The Post-COVID Workplace: What to Expect Now and in the Future
As we start to think about a time when we can get back to the office and return to some sort of normalcy in the workplace, whether we are a startup or a well-established company, we will need to understand how we can best operate in a post-COVID workplace environment.
The Opportunity has Never Been This Big for Reinsurers to Invest in Innovation and Startups
In recent years, reinsurance companies have been closely working with startups. Among such joint endeavours, one can count the scouting for new technologies in order to integrate them with clients (insurance companies) and commercial business relationships with startups to which they have provided reinsurance in cases of events related to the policy coverage.
Open Source Respirator and Low Cost Ventilator Efforts to Fight Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Calling all doctors, nurses, designers, engineers and designers: join one of the amazing Open Source Ventilator Projects to contribute your passion, creativity, time and expertise to help develop low-cost ventilators to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Digital Tsunami
These days, when migrants arrive at a refugee camp, one of the first things they ask for is access to WiFi and electricity to recharge their cell phones. Their smartphone is as basic a resource for survival as food and water. This is a vivid reminder of the fact that we are fully immersed in a digital world.
Innovators: Are You Smart Enough For 2017?
We can all see that global commerce has evolved, innovative excellence has advanced and entrepreneurialism has accelerated. Just to make things more interesting, all of this change happened extremely rapidly. But how about our own intelligence? Are we really smart enough for 2017 and beyond? Ambition encourages us to reach for success, so let’s test our own entrepreneurial intelligence to see if we’re up to the challenges of 2017.
Innovation, Suffocation & Trump Nation
Innovation at best is like watering a nice healthy plant, making it grow and blossom; however, watering without the plant is just getting the dirt wet. Nothing happens. Currently, all over the world and with more than 100 major innovation themed events yearly, complete with great photo opportunities for local and national leadership, most nations have little to show for these super expensive efforts. It seems that we talk a lot about innovation and find ourselves stuck in the suffocation of great ideas. And, suddenly the Trump nation erupts on a high note!
Is Open Government the Same as Open Innovation?
For many years, companies were convinced of the competitive advantage of closed research and development. They jealously protected their intellectual property behind closed doors and dramatically revealed it to the public after years of development. This old model has since been replaced by open innovation.
Taxis vs. Uber: A Perfect Example of Resistance to Change
In cities all over the world an ugly war is being fought by “traditional” taxi companies against a new form of competition from Uber and other ride-sharing services. This article points out three things traditional taxi companies have in common with businesses of the past.
Innovation Method – Copy and Paste
One of the most common operations performed on a computer is copy and paste. We copy a section of a webpage and paste it into a document. We take it for granted. We grab an idea from one place and put it to use in another. So why not use this method for your next product or service innovation?
A Lesson in Innovation – Why did the Segway Fail?
The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing battery electric vehicle invented by Dean Kamen. It was launched in 2001 in a blizzard of publicity. Yet it has failed to gain significant market acceptance and is now something of a curiosity. In this article Paul Sloane takes a look at what lessons to be learned from the failure.
Customized Careers – a lattice replacing the traditional ladder
We think of careers like ladders, don’t we? And when careers do not go straight up the ladder, we do not see them as (good) careers. But if you are in the business of providing talent this is a tradition that may need to be replaced by innovation. Replacing the traditional ladder with a lattice has led to significant improvements according to Cathy Benko, chief talent officer for Deloitte.
Learning from Practicing Mass Customization and Open Innovation
Emotions, empathy, connection, love, storytelling, self-care – I am referring what I heard about the consumer. Creative revolution, democratization, social innovation, experience, passion – I am referring to what I heard about innovation.
Effective Innovation Management? Back to Basics!
For years, management and business schools have vastly exaggerated the importance of tools and theories in delivering innovations to the markets effectively. As common sense indicates, the overwhelmingly important predictor of success for an innovation is not the use of tools, “innovation frameworks”, or handbook of rules, but the quality of leadership of the project and the talent and motivation of the staff carrying it out. In innovation management, we need to go back to basics.
Different Strokes for Different Open Innovation Folks
Many firms discover in their search for unknown co-innovators that in different countries potential innovation partners react differently when they are approached by an Open Innovator. Frank Mattes looks at a recent study that may help shine light on the issue.
The Promise and the Reality of Collaborative Innovation
Practitioners in each new field emerge to explore its early, exciting promise, reconciling that potential with the results they achieve in reality. The rapidly emerging and rapidly evolving field of collaborative innovation is no different in this regard. In this article Doug Collins shares his perspective on the current state of affairs in terms of where the field stands, relative to the claims made on its behalf.
Open Innovation: To Cooperate or Collaborate –That is the Question
One of the major findings in mankind’s history is realizing the value of working together. Without it we would have starved to death about 100 000 years ago because a single man going hunting is very inefficient (I know – I am a hunter). We have also seen a very strong correlation between the amount of innovations happening and the number of people who are interconnected in the society during the course of the years.
Boosting Innovation by Integrating a Gender Perspective
Why does gender diversity matter when it comes to product and service innovation? What has research shown? And what does hard-won experience tell us? This article shows how businesses gain a competitive edge by integrating a gender perspective into their innovation work – a much needed boost as global competition becomes increasingly tough.
The Innovation Gap
Continuing our week of discussion on new directions for innovation David Weiss and Claude Legrand discuss the innovation challenge in an extract from their new book. Innovative Intelligence. Why don't leaders truly lead on innovation?
Transferring Innovation from Science to Business
From Science to Business on effective firm--university partnerships is a new book on the university-enterprise arm of innovation. Karin Wall talks with author Dr. Georges Haour, Professor at the executive education institute IMD.
StartUp America and the Realities of Innovation
StartUp America is President Obama's policy of choice to kick start jobs growth in the United States. StartUp America Partnership is a private sector initiative to help out. How closely related are they and what do they mean for innovation in America? We talked to Lesa Mitchell, VP Innovation at the Kauffman Foundation, one of the architects of the partnership.
From Product Development Manager to Chief Innovation Officer
Do large companies need a Chief Innovation Officer? First they need to think more clearly about the range of issues they can innovate their way through and those that they cannot.
Recalibrating the Innovation Metrics System
In last week's IM article we looked beyond national innovation metrics at how in the French system innovation is stifled by education, culture and systemic factors. Can we recalibrate innovation through national policy? This weeks concluding article looks at how the policy makers should be redirecting their efforts beyond traditional measures.
What Can We Learn from National Innovation Metrics? France as a Case Study in Change
National innovation statistics are regularly produced to make some Government agencies feel good about themselves and others feel bad – but do they really tell us how to make innovation happen more easily? In the first of a two part series we see how the French example holds salutary lessons for companies and governments.
Putting Higher Principles into Innovation Management: How to Be Guided by The Classical Approach to People
As innovation becomes a prevalent activity in organizations is it time to rethink how we approach the culture of innovative people? Deborah Mills-Scofield who previously worked with Bell Labs and now consults on innovations practice, argues we need a return to timeless values if we are going to make innovation sustainable.
Science & Technology Education: A Dutch Perspective
Policy makers who want to stimulate innovation need to look at the new generation of people coming into the workforce. But are they properly prepared to play a role in invention and change? Rob Blaauboer looks at Dutch experience of teaching them how.
What We Can Learn From MIT – It’s All About Impact not Income
MIT has an incredible reputation, is an amazing brand, and is connected to numerous tech transfer successes. It is true that the system in the US is very different to that in Sweden: The laws are different, there is more money available in most parts of the US system, the domestic market is larger and the culture is very different. However, this is not say that Sweden cannot learn from the example of MIT, and apply whatever is feasible.
Reclaiming the Co-creation Process from the Public Sector
Public sector innovation is a necessity, if we are to reduce public spending and address changing demographics. The public sector is lagging behind the private sector in transforming ideas into innovation, which made me question whether we are pursuing the wrong approach. This is not to say that I am questioning the abilities of people working in the public sector, but merely provoking a dialogue with the reader. You are all invited to join in!
Innovation Acromegali: How to Diagnose It & How to Cure It
This is the first piece in a blog series written by Ehsan Ehsani on innovation management leading practices.