Every year, IdeaScale hosts the global Innovation Management Awards and honors winners in three different categories: engagement, process, and implementation. We see these categories as the cornerstones of any successful innovation program, so the winners this year actually excel at each of these things.
Corporate training is rarely considered to be fun. It’s mostly seen as a necessary evil that serves to notify the new recruits of everything that they need to be aware of when they first start working for a company. It doesn’t have to be this way, and it shouldn’t be this way. Technology has come a long way, and new employee training software is here to make training programs easier to create and learn from.
Gamification in e-learning is not the same as playing online games: it essentially means adding game elements to non-game activities and processes; and even if actual games are involved, they will have a purpose and affect work positively.
Visions and consequently major innovations are molded by the technical and human revolutions that industries live in. In a time when just one big industrial revolution existed, every company simply had to follow the common path (see production automation in the 60's-70's). The 20th century car industry was a good example. Then Internet technology came onto the scene (more complex and diverse than the web from the early 2000's) and the thread for innovation is no longer so straight forward.
Educational institutions have the reputation of being slow-moving behemoths, but this label is undeserved. According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the educational sector worldwide is more innovative than it gets credit for.
Innovation has become a bit of a business buzzword. Every CEO and CIO worth their salt wants to be seen to be on the forefront, bringing new products and services to a market. However, it doesn’t always go to plan, and rushing in to things head first without the proper due diligence can land a company in hot water.
They say variety is “the spice of life” – but in our working lives, it’s the spice, ingredients and a good portion of the kitchen equipment too. In striving to build comprehensive and sustainable enterprise innovation programs however, too often I see companies then ignoring the need for diversity – both in the reach and composition of their programmes. We are long past the days where a company’s growth can be sustained with innovation from a few solitary individuals in a lab or conference room. Innovation nowadays needs to be a singular mindset across the entire company – with executives not just asking, but instead requiring collaborative input from across the organisation as they look to solve the strategic and tactical problems that stand in the way of progress.
In 2014, you did all the right things and your business began to take off like a Harrier Jump Jet. However, now that you’ve been cruising at a high altitude for awhile, you can either choose to stay on course or go to a new level of elite performance.
Innovation Games and its rapidly increasing applications are not anymore unknown concepts to innovation driven organizations. Either referred to software applications or other online and offline game methods, all its elements are powerful means for fostering workplace social intelligence and innovation practices. In the fifth of a series of articles focused on Innovation Culture, our attention is on the emerging business use of innovation games beating all the traditional creativity and analytical tools.
We are moved by goals. The resolve to reach the finish line pushes us forward: at work, in life. Why then do we keep idea management initiatives alive when it’s not clear what results they deliver (if any)? And how often have we yearned for a formula that definitely makes it all happen?
More than ever, companies need to engage their employees to assure long-term viability. Yet, overwhelmed with information, people’s attention spans have become shorter and shorter. Their willingness to contribute to lateral activities has shrunk, particularly if these are boring or create anxiety. And innovation is often no fun…or can it be?
You can find in this article a grasp overview of reasons for change in our organization and how it could be boosted by applying innovative approaches.
Can you improve the innovation process as well as reducing the cost of engaging with users, developing new ideas and prototyping and testing solutions by making use of virtual environments? Jeffrey Philips and Jena Ball point the way.
