Innovation is an often messy, political, fuzzy business.  Here is the story of a neat idea which was one of the most popular management concepts of the 1980s and beyond: the Seven S framework.

The idea had its roots in the 1970s when the McKinsey consultants Robert Waterman and Tom Peters were engaged on a long-term project to identify the characteristics of successful companies.  This eventually saw the light in In Search of Excellence, the very first business blockbuster – selling in excess of five million copies.

[Lesson 1: New perspectives help.] The team . . .