Redefining Innovation’s True Reward: Amassing Intellectual Property and Value Creation

July 26, 2010

What is the ultimate goal of process-driven innovation? Open a bottle of Coca-Cola - and read its performance reports - to get a true taste of the answer. In 1980, the Coca-Cola Company was struggling, and its market share was underperforming compared to its competitors. So at a worldwide management conference in 1981, CEO Roberto Críspulo Goizueta decided to refocus the entire organization on putting value creation first. The company refined its marketing investment, expanded into new markets, and acquired... Read more »

Building Corporate Innovation Capability

July 21, 2010

Great Initiative from Statkraft by Stefan Lindegaard I have been invited to work with Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy company on their Innovation Agent Programme. This is the second year, I am involved in this programme and I am quite impressed by their efforts. A key goal of the programme is to increase Statkraft’s innovation capability. This is partly measured by how many business units are engaged in defined innovation activities. The main objective is that every business... Read more »

Rethinking Privacy

July 20, 2010

Bynamite – Is it the modern day Madonna-Whore complex? by Ric Merrifield Bynamite Reputationdefender MyIDPal Abine Foursquare . . .even Zillow Not familiar with these companies? You should be, because they are plotting the course for the future of internet privacy and how we interact with people and merchants. Bynamite is just the latest and there is a very good article about them here. In short, Bynamite has (correctly, in my opinion) seen that each time we conduct a search on the... Read more »

What’s Your 2011 Strategy?

July 20, 2010

Why you need to get started now… by Matt Heinz Yes, I’m asking about January in July. You don’t have to have your budget set. You don’t need to know your January sales quota. But at this point in the year, you probably have a reasonable idea of how you’ll finish 2010. Especially if you work in a recurring-revenue business, you have a good idea of expected 2010 revenue and margin. So what’s ahead for next year? What’s your 2011 revenue and profit... Read more »

Six Social Media Metrics You Should Be Tracking

July 18, 2010

by Mike Brown When thinking about your social media strategy, you should be planning for six important metrics. What are the six? There are three different levels of social media participation and two different types of metrics. Put them in a 3 x 2 metrics, and you get six. Here’s the rundown on the three social media engagement aspects to measure: Activity – Any metrics relating to actions your organization is taking on social media: blogging, tweeting, posting, promoting, etc. Interaction... Read more »

What is Pleasure?

July 17, 2010

by Kevin Roberts What is it about Adidas sneakers that makes me so happy to wear them? Why does New Zealand’s mountainous landscape bring me so much enjoyment? These sound like rhetorical questions, but Yale University psychologist Paul Bloom wants answers. In his new book How Pleasure Works, Bloom takes a crack at explaining the nature of pleasure. Considering the complexity of his subject matter, the answer he provides is actually quite simple: “What matters most is not the world as... Read more »

The Practice of Excellence

July 16, 2010

Limits Thereto. Or Not? by Tom Peters As you doubtless know, one of my signature phrases is… EXCELLENCE. Always. I mean it! But what does it mean? Someone joked, “Excellence in leadership! Excellence in innovation! Excellence in management! Excellence in excellence!” That is, the phrase can readily be reduced to meaninglessness or even absurdity. Fact is, some tasks are not worth pursuing to the point of excellence. (Maybe, more in a minute.) That is, life for all of us contains... Read more »

Business Innovation and the I in Team

July 11, 2010

Innovation counselors and organizational consultants alike extol teamwork as the key to shared success. For projects or new initiatives to succeed, it’s said all involved have to be “on the same page” or working together as one. But does that include innovation initiatives in the corporate environment? Actually, look at the basketball court for comparison. This month, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh – each highly successful and well-paid athletes – gave up a chance at millions... Read more »

Do Your Innovation Emperor, Rules & Idea Management Help or Hinder the Process?

July 2, 2010

In the pursuit of innovation, many “enlightened” companies try to follow what they believe are established morays and best practices. They install someone to manage new product development or innovation. They set up a litany of rules. And they select only the “best” ideas for further development. Then they wonder why innovation falls fallow. A recent study from The Nielsen Company. found that companies with acknowledged, successful innovation practices also have limited involvement... Read more »