Paul Sloane

Paul Sloane is the author of The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills and The Innovative Leader. He writes, talks and runs workshops on lateral thinking, creativity and the leadership of innovation. Find more information at destination-innovation.com.

Does Open Innovation lead to Faster Growth?

A recent study from the UK Innovation Research centre set out to examine how companies were using open innovation. The report makes a thought-provoking comparison of the innovation styles of companies. It indicates that those companies that are active in open innovation in both giving and receiving ideas achieve higher rates of innovation and of revenue growth.

Ideascale2019-10-15T15:14:52-07:00August 27th, 2013|Categories: Strategies|Tags: ambidexterity, business growth, growth, innovation, knowledge transfer, Open Innovation, report, zhang|

The Innovation Disconnect

CEOs talk enthusiastically about the need for innovation. Workers at the front line can see the needs and opportunities for fresh ideas. But somehow nothing happens. Ideas do not get implemented. Innovation grinds to a halt. This is the innovation disconnect and it has to be tackled head on.

Ideascale2021-12-05T17:10:11-08:00July 4th, 2013|Categories: Leadership, Organization & Culture|Tags: Communication, Creativity, idea implementation, idea management, influencing leadership, Innovation Culture, leading by example|

Rearrange the Process

If you want to innovate with a process or a service then try focusing on this word – rearrange. Describe your current process as a series of steps. Draw them out as a block diagram. Now try moving the blocks around and see where this leads.

Ideascale2019-10-15T15:13:29-07:00May 9th, 2013|Categories: Enabling Factors, Leadership|Tags: Creativity, innovation, innovation process, lateral thinking|

Does Encouraging Creativity in the Workplace Improve Innovation?

Let’s start by defining creativity as thinking of new ideas and innovation as implementing new ideas. The assumption has always been that if we want to deliver innovation in terms of new products, services, processes, etc. then we need lots of creativity in order to generate ideas. Creativity is the ‘front end of innovation’. It is how we fill the pipeline that generates a flow of new products. It follows that we should take actions to encourage creativity in the workplace if we want more innovation.

Ideascale2021-12-05T08:41:45-08:00November 9th, 2012|Categories: Enabling Factors, Idea Management|Tags: case study, company culture, Creativity, Employee Engagement, employee satisfaction, front end of innovation, fuzzy front end of innovation, Innovation Culture, motivation|

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?

Ideascale2021-12-05T08:21:30-08:00September 12th, 2012|Categories: Column & Opinion, Strategies|Tags: copycat, creative problem solving, idea implementation, Ideation, innovation method, inspiration, invention, Problem Solving|

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.

Ideascale2021-12-20T16:09:01-08:00May 2nd, 2012|Categories: Column & Opinion|Tags: case study, Failure, lessons learned, segway|

Innovation: Should you Roll the Dice?

Paul Sloane uses a gambling analogy to show how uncertain innovation is and why senior management isn't likely to approve a new idea after several failures in a row.

Ideascale2021-12-02T18:16:57-08:00March 27th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Competition, conservative, distribution, experiment, Failure, forecast, innovation, management, marketing, profit, research, revenue, risk, risk management, risky business, Success, winning|

To Innovate, Adapt Someone Else’s Idea

Very often the best way to innovate is to borrow someone else’s idea and apply it in your business. A successful innovation does not have to be an all-new invention. It just has to be something new to your business that is beneficial, explains Paul Sloane.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:33:43-08:00November 22nd, 2011|Categories: Idea Management|Tags: biomimicry, Competition, copycat, Creativity, customers, Ideation, inspiration, invention, knowledge sharing, open source, problem, solution|

To Innovate, Forget about what the ‘Experts’ Say

Experts tend to be notoriously wrong in their assumptions, especially regarding the impact of new technologies. So don't focus your strategy or innovation efforts on their perception of what the future will or won't look like.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-01T13:51:10-08:00July 6th, 2010|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: expertise, inspiration, lessons learned, quotes|

11 Dos and Don’ts for Small Group Ideation Sessions

There is a right way and a wrong way to run a brainstorm or ideation meeting. A little preparation pays dividends. It is very important to separate the two phases of the meeting, recommends Paul Sloane.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-11-16T12:53:40-08:00June 22nd, 2010|Categories: Idea Management|Tags: brainstorm, convergent thinking, Creativity, divergent thinking, diversity, fun, idea management, Ideation, lessons learned, motivational, quantity, suspend judgement, Teamwork, transform|

Innovation strategy: Praise the behaviors you want to see

If you want to change the culture of the organization then one of the best ways to do it is to praise the behaviors you want to see. If you want your people to be more adventurous, more entrepreneurial and more innovative then make a point of singling out for recognition those people who are acting like that, says Paul Sloane.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-01T13:35:28-08:00April 6th, 2010|Categories: Strategies|Tags: challenge, Collaboration, ideas, innovation, leader, praise, recognition, risk, strategy|

SCAMPER your way to greater innovation

SCAMPER is a productive and versatile technique for generating innovative ideas for your product or service. It forces you to look at your offering from seven different perspectives. Paul Sloane explains, and gives some examples of companies that have used this popular and highly effective technique to generate innovative products and services.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-11-16T13:48:22-08:00March 9th, 2010|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: adapt, combine, eliminate, idea generation, innovation, perspective, rearrange, SCAMPER, substitute, technique|

Break the Rules to Reveal Innovation Opportunities

A creative exercise called 'break the rules' can help to illuminate the the number and level of restrictions on how you work. It can also be the basis for new ideas, according to Paul Sloane.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-01T09:17:59-08:00February 2nd, 2010|Categories: Idea Management|Tags: brainstorm, challenge, Creativity, Ideation, innovation tool, rule breaker, rules, self-imposed limits, springboard, target prospects|

The Innovative Leader Needs Passion

To mobilize your workers to support innovation, you can't just tell them to be passionate. You must model passion every time you speak, instructs Paul Sloane.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-01T09:14:22-08:00January 5th, 2010|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: change, commitment, communicate, energy, enthusiasm, evangelist, goal, innovation, inspire, leader, passion, support, vision|

Allocate Time for Innovation

One of the most common barriers to innovation is lack of time. People are just too busy doing their day job to spend time trying new things. Here are some common-sense strategies to help your people to be creative, from Paul Sloane.

Sarah Vandenberg2021-12-01T09:14:33-08:00December 14th, 2009|Categories: Leadership, Organization & Culture, Strategies|Tags: barrier, challenge, creative, empower, experiment, goal, ideas, leadership, organization & culture, permission, resources, slack time, strategy, time|