FRAUD, INNOVATION and societal cost of business gone bad
November 8, 2010
Bernard Madoff’s and Scott Rothstein’s Ponzi schemes. Medicaid / Medicare scams. School board officials who sell their votes for cash. Mortgage fraud, foreclosure “robo-signers” and short-sales wrought with misdeeds. From Wall Street to Main Street to Washington – and the headline news, very smart, innovative people are gaining prominence nationwide for fraud. Investment scandals, Ponzi schemes and rip-offs in all forms seem epidemic. They capture our attention. We express outrage.... Read more »
The Real Recipe for Innovation
November 2, 2010
By Holly G. Green When I talk to business leaders, I always ask about the most difficult challenges they face day in and day out. Increasingly, I’m hearing about how hard it is to innovate on a consistent basis. This anecdotal evidence is now being supported by a recent McKinsey Global Survey that polled more than 2,200 senior executives around the globe on the challenges of managing innovation. Eighty-four percent of the executives who responded said they consider innovation to be very or extremely... Read more »
Innovation and the Necessity to Inspire
October 24, 2010
In order for organizations to successfully achieve Innovation – the lifeblood of any company – Robert’s Rules of Innovation gives ten imperatives to follow in order to attain sustainable growth. The ten imperatives begin with the first step that needs to be accomplished before any progress can be made, and that is to Inspire and Initiate. After all, every team needs inspiration to begin a New Product Development process that will drive them towards successful Innovation. Inspiration for companies... Read more »
All Successful Innovation Needs a Champion and Ownership
October 23, 2010
This is the forth part in a series of articles that take the need of innovation under the loop and share some of the imperatives, must haves if you will, to create and sustain “NEW” in business or organizations. This article focuses on the need for ownership, as all successful innovations need a champion within the organization. See the full article in InnovationManagement here. Innovation needs ownership, a champion within the organization. The champion must convince others to take calculated risks... Read more »
How Can Your Company Survive in the New Economy While Others Crash?
October 22, 2010
Six out of ten new businesses fail. Unemployment isn’t getting any better. The housing market is set for another bump in the road next quarter. And as if the cake needed icing, the FDIC is reporting that about half of America’s banks Continue reading “How Can Your Company Survive in the New Economy While Others Crash?” » Read More →
Innovate to Thrive: Time to Open the Throttle
October 17, 2010
As leaders search for the next process that will transform their organizations into category leaders, for many – it seems – the answer is close at hand: Innovation. Over the past several weeks and 10 posts on the Vistage Blog , we’ve reviewed key imperatives that formed “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” and that together create the foundation upon which to build, improve, sustain and grow an organization’s innovation mandate. Consider this the closing chapter in an 11-step... Read more »
Observe & Measure for Continuous Improvement
October 10, 2010
Of the ten imperatives of Robert’s Rules of Innovation, this step is all about continuous improvement. It is necessary to Observe and Measure throughout the Innovation process, or else, how would you recognize successful Innovation? A system of metrics will objectively show your progress and success each step of the way. Plan. Do. Check. Act. It’s essential to follow a course of actions that produce ongoing improvement. So first, gather initial observations and measurements at the beginning of... Read more »
Cashing In On Intellectual Property
September 22, 2010
Maximizing Innovation by Translating Intellectual Property into Revenue What’s in your IP cupboard? Progressive companies create innovation teams. They invest countless man-hours, dollars and other resources in investigating and pursuing innovation. Yet they often leave their intellectual property untouched, thereby failing to translate patents and other IP into revenue opportunities. American industry and academia hold some two million current patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.... Read more »
Net Rewards
September 5, 2010
Innovation is ultimately about return on investment at the end of the New Product Development process. With the success of a new product launch, everyone benefits – from shareholders and company employees to the consumers. Innovation done well reaps market share gain, new products and new features. Essentially, everyone wins. The last imperative of Robert’s Rules of Innovation is Net Results, Net Reward, meaning recognizing the people who contributed to the development of a new product. It’s... Read more »
Businessweek Column
September 4, 2010
Robert Brands is a featured columnist in Businessweek’s Innovation section. Get information on business process innovation. See Robert Brands’ Column on Busniessweek.com Innovation: From White House to C-Suite Health-care reform was a tale of two Presidents. The first, President Barack Obama (circa 2009), had the expectation that health-care reform could be driven through Congress and straight to his desk with little more than his mandate that it get done. Last summer, he demanded a bill on his... Read more »
Innovation Evolution
