Pulp Innovation XXVI:Trend Spotting
With concern and anticipation about a potential client looming in the air, the Marlow Innovation Firm focuses its energy on a trend spotting and synthesis project.
The next frontier: Digital innovation
Nicholas Webb's new book, The Digital Innovation Playbook, makes a compelling case for the idea that innovators must engage in digital channels, listen actively to customer needs that are stated or implied, and then transform these insights into innovative new products and services that deliver exceptional value.
Innovation for Financial Services
The concept of “financial innovation” can be defined as making and promoting new financial products and services, developing new processes to facilitate financial activities, to interact with customers and to design new structures for financial institutions. This article takes a look at the needs for innovation in the financial sector and some basic requirements.
How Improvisational Techniques can Benefit Innovators
The techniques of improvisational performance can be applied in helpful ways to any situation where people are collaborating to innovate or build something, says improv expert Kat Koppett.
Seven Managers Struggling with Innovation
Managers may come in all shapes and sizes, but almost all of them struggle with innovation or the lack there of in their organization. Gis van Wulfen introduces us to seven different managers who explain their views on innovation. Do you recognize any of them?
Intellectual Asset Management for Universities
Universities can now access a new tool to help develop and manage their intellectual assets. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has a new strategy guide called 'Intellectual Asset Management for Universities’. This new guide provides advice and information to universities to help them understand how they can best use their institution's Intellectual Property. This can be an invention, trade mark, original design or the application of a good idea.
How to Master Innovative Leadership
Innovation obviously requires creativity. That much everyone agrees on. However, it has a secret ingredient that must not be left out: Leadership. All innovators have to play leadership roles, whether they are in formal executive positions, or quite the opposite. In this article Alexander Hiam delves deeper on how to master innovative leadership.
Social Product Innovation – Real Challenges and Real Solutions
As companies start looking at ways to incorporate social media models and technologies into the innovation and product development process, there seem to be two very defined – and very vocal – arguments for and against. One side seems to have the opinion that social media will save the world. If everyone can just happily and openly share and co-create, life will be better and easier. The other side believes that social media is a waste of time and has no place in business, much less embedded in the sacred innovation and product development processes that many companies hope will help them stay afloat and even grow during the recession and recovery.
The Innovator’s DNA
What are the characteristics or skills of a strong innovator? In The Innovator’s DNA, authors Dyer, Gregersen and Christensen set out five skills or attributes they claim are consistently demonstrated by successful innovators. The identification of these attributes is helpful but the book fails to fully address how firms should take advantage of the new insights, especially at an enterprise level.
Trend Alert: Hard Times to Help Sustainability?
While consumers continue to profess a desire to do the right thing, in reality they often do not – choosing convenience and product performance over higher prices and/or ethical and sustainable production and products. But the values shift accompanying the recession in the west, may be the background against which new approaches to sustainability could flourish by creating win:win strategies and greater clarity.
Pulp Innovation XXV: Creating an Organized Innovation Methodology
A new consultant needs training in the firm's methods and processes as well as in the ideology behind them. In this chapter of Pulp Innovation, Marlow walks us through their organization and consolidation strategy which results in a valuable curriculum for the apprentice and clients alike.
Framing the Critical Question: Insights from Survey Research
Campaign teams cover a lot of ground as they work with the sponsor of a collaborative innovation challenge. In this article, innovation architect Doug Collins makes the case that campaign teams should focus their energies on helping the sponsor develop the critical question that serves as the basis for convening the community. Forming the powerful question—the question that accurately reflects the sponsor’s intent and that resonates with the community—yields the greatest return on time spent in developing the campaign, relative to its ultimate success.
Lessons in Business Transformation
Is the world turbulent and hard to predict or changing in discernible ways? Two prominent strategists have different views, but draw similar lessons for business leaders.
Chinese Innovation – Lessons from the East
The Chinese are innovating in a uniquely Chinese manner and consequently rising as formidable challengers to traditional multinational companies. Professor Winter Nie has found four interesting features regarding the manner in which the Chinese innovate: innovation on-site, innovation to reduce costs, tailored innovation and rapid product innovation.
Coca Cola Is Accelerating Its Social Maturity
Coca Cola is taking its Social Media efforts one step further. The brand is going to hire an agency that will mine Social Media data to understand what customers are saying about the brand and looking for. It’s an attempt to consistently understand the Social Web and benefit from it for the different brands, supply chains and so on.
Five Strategies to Light a Fire Under Your Innovation Program
How can we introduce a culture of radical innovation into our companies before we get to the brink of bankruptcy? Harvey Briggs shares strategies to make sure your company feels the heat before it's too late.
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 Great Innovation Challenge of the 21st Century
Global economic challenges that have had a profound affect on businesses will continue to do so indefinitely. This means that businesses must not only innovate in order to survive, but they will need to innovate in new ways to meet the changing needs, expectations and financial situations of their customers.
Pulp Innovation XXIV: Taking One’s Own Advice
Matt and Marlow are faced with a tough decision when they consider adding another partner to their team. Will they end up taking the same advice they offer to their own clients?
Drafting Mini New Business Cases
Mini new business cases tackle the critical uncertainties during the ideation phase so that your idea makes the best first impression to the board. Gijs van Wulfen explains how.
Creative Tinkering: A fascinating new book from creativity expert Michael Michalko
Michael Michalko is the author of my favorite creativity book of all time - Thinkertoys. So I was thrilled to hear that he was coming out with a new book, entitled Creative Tinkering: Putting Your Imagination to Work
Lincoln’s Crowdsourcing: Allowing Consumers to be Designers
At the Pebble Beach, Calif. Concours D'Elegance Ford Motor’s Lincoln brand introduced a new tool “Virtual Voice of the Customer” to test design concepts on consumers. Lincoln asked attendees of the classic car show Aug. 20-21 to look at three design concepts based on vehicles from the '60s, '70s and '80s.
Pulp Innovation XXIII: Ethnography Expertise in the Consulting Firm
Matt and Marlow consider hiring an experienced ethnographer and market research consultant to the team. Can a candidate coming from a slow, controlled culture meet the demands of their practice? And more importantly, does she share their same views on qualitative tools?
Social Media and Product Development – from Theory to Practice
Many of us have seen those “Did You Know?” videos on YouTube. With millions of views, these compelling videos give facts and stats on globalization in the information age, demonstrating the pervasiveness of social media as a medium for collaboration, knowledge sharing, open discussion and relationship building. This post briefly discusses three areas that show the most promise for generating real business value.