The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft
Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin
Wiley (February 2025)

Two Microsoft Insiders Explain Innovation in Highly Innovative Ways

Years ago during my interview of him, John Kotter suggested that the greatest challenge to change agents is to change the way they think about change. Brothers Tom and David Kelley made essentially the same point about creative thinking when I interviewed them.

What we have in The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft is a wealth of information, insights, and counsel that Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin (the “insiders”) provide based on their wide and deep experience, most recently at Microsoft. It’s “the most diversified tech company on the planet — it’s active in a wide array of categories, from enterprise software and consumer devices to social media and large infrastructure. In essence, it’s many companies in one, but the shared parent organization provides a common denominator for the analyses.”

The material is based on real-world experiences that involve real people facing real challenges while pursuing real goals. For example, “the Xbox case is one of seven case studies shared in the first half of this book…Each chapter explores a unique take on innovation, starring a different cast of characters who work to overcome a specific set of challenges.

“On its own, each chapter seems one of a kind. But when examined as a whole, four patterns of practice emerge that are explored in the second half of the book. Together, these patterns describe how innovation happens at Microsoft. Not just day in and day out and year in and year out, but also with everyone across every aspect of business.”

I urge you to check out:

o The Three Hypotheses (Pages 21-22)
o The Seven Cases (22-25)
o The Four Patterns or Common Threads (26-28)

o The Four Success Factors: New Thinking Needed (144-150)
NOTE: Think innovatively about innovation

o PATTERN #1 INNOVATING EVERY DAY (155-174)
o PATTERN #2 INNOVATING OVER THE YEARS (175-190)
o PATTERN #3:INNOVATING WITH EVERYONE (191-208)
o PATTERN #4 INNOVATING MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY (209-223
o Three “Guiding Principles” (226-229)
o “Key Takeaways” and “Authors’ Highlights” at the end of the “Introduction” and each of the chapters that follow.

FYI: The etymology of “innovation”: mid-15th century, innovacion, “restoration, renewal,” from Late Latin innovationem (nominative innovatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of innovare “to change; to renew,” from in- “into” (from PIE root *en “in”) + novus “new” (see new). Meaning “a novel change, experimental variation, new thing introduced in an established arrangement” is from 1540s.

I commend Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin on their brilliant, substantial contributions to thought leadership throughout the global marketplace and highly recommend this material to all C-level executives and those who aspire to become one as well as middle managers and those who are now preparing for a business career or have only recently embarked upon one.

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the aforementioned set of “Key Takeaways” and “Authors’ Highlights” at the end of the “Introduction” and each of the chapters that follow.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.