Interdisciplinary Innovation: Being Innovative is a Way of Imagining, Perceiving, Expressing, Inventing & Inspiring

Innovators present creatively disruptive traits, disrupt old ways, and inspire better ways to do things. They are passionate to connect, to learn, and to explore by understanding commonalities and appreciating uniqueness. Being innovative is a growth mindset and a proactive attitude. You cannot wait for something to happen---keep curious, always think profoundly, learn fresh knowledge, and acquire new capabilities.

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.

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.

Five Questions to Answer Before Crowdsourcing

As the director of the IdeaScale Crowd community, I recently had the opportunity to share some insights and best practices for innovators who are new to crowdsourcing, and may not have conducted their first campaign yet. We discussed five questions to ask as you prepare for your first campaign, why those questions are important, and some examples of good and bad answers to those questions.

Coronavirus Crisis Only Heightens the Need for Innovation and Co-Creation

Those of us that work in the innovation management sector need no convincing of the benefits that it can bring to businesses and government departments all over the world. Adopting an innovative culture and approach allows an organisation to survive and thrive in the highly competitive modern business world and helps prevent them from becoming irrelevant or even obsolete.

How Many Types of Innovation Are There?

Innovation thought leader Nick Skillicorn recently did a pretty good job summarizing all of the innovation theories. And we noticed that there are a few key similarities between most (or all) of these theories that we think are interesting! Download this infographic to learn more about the 15 Theories of Innovation.

The Problem With Australian Innovation Programs: and Lessons for Other Countries (Part 2 in series)

Over the past few months I have been spending time with a range of Australian companies, getting to better understand their business models and approaches to innovation. While there is plenty of good news for Australian businesses and their innovation practices (see my previous article), there is a justified sense of concern around maintaining sustained, robust growth in the face of digital and exponential disruption.

What the Australian Economy Gets Right About Innovation; and Lessons for Other Countries (Part 1 in series)

Over the past few months I have been spending time with a range of Australian companies, getting to better understand their business models and approaches to innovation. After working with US / European organizations for many years, it’s been refreshing to see the actions and impact of innovation in this market.

The Key Challenges of Government Innovation

Last month, leaders in public sector innovation gathered to discuss ways of crowdsourcing new solutions to longstanding problems at IdeaScale’s Open Nation DC. Speakers from a range of agencies as diverse as the FDA and the US Coast Guard presented best practices on creating actionable change in government.

How to Keep Your Employees from Losing their Creativity

The most successful businesses and corporations in the world place employee satisfaction on the same pedestal as customer satisfaction. These corporations understand that without a loyal, creative, and cohesive team of satisfied employees, success cannot be attained.

Do Open-Concept Offices Promote Innovation?

Do open-concept offices live up to their hype when it comes to encouraging innovation and collaboration? Or do they hinder productivity by sacrificing privacy - and in some cases, comfort? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

How Innovation Fuels a Sense of Purpose in the Workplace

Drawing a connection between innovation and workplace purpose often eludes companies looking to hire the best people for their teams. Let’s take a look at what needs to happen to make this possible.

Hold Innovation & Mobilize National Entrepreneurialism

We are over flooded with massive innovation lacking commercialization; we have qualifications, certifications and degrees but seriously lacking directions; we have incubators and accelerators exhausted like real estate projects…we have make-believe economical development games but the real progress is not there. So what else we need?

How to Foster an Organizational Culture that Encourages Innovation

Innovative and forward-thinking companies are successful because they have new, exciting, and useful products or services before others and consumers take notice of companies regularly producing the next big thing. These companies are more effective and they can grow more rapidly because their company culture encourages innovation among their employees. A company of “intrapreneurs” can quickly become a successful and noteworthy company.

How to Get Your Innovative Idea off the Ground in the Current Economic Climate

Incredibly, business confidence in the UK is continuing to rise, despite the spectre of Brexit and its potential implications on citizens. Many experts have attribute this to the growth of the manufacturing sector, which recorded a Credit Manager's Index (CMI) score of 62.7 during the first quarter of 2017 and a 1.5% increase from the previous quarter. This hints at significant growth potential for product-oriented firms, which are currently able to increase exports due to a more competitively priced (and fundamentally weaker) pound.