About The Innovative Leader
The Innovative Leader is an innovation leadership book that reveals how world-class executives consistently create and sustain growth. Written by Stephen Wunker, Jennifer Luo Law, and Hari Nair, the book distills insights from 50+ industry innovators—leaders like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Panera’s Ron Shaich—into practical, step-by-step lessons. It helps readers turn innovation from a sporadic effort into an everyday leadership habit that drives measurable impact.
What You'll Learn
The Create Framework
The book’s central framework, C.R.E.A.T.E., distills the six habits of leaders who consistently spark innovation. It helps executives connect inspiration with execution and align culture with measurable outcomes.
C.R.E.A.T.E stands for:
Curiosity – Ask better questions to uncover unseen opportunities.
Resilience – Stay adaptable in the face of change or failure.
Empowerment – Build trust and autonomy within teams.
Alignment – Connect innovation goals to business strategy.
Testing – Pilot, iterate, and refine ideas quickly.
Execution – Translate insight into impact through disciplined follow-through.
The A.B.C.s of Innovative Leadership
The authors also present the A.B.C. model: a set of guiding behaviors that innovative leaders embody every day.
A.B.C. stands for:
Aspire: Define a clear innovation ambition for yourself and your team.
Build: Put in place systems, governance, and skills that make creativity repeatable.
Cultivate: Foster curiosity, openness, and collaboration across the organization.
These principles mirror the Innovation Capabilities work of New Markets Advisors, linking mindset to measurable cultural change.
Interviews and Case Studies
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Create Your Leadership Style—Chapter 1 of The Innovative Leader defines what it truly means to lead innovation. The CREATE model empowers leaders to build innovation-led organizations by:
Staying deeply connected to customers and markets to uncover unmet needs and emerging opportunities.
Modeling innovative behaviors—observing, questioning, networking, experimenting, and associating—to set the tone for others
Enabling a culture of trust, shared values, and collaboration that allows innovation to thrive at every level of the organization.
table of contents
01
Introduction: What Makes Innovation Work
02
Chapter 1: Step 1: CREATE Your Leadership Style
03
Chapter 2: Step 2: Aspire
04
Chapter 3: Step 3: Build
05
Chapter 4: Step 4: Cultivate
06
Chapter 5: A Culture of Innovation
07
Chapter 6: Extended Case Study: ABC in Practice
08
Chapter 7: Advice for Special Roles
09
Chapter 8: Handbook of innovation Activites
10
Chapter 9: Tools for the ABC of Innovative Leadership
11
Chapter 10: Diagnostic Surveys
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The Innovative Leader offers anyone tasked with innovation – from budding entrepreneurs to high-level executives, in the business sector, government, or nonprofits – a unique blend of expert insights and concrete examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
About The Authors
Steve Wunker
Stephen Wunker is the Managing Director of New Markets Advisors, a global consulting firm that develops growth strategies for innovators such as Meta and the Mayo Clinic. A pioneer in mobile marketing and payments, he led the development of one of the world's first smartphones. As a longtime collaborator with the late Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School's legendary scholar of business disruption, Stephen played a key role in refining and applying his theories of Disruptive Innovation and Jobs to be Done. He has worked across sectors to help large organizations identify major opportunities and move quickly, despite legacy systems or cultural resistance.
Jennifer Luo Law
Jennifer Luo Law leads women’s health initiatives on the Strategy and Venture team at Philips, where she advances innovation in maternal and infant health. Her work spans clinical and consumer solutions that close care gaps for underserved mothers and families. A member of the Massachusetts Maternal Health Task Force and March of Dimes Board, Jennifer has advised the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on maternal mental health. A former innovation consultant, Fulbright alumna, and award-winning author, she is recognized globally for her leadership in inclusive, purpose-driven healthcare innovation.
Hari Nair
Hari Nair is a global innovation leader and Vice President at Procter & Gamble, heading Fabric & Home Care Packaging Innovation. A Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Harvard School of Public Health, Hari has held senior roles at Sime Darby, Kimberly-Clark, and Innosight, where he worked alongside Clayton Christensen on disruptive innovation. His career spans over 25 years in R&D, strategy, and capability building across Asia, the U.S., and Europe. Hari is a frequent lecturer on innovation and leadership at Harvard, Duke, and the Tuck School of Business.
