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So far Sarah Vandenberg has created 689 blog entries.

Unlocking “Pipeline Gridlock:” Effective Portfolio Management is the Key

Too many projects in the development pipeline is a common but serious complaint in new-product development departments. Pipeline gridlock leads to under-resourced development projects, which end up taking too long to get to market, and then often under-perform. Solutions are offered—Gates with Teeth, Red Flags, and the Productivity Index—to achieve a more balanced development pipeline with fewer projects but better projects.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-11-08T16:14:07-08:00November 8th, 2021|Categories: In-Depth Article, Training & Education|Tags: milestone, new product development, pipeline, pipeline gridlock, portfolio management, portfolio review, Product Development, productivity index, project monitoring, project prioritization, project resources, project tracking, red flag, resource allocation, stage gate|

What Companies are Excelling at Innovation in 2021?

Every year, IdeaScale hosts the Innovation Management Awards to honor the work of organizations who are accessing the voice of the crowd and the power of digital innovation programs to generate extraordinary results. The competition has three categories: best innovation engagement strategy, best innovation process, and best innovation overall. Here’s what we can learn from this year’s winners.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-10-31T15:17:55-07:00November 3rd, 2021|Categories: News, Trend Alert|Tags: Employee Engagement, incremental innovation, innovation assessment, innovation awards, innovation council, innovation process, milestones|

7 Essential Ingredients of a Crowdsourced Innovation Campaign

Many companies are introducing Innovation as a Service, which means an internal group acts as a consultancy that can solve problems for business owners. These innovation teams bring a number of skills to the table, including research, communications, project management, networking, and much more. Many have also adopted a “proudly found elsewhere” solution approach, which uses crowdsourcing to ask the entire workforce---or even beyond the walls of the organization---for solutions to existing problems.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-20T14:37:08-08:00October 20th, 2021|Categories: Open Innovation|Tags: Crowdsourcing, decision makers, goal setting, Ideation, innovation as a service, Stakeholders, subject matter experts|

Is Data Hindering Your Innovation Efforts? Five Data Missteps That Paralyze Innovation

Data can be a powerful enabler for innovation, but when used incorrectly, it can be a paralyzing force. It's a critical component in measuring and understanding the need for innovation—if you cannot measure something, you cannot improve it. Whether you collect data based on historical perspectives or through experiments, it can bring the insights needed for truly great innovations.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-10-18T19:04:04-07:00October 18th, 2021|Categories: Enabling Factors|Tags: data, data collection, data-driven innovation|

The Six Pillars of Innovation Culture

Every year, IdeaScale asks our customers what their main priorities are for the coming year, and without fail one of the top two priorities is to create a culture of innovation. Every innovation thought leader, every organizational engagement specialist, every pundit or leader in transformation says that this is the secret to avoiding disruption.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-09-28T16:38:53-07:00October 6th, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation, Organization & Culture|Tags: benchmarks, Collaboration, collaborative innovation, diversity, empowerment, Failure, Innovation Culture, innovation metrics, innovation policy, innovation training, intrapreneurship, listening, measuring innovation, metrics, transformation, transformational innovation|

How National Culture and Policy Impact Innovation Strategies

National cultures and policies influence innovation rates, approaches to innovation, and funding. Here's what innovation leaders need to know.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-09-29T20:54:21-07:00October 5th, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation, Strategies|Tags: ecosystem, national culture, national innovation system, siloing, vaccine|

How Leveraging the Gig Economy Keeps Innovation Flowing

The future of work involves embracing the gig economy, which includes freelancers, partners, and other vendors. Business leaders must scale with this in mind.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-09-29T19:51:35-07:00September 30th, 2021|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: contract workers, gig economy, gig workers|

Calculating the ROI of an Idea: Ideas That Saved Time

Crowdsourcing and open innovation initiatives are vital by bringing vast stakeholders together to share ideas on complex problems and opportunities. Much of the focus is set on engaging the crowd yet deciding which ideas to take a risk on requires data on the likely impacts and costs.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-10-06T09:37:16-07:00September 29th, 2021|Categories: In-Depth Article, Strategies, Support for SMEs, Training & Education|Tags: Crowdsourcing, estimated benefit, estimated cost, innovation campaign, innovation metrics, innovation process, innovation workflow, Open Innovation, open innovation workflow, Problem Solving, return on investment, ROI, Stakeholders, subject matter experts, task management, time management|

The US Coast Guard and Rapid Adaptation: “There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Textbook Hurricane’ or a ‘Standard Oil Spill'”

From recognizing innovators, to empowering your team at every level, to developing innovation outposts, the US Coast Guard are experts in innovation and idea management. Learn more in this podcast interview.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-08-31T12:07:09-07:00September 22nd, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation, Leadership, Organization & Culture, Podcast|Tags: Best Practices, brainstorming, coast guard, employee recognition, empowerment, idea frenzy, idea management, Ideation, innovation council, united states coast guard, us coast guard|

What to Tell Your Boss When You Make the Case for Innovation Management

The term “innovation management" has been around for a long time (at least since the 1980s – if not before), but for many business leaders establishing a sustainable innovation management program is still a new concept. Executives aren’t sure what skills they need, who should be on their team, what activities are essential to success, and who they need to partner with.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-08-31T08:28:34-07:00September 8th, 2021|Categories: Strategies|Tags: collaborative innovation, competitive advantage, Employee Engagement, Innovation Strategy, transformative ideas|

How to Break the 5 Habits That Hurt Ideation

Many companies find it hard to prioritize ideation. Here are five ways to break the pattern and gather a wealth of ideas for your organization.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-08-24T18:17:04-07:00August 24th, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation, Idea Management|Tags: brainstorming, chaos, creative thinking, Employee Engagement, employee recognition, idea evaluation, idea generation, idea management, Ideation, incentives, motivation, proactive, structure, value creation, variety|

How Do You Uncover Unseen Problems?

Anyone who works in the problem definition space knows the pitfalls of hidden issues. Solving a problem is sometimes dependent on who is articulating the problem, the lens with which they view the world, and the space that they have at the table...

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-20T14:35:39-08:00August 18th, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation|Tags: community engagement, Crowdsourcing, outreach, Problem Solving, problem sourcing, social media|

Five Reasons Why You Should Think Like a Criminal

Have you seen the movie The Day of the Jackal? [...]

Sarah Vandenberg2021-08-13T13:38:36-07:00August 13th, 2021|Categories: Innovation Psychology|Tags: ambition, breaking rules, Failure, lateral thinking, risk, risk-taking, weakness|

Four Traits Your Next CEO Must Have For Your Organization to Thrive

Want to ensure your organization will thrive over the long run? If so, then your next CEO must have these four traits – 1) relentless focus on the long-term future; 2) inherently entrepreneurial mindset; 3) solid grounding in reality and the fundamentals of business; and 4) behavior of a consummate diplomat.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-08-09T08:20:22-07:00August 10th, 2021|Categories: Leadership, Trend Alert|Tags: Agile, analytics, diplomacy, experimentation, honesty, leadership, long term planning, startup, strategy, transformation, trends, uncertainty, vision, volatility|

How Can Enterprises Think and Execute Like a Startup?

Around the world and across industries, enterprises are facing tremendous market upheaval. Transformation and disruption were the new normal well before the pandemic, but the coronavirus crisis accelerated certain trends toward innovation and digitization and led to the fundamental rewiring of old business models.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-20T14:35:07-08:00August 5th, 2021|Categories: Collaborative Innovation, Organization & Culture, Support for SMEs|Tags: Change Management, customer acknowledgment, ecommerce, enterprise innovation, enterprise mindset, incubator, innovation team, KPIs, pivot, risk aversion, stagnation, startup, think small|