, framework, approach, and operation of a successful innovation engine in a large mission-driven organization. It combines theory and practice—as all good how-to books should—for building a real innovation juggernaut. Breathtaking in both scope and story, Tom Graham weaves insights from his own personal brush with death from medical illness together with the wisdom and experience he has garnered as the leader of the single most successful innovation enterprise sited within a healthcare system. It is a must-read.”
—Mark Smith, MD, Chief Innovation Officer, MedStar Health and Director, MedStar Institute for Innovation
 
“What else would you do with a master surgeon who is also a prolific inventor and serial entrepreneur but make him the Chief Innovation Officer of one of the most progressive institutions in all of healthcare? Tom Graham and Cleveland Clinic have truly written the book on how to build and sustain the architecture for innovation.”
—Neil Jordan, Worldwide General Manager, Healthcare Industry, Microsoft Corporation

“The industry is ripe for disruption. Dr. Graham brilliantly crystallizes the lessons learned and approaches honed at Cleveland Clinic, which can be leveraged by innovators to translate ideas into improved healthcare for all.”
—Daniel Kraft, MD, Chair for Medicine, Singularity University and Founder and Chair, Exponential Medicine

“Through Tom Graham’s leadership, Cleveland Clinic is unlocking the potential for medical innovation and commercialization by building an ecosystem to compete with the best around the world. His collaborative approach that brings together academia, companies, and other institutional players is part of an effective innovation strategy that is driving talent attraction, job creation, and large-scale economic development.”
—John Minor, CEO, JobsOhio

“Healthcare is in the midst of a remarkable metamorphosis and while this disruption is uncomfortable for many influencers in the industry, Dr. Graham embraces it and is forging the road ahead. A gifted surgeon, respected innovator, consummate collaborator—and survivor—Dr. Graham brings a unique perspective to the next era of healthcare, and is an inspirational catalyst for both its defragmentation and transformation in the digital age.”
—Jeff Arnold, Founder, WebMD, and CEO, Sharecare

“Medical innovation is severely challenged by risks and realities like the capital gap, the patent cliff, and Eroom’s Law. Cleveland Clinic has managed to buck the trend by focusing on process and collaboration. Their Chief Innovation Officer is talking—everyone in the innovation ecosystem should listen.”
—Andrew Lo, PhD, Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance and Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, MIT Sloan School of Management

“Dr. Graham is a renowned expert on innovation and a prolific inventor in his own right. Working closely with him and Cleveland Clinic for years has proven invaluable for our organization, particularly in the evaluation and commercialization process. Simply put, innovation is in the DNA and culture of Cleveland Clinic. Yet cultures of innovation require inspired leadership, and with Dr. Thomas Graham and Dr. Toby Cosgrove, Cleveland Clinic has forged a place at the forefront of the world of healthcare innovation.”
—Joe Randolph, President and CEO, The Innovation Institute

“Big ideas, when put to work, change the world. In this book, Dr. Tom Graham inspires us with his successful strategy and galvanizing vision. Academic, corporate, philanthropic, and public policy goals can all be achieved when we invest in innovation. Humanity wins in this ultimate team sport.”
—Aaron Pitts, Managing Director, JobsOhio