Innovation is No Walk in the Park
The life cycle of products decreased by factor 4 the last fifty years. Innovation is essential. But it is difficult, risky and it demands a lot of resources. It’s no walk in the park. Innovation is an expedition.
7 Steps to Choosing An Idea Management System
While idea management is nothing new to the innovation discipline, it seems there are new idea management software systems continuing to surface with great frequency. I am not sure what the latest count is, but search the term ‘idea management software’ and you get over 59 million results. This article takes a look at what steps you can take to choose an idea management system that is right for you and your organization.
Mastering the Art of Innovation
You can hardly scan the Internet or pick up a business magazine without seeing references to innovation. Companies everywhere are emerging from decades of cost reductions and are now focusing on efficiency, while looking for the next breakthrough idea… the next Post-It Note, the Frappucino or even the new Internet.
Shut Up In a Brainstorm for Better Results
The effectiveness of brainstorms is challenged. A lot of them are done in the wrong way. In this post, Gijs van Wulfen suggests you should shut up in a brainstorm for better results.
How to Find Customer Frictions
An innovation is a simple new solution for a relevant problem. That’s why at the start of innovation you should look out for relevant problems instead of ideas. But how do you find them?
How to Get the Most from your Innovation Software: Key Process Considerations
The first article in this series focusing on collaborative enterprise innovation explains how software can help engage your enterprise in innovation and shares experiences from clients as to the other key activities required to make a ‘software-enabled’ program successful over many years.
Thinking Like a Designer
Thinking like a designer can transform the way you approach the world when imagining and creating new solutions for the future. It’s about being aware of the world around you, believing that you play a role in shaping that world, and taking action toward a more desirable future. In my new book ‘The Innovation Expedition’ I describe the five characteristics necessary to think like a designer.
Three Ways to Achieve Breakthrough Innovation
How might you foment authentic breakthroughs through collaborative innovation? The fuzzy front end, by name and nature, fails to lend itself to foregone conclusions. Yet, as the innovation practitioner, you can take certain steps that increase the likelihood of achieving breakthroughs. In this article innovation architect Doug Collins explores the most critical steps for people who see the practice as a means of transforming the organization.
The Perfect Innovation Team
In my new book ‘The Innovation Expedition’ I love to refer in discussions on innovation teams to The Mayo Clinic's Center for Innovation. The Mayo Clinic is a best-practice organization, which was researched in APQC's Innovation: Putting Ideas into Action 2009 study. It favors a specific combination of personalities when it builds innovation teams.
You Can’t Innovate Alone
You can invent on your own, but in an organization you can never innovate alone! You need an awful lot of colleagues and bosses to share your vision before a big change can truly take place.
7 Tips for Outcome-Driven Innovation
While many people believe that process and structure stifle creativity - the center of gravity for sourcing and inspiring innovation – this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, planning ahead streamlines the process and surfaces any potential bottlenecks ahead of time, resulting in a program that is more apt to produce meaningful outcomes and return on investment for organizations.
Making the Right Idea Investment Choices- Idea Evaluation at Scale
Previous articles in this series focusing on collaborative enterprise innovation have covered topics such as the benefits of software platforms in enterprise innovation, internal communications, increasing engagement and driving collaboration. In this article we share insights on evaluating large numbers of ideas generated as part of enterprise programs.
How To Innovate The Expedition Way
Innovation is essential. But it is difficult and risky. Inspired by great explorers like Columbus, Magellan, Amundsen, Hillary and Armstrong a method for ideating new concepts was developed, designed as an expedition.
6 Ways To Commit Innovation Suicide
When starting innovation, a lot of the same mistakes are made over and over again. Here is how you can recognize and avoid them.
How to Pick the Right Idea?
Often times coming up with new ideas is not the hard part. In this example, a team came up with 752 new business ideas in a single workshop. But how can you pick the ‘right’ ideas? Gijs van Wulfen shares five lessons that he has learned in his innovation practice.