What’s That Smell? Skunk Works® Meets Collaborative Innovation
The front and back ends of innovation test us in different ways. At the front end we wrestle with, “What problem is worth solving?” At the back end we wrestle with, “How do deliver something that offers greater relative advantage than the next best alternative?” The back end can test us the most. We tap fully our potential for leadership to produce something new—something that, in its newness, disrupts the status quo. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins explores the link between the Skunk Works®, a successful approach to the back end developed during World War II, in the context of today’s approach to collaborative innovation.
How To Become A Business Model Architect
Our first article in this series, titled “Include Business Model Review as a New Year Resolution”, described a method to reveal weaknesses in your business model. So, what do you do next after you complete your business model assessment and find weaknesses in one or more of its cornerstones? You find Value Accelerators (VA)™! VA’s are specific and market-proven ideas, assets or strategies that directly accelerate revenue and profit growth. This article discusses how to develop, assess and prioritize the best VAs to strengthen weaknesses in your business model. It also gives you a link to download an example of a scorecard to help prioritize the VAs.
Measuring Innovation part 1: Frequently Used Indicators
One of the most common questions people ask me is how I measure innovation when conducting my research. The question echoes an underlying concern about how innovation can be captured and adequately measured. In this article I delineate the most frequently used innovation indicators, their strengths, and their drawbacks.
The Supremacy of Innovation
Successful programs like TQM, Balance Scorecard and Six Sigma dramatically improve quality and performance. They are designed to rightfully calibrate the hard asset issues of production. There is a serious lack of three dimensional modeling for soft issues, like innovative thinking and the dimensions of the core vision itself enveloping all production issues. These image supremacy rules challenge current methods and offer checklists to assess the need of newer, softer and special agenda-centric approaches.
How to Develop your Innovation Management Consulting Business in Tough Times
Companies become increasingly restrictive in their consulting spending, especially during times of economic crisis, where the return on the investments on consulting services is questioned and carefully considered. Consulting in the area of innovation management is even more under pressure as it is usually much lower on the CEOs’ agenda than e.g. restructuring or general cost-cutting. Therefore, innovation management consultants face the challenge to develop their client base, be effective by providing the right recommendations and be efficient by developing these recommendations in as short a period of time as possible. Mastering such a challenge seems like searching for Columbus’ Egg in innovation management consulting.
The Persuasive Innovator: Influencing People to Collaborate
When you introduce the practice of collaborative innovation to your organization, you make the case to your colleagues that the approach will benefit them more than the status quo. Why might they agree with you? Why might they change their beliefs and behaviors? Have you developed your campaign of persuasion? Innovation architect Doug Collins shares his thinking on how you might influence people to share your beliefs about the benefits of the practice.
Making Ideation a Part of the ‘Innovation Project Machine’
Why is the way we work with ideation so different than the way we normally execute projects? This article argues that the two ways of working can be combined into an ‘innovation project machine’ that more effectively captures new ideas and executes innovation, inspired by agile project management and with learning for managers.
Why Bother about Innovation Strategy as SMEs?
There is discussion about how much effort should be put into developing an innovation strategy especially by small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Aren’t many successful innovative offerings just a result of trial, error and finally good luck? Insights in more than 1,500 SMEs from the IMP³rove database demonstrate that strategic focus helps secure profitable growth by innovation.
Using a War Room to Create Pervasive Innovations
Your teams did their market research. They ran an array of consumer insight sessions. They found the customers’ real Need. They ran professional ideation and storyboard sessions. They created prototypes and performed market tests. They developed their go to market strategy. They executed their plan. Product sales fell dramatically short of expectations. Why? What did they overlook?
Revisiting the Idea of a Fully Formed Idea
What elements comprise a fully formed idea? How might originators capture the evolution in their thinking about their ideas over time? Innovation architect Doug Collins—older and, debatably, wiser—revisits his thinking on this subject.
The Seven Essential Characteristics of Innovative Companies
What makes a company innovative? Innovation is nothing more than a tool that enables companies to achieve unique, strategic goals. It should not simply be a slogan, nor an end unto itself, argues Jeffrey Baumgartner. To be truly innovative, an organization should have seven essential characteristics.
How to be an Effective Innovator?
Being an effective innovator is not an easy task. The good news is that you can learn from others’ experiences. Gijs van Wulfen walks us through some of the important lessons he learned as a marketer, strategy consultant and innovation facilitator.
Get a Taxi – Anatomy of a Process Innovation
With over 400 million Google hits, “innovation” may be considered a buzzword, some entrepreneurs may even avoid talking about it, but they’re certainly practicing it! This article takes a closer look at an example of process innovation in the service industry. Understanding it better offers the possibility of spotting a large range of opportunities and converting them into business successes.
Inspiration Versus Aspiration: Two Approaches to Innovation Leadership
Inspiring leadership is what we have all been led to believe creates successful businesses. The fact that history is dotted with examples of successful companies which businesses study closely for clues their own leaders can emulate, clearly shows that we believe there is a formulaic style of leadership which is key to a thriving business. If only it were that simple. Kate Tojeiro, founder of progressive leadership consultancy, X-Fusion, takes a closer look at two key types of leaders.
A Simple Template for Choosing an Innovation Challenge
People who practice collaborative innovation envision a compelling future. They transform their communities, their organizations, and themselves by helping people realize their potential for leadership as they form and evolve ideas. Reality check: effective visionaries use pragmatic tactics to move from point A to B. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins shares a simple template that practitioners can use to help sponsors of innovation challenges choose where to begin their journey.
Creating Networks of Interest
Previously, we told you about a research project where we examined more than 60 companies considered to be vanguards in their respective fields. From this group emerged five “serial innovators:” companies that habitually detect where markets are going, and use innovation to meet new customer demand. These companies share a handful of characteristics, the first of which is leadership’s empowerment of innovation, which we addressed in depth last month. The second of these shared characteristics: They leverage interest networks.
Ascend Your Innovation Plateau: Think Leadership
Practice makes perfect. People master collaborative innovation as they convene people on the critical conversations and as they navigate the day in a life of innovation challenges. What’s next? What possibilities do we see for further progress? What possibilities do we see for leadership? In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins shares insights for the advanced practitioner: people who have become familiar with the blueprint for collaborative innovation and seek to hone their craft further.
Customer Integration in B2B Open Innovation
Today, almost any B2B firm claims to be “customer-oriented”. However, only few firms have a rigorous and stringent system that integrates the “best” (B2B) customers into its innovation process – where “best” in this context is measured not by volume of sales but by contribution to the firm’s innovation. A lot of insight has been generated on how to engage consumers in the innovation process. There is also a growing body of knowledge about how to innovate openly on the R&D side of the innovation process. But little has been written up so far about how to systematically integrate B2B customers in the firm’s Open Innovation system. innovation-3’s Frank Mattes closes this gap by sharing some insights.
How to Survive your Innovation Project?
Sometimes the most difficult part of innovation is how to survive your innovation project internally. Most organizations that really need to innovate have a risk adverse culture and managing innovation has everything to do with managing expectations and reducing risks. Gijs van Wulfen offers seven practical tips how to survive your innovation project.
Trimming the Web Portal Kudzu
Organizations introduce web portals to help people share information and ideas. Time passes. Sites proliferate like kudzu strangling a pin oak. Their numbers keep people from finding the information they need and from engaging in the conversations that matter. Collaboration slows. What is the web gardener to do? In this article innovation architect Doug Collins explores how the practice of collaborative innovation can help organizations trim their proliferating portals.
Establishing the Foundations for a Balanced Innovation Portfolio
Corporate innovation programs can’t fulfill their potential without the right foundations in place. Many organizations are taking their programs across the enterprise. In this article we consider three key foundations and how they can be boosted to improve corporate innovation: the linkage between every day innovation and corporate targets, the levels of openness, trust and acceptance of diverse opinions.
Making Collaborative Innovation Stick
People who practice collaborative innovation commit to transforming their communities and organizations in authentic ways. Through the practice, people realize their potential for leadership by posing the critical questions that matter and by convening peers to pursue the ideas that follow. And, let’s be honest: the practice takes a lot of work. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins reflects on ways in which people can approach the practice to increase the odds that it persists and proliferates.
External Risks of Innovation Projects
The fact that innovation is a risky business is well-known. But what are those risks? After the identification and the assessment of the internal and hidden risks of innovation projects Altin Kadareja now delves deeper into an exploration of the external risks of innovation projects, those risks that the company can/does not fully control, mostly related to factors external to the company, meaning coming mainly from its environment.
Can Multi-tasking Result in More than 60% Longer Project Time?
You want to be perceived as a good innovation project member, to be appreciated for your achievements – and just to safeguard that notion some of what you do leads to a success in time – you do multiple projects in parallel. But is this really efficient and effective? Check out Bengt Järrehult’s somewhat mathematical look at multi-tasking, where the exercise of putting numbers in leads to a result that may surprise you.
How to Develop your Innovation Management Consulting Business in Tough Times
Companies become increasingly restrictive in their consulting spending, especially during times of economic crisis, where the return on the investments on consulting services is questioned and carefully considered. Consulting in the area of innovation management is even more under pressure as it is usually much lower on the CEOs’ agenda than e.g. restructuring or general cost-cutting. Therefore, innovation management consultants face the challenge to develop their client base, be effective by providing the right recommendations and be efficient by developing these recommendations in as short a period of time as possible. Mastering such a challenge seems like searching for Columbus’ Egg in innovation management consulting.
The Persuasive Innovator: Influencing People to Collaborate
When you introduce the practice of collaborative innovation to your organization, you make the case to your colleagues that the approach will benefit them more than the status quo. Why might they agree with you? Why might they change their beliefs and behaviors? Have you developed your campaign of persuasion? Innovation architect Doug Collins shares his thinking on how you might influence people to share your beliefs about the benefits of the practice.
Making Ideation a Part of the ‘Innovation Project Machine’
Why is the way we work with ideation so different than the way we normally execute projects? This article argues that the two ways of working can be combined into an ‘innovation project machine’ that more effectively captures new ideas and executes innovation, inspired by agile project management and with learning for managers.
Why Bother about Innovation Strategy as SMEs?
There is discussion about how much effort should be put into developing an innovation strategy especially by small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Aren’t many successful innovative offerings just a result of trial, error and finally good luck? Insights in more than 1,500 SMEs from the IMP³rove database demonstrate that strategic focus helps secure profitable growth by innovation.
Using a War Room to Create Pervasive Innovations
Your teams did their market research. They ran an array of consumer insight sessions. They found the customers’ real Need. They ran professional ideation and storyboard sessions. They created prototypes and performed market tests. They developed their go to market strategy. They executed their plan. Product sales fell dramatically short of expectations. Why? What did they overlook?
Revisiting the Idea of a Fully Formed Idea
What elements comprise a fully formed idea? How might originators capture the evolution in their thinking about their ideas over time? Innovation architect Doug Collins—older and, debatably, wiser—revisits his thinking on this subject.
The Seven Essential Characteristics of Innovative Companies
What makes a company innovative? Innovation is nothing more than a tool that enables companies to achieve unique, strategic goals. It should not simply be a slogan, nor an end unto itself, argues Jeffrey Baumgartner. To be truly innovative, an organization should have seven essential characteristics.
How to be an Effective Innovator?
Being an effective innovator is not an easy task. The good news is that you can learn from others’ experiences. Gijs van Wulfen walks us through some of the important lessons he learned as a marketer, strategy consultant and innovation facilitator.
Get a Taxi – Anatomy of a Process Innovation
With over 400 million Google hits, “innovation” may be considered a buzzword, some entrepreneurs may even avoid talking about it, but they’re certainly practicing it! This article takes a closer look at an example of process innovation in the service industry. Understanding it better offers the possibility of spotting a large range of opportunities and converting them into business successes.
Inspiration Versus Aspiration: Two Approaches to Innovation Leadership
Inspiring leadership is what we have all been led to believe creates successful businesses. The fact that history is dotted with examples of successful companies which businesses study closely for clues their own leaders can emulate, clearly shows that we believe there is a formulaic style of leadership which is key to a thriving business. If only it were that simple. Kate Tojeiro, founder of progressive leadership consultancy, X-Fusion, takes a closer look at two key types of leaders.
A Simple Template for Choosing an Innovation Challenge
People who practice collaborative innovation envision a compelling future. They transform their communities, their organizations, and themselves by helping people realize their potential for leadership as they form and evolve ideas. Reality check: effective visionaries use pragmatic tactics to move from point A to B. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins shares a simple template that practitioners can use to help sponsors of innovation challenges choose where to begin their journey.
Creating Networks of Interest
Previously, we told you about a research project where we examined more than 60 companies considered to be vanguards in their respective fields. From this group emerged five “serial innovators:” companies that habitually detect where markets are going, and use innovation to meet new customer demand. These companies share a handful of characteristics, the first of which is leadership’s empowerment of innovation, which we addressed in depth last month. The second of these shared characteristics: They leverage interest networks.
Ascend Your Innovation Plateau: Think Leadership
Practice makes perfect. People master collaborative innovation as they convene people on the critical conversations and as they navigate the day in a life of innovation challenges. What’s next? What possibilities do we see for further progress? What possibilities do we see for leadership? In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins shares insights for the advanced practitioner: people who have become familiar with the blueprint for collaborative innovation and seek to hone their craft further.
Customer Integration in B2B Open Innovation
Today, almost any B2B firm claims to be “customer-oriented”. However, only few firms have a rigorous and stringent system that integrates the “best” (B2B) customers into its innovation process – where “best” in this context is measured not by volume of sales but by contribution to the firm’s innovation. A lot of insight has been generated on how to engage consumers in the innovation process. There is also a growing body of knowledge about how to innovate openly on the R&D side of the innovation process. But little has been written up so far about how to systematically integrate B2B customers in the firm’s Open Innovation system. innovation-3’s Frank Mattes closes this gap by sharing some insights.
How to Survive your Innovation Project?
Sometimes the most difficult part of innovation is how to survive your innovation project internally. Most organizations that really need to innovate have a risk adverse culture and managing innovation has everything to do with managing expectations and reducing risks. Gijs van Wulfen offers seven practical tips how to survive your innovation project.
Trimming the Web Portal Kudzu
Organizations introduce web portals to help people share information and ideas. Time passes. Sites proliferate like kudzu strangling a pin oak. Their numbers keep people from finding the information they need and from engaging in the conversations that matter. Collaboration slows. What is the web gardener to do? In this article innovation architect Doug Collins explores how the practice of collaborative innovation can help organizations trim their proliferating portals.
Establishing the Foundations for a Balanced Innovation Portfolio
Corporate innovation programs can’t fulfill their potential without the right foundations in place. Many organizations are taking their programs across the enterprise. In this article we consider three key foundations and how they can be boosted to improve corporate innovation: the linkage between every day innovation and corporate targets, the levels of openness, trust and acceptance of diverse opinions.
Making Collaborative Innovation Stick
People who practice collaborative innovation commit to transforming their communities and organizations in authentic ways. Through the practice, people realize their potential for leadership by posing the critical questions that matter and by convening peers to pursue the ideas that follow. And, let’s be honest: the practice takes a lot of work. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins reflects on ways in which people can approach the practice to increase the odds that it persists and proliferates.
External Risks of Innovation Projects
The fact that innovation is a risky business is well-known. But what are those risks? After the identification and the assessment of the internal and hidden risks of innovation projects Altin Kadareja now delves deeper into an exploration of the external risks of innovation projects, those risks that the company can/does not fully control, mostly related to factors external to the company, meaning coming mainly from its environment.
Can Multi-tasking Result in More than 60% Longer Project Time?
You want to be perceived as a good innovation project member, to be appreciated for your achievements – and just to safeguard that notion some of what you do leads to a success in time – you do multiple projects in parallel. But is this really efficient and effective? Check out Bengt Järrehult’s somewhat mathematical look at multi-tasking, where the exercise of putting numbers in leads to a result that may surprise you.
Cognitive Biases Inhibiting Innovation in Top Management Teams
The top management team of an organization is arguably the most important team for deciding and implementing innovation strategies. They typically decide which markets to be entered, which markets to be exited, and which new technologies to pursue. But decision making is fraught with biases – errors in judgment that affect the quality of decisions. Sometimes with devastating results. In this post we will see how basic human psychology affects the decision making of top management teams.
Core Competence Management in the Era of Open Innovation
“Core competences” are a major concept in managing innovations and technologies. In the era of Open Innovation, the established concept of core competence management needs to be updated. innovation-3’s Frank Mattes recently met with a group of 20 innovation / technology managers from leading firms to work out how this could be done – with the practitioner’s perspective in mind. In this article you will find the key results of the discussion.
5 key Success Factors to Enable Transformational Innovation within Businesses
Transformational innovation for many businesses is inherently complex and, in many cases, high risk. It can be a big distraction, expensive in terms of cost and resource bleed from other key activities, must be managed carefully and will frequently not be successful. This article explores some key factors to work with when looking for transformational innovation.
New Series of Articles on the Risks Faced by Innovation Projects
Every innovation project starts from an idea or a problem and mostly, all innovation teams do jump immediately to the feasibility study and scenario analysis dedicating little or no time to the assessment of the risks of innovation projects. This series of article represents an extended dashboard of internal, external and hidden risks of such projects in aiding innovation teams throughout their risk management activities. The first article looks deeper into what drives a successful innovation eco-system.
Open Innovation: External Partnership Best Practices
A couple of years ago, it seemed that everybody in the external innovation business aspired to be "partner of choice." That is, they wanted to be the company that external partners would preferentially approach with unsolicited new opportunities. Michael Fruhling is pleased to report that a number of companies have really stepped up their external partnering "game."