Innovation Workshops : Eight key pitfalls to avoid
June 27, 2012
Is your organization about to run a design or innovation workshop? If so, what follows are cautionary tips and lessons learned collected from my experiences both as a participant in and a leader of various flavors of innovation and ideation workshops, in the States as well as various European countries. http://uxmag.com/articles/problems-with-innovation-workshops Read More →
Innovation and the Individual
June 12, 2012
Although we need teams to make things happen, innovation can occur on an individual basis. For an individual to create innovation, he or she must think creatively and understand the market as well as consumer wants and needs. An example of this took place during my early hands-on innovation days as marketing manager at Sylvania Lighting. Philips had developed the Long Life Soft White light bulb strategy, competing against GE Lighting. Consumers wanted soft white light bulbs and ideally longer life, so Philips... Read more »
What Do Innovators Have in Common?
May 29, 2012
In the Innovator’s DNA we discussed whether innovators are born or made. Research has shown that creativity is not a genetic predisposition but a result of a pattern of behaviors – so it can be concluded that all innovators must share a certain set of characteristics that have lead them to success. While innovators speak different languages, come from different cultures and various industry backgrounds, they all have fundamental traits in common. Robert’s Rules of Innovation suggests three... Read more »
Innovation: 3M’s lessons to be learned
May 15, 2012
While Apple is often the most highly touted company for its innovation success, 3M is a global innovation company that has remained under the radar for its long-term innovation plans and succeses. With $30 billion in sales and products sold in nearly 200 countries, 3M has made significant contributions to the health care, communications and office business – including bringing the world’s most recognizable brands Post-it Notes and Scotch tape to market. The root of 3M’s success is its business... Read more »
Five Questions to Ask Before Mapping Out an Innovation Plan
May 9, 2012
By focusing effort in the right places, companies can avoid oversight and increase their chances of innovation success. There are plenty of reasons to innovate. Especially now more than ever before, sustained innovation is the means to developing marketplace showstoppers that lead to profitable growth. Innovation is not a luxury that can be placed on the back burner, even for today’s successful companies. So before beginning your next innovation effort, here are some key questions to consider for mapping... Read more »
Tax Innovation: The Path to Long-Term Prosperity
May 2, 2012
By Robert Brands and Martin Kleinman We Americans need to wake up – now – and stop acting like spoiled, immature children. Elected officials need to put aside partisanship – now – and do what’s in the best interest of our country and speak the truth to the electorate. And we all must do this without fostering and perpetuating certain convenient misconceptions and without coddling us like soft, over-indulgent parents afraid to say “no.” We are in an economic fix... Read more »
Finding and Applying Serendipitous Innovations
April 17, 2012
Innovation is all around us, and if you see it, observe and learn from it so that you can use the idea elsewhere. A classic example of serendipity or success after failure is the story of 3M Post-it notes. In 1974, Stephen Silver at 3M research laboratories was trying to develop a strong adhesive and instead created a new adhesive that was not too strong, could stick on all surfaces and be removed easily without causing damage or leaving residue. Not knowing what to make of this, it was four years later that... Read more »
Five Key Innovation Questions to Ask
April 3, 2012
There are plenty of reasons to innovate. Especially now more than ever before, sustained Innovation is the means to developing marketplace showstoppers that lead to profitable growth. Innovation is not a luxury that can be placed on the back burner, even for today’s successful companies. So before beginning your next innovation effort, here are some key questions to consider for mapping out an effective innovation plan. 1. What type of innovation does your organization need? The key to implementing innovation... Read more »
Creativity Does Not Equal Innovation
March 20, 2012
Innovation and Creativity are words that are at times used interchangeably in the research and development process, but they have two distinct meanings. While creativity is about coming up with the big idea, innovation is about executing the idea and making it a business success. Do not confuse the two. An organization can certainly have creativity without the right steps to implement innovation. Innovation implementation calls for a robust, disciplined strategy. It can not be a one-time process, but must... Read more »
Three Issues that Stifle Innovation, and How to Overcome Them
March 6, 2012
As an innovation leader, you know how important a culture of sustained innovation is to the survival of your organization. However, there are many factors that can challenge the innovation process. These issues may come from team members, executives, or the general culture of the organization. Here some common challenges that companies deal with, and solutions for overcoming them. 1. The culture of the company is to keep doing things the way they’ve been done in the past – there is a lack... Read more »
Innovation Evolution
