Innovation Lessons Learned from Students
Here are some lessons I've learned about innovation from working with high school and college students. If their passion and enthusiasm is any indication, we have a bright future ahead!
10 Innovation Lessons from the Movie Moneyball
Very recently I had a pleasant surprise watching Moneyball movie in my local cinemas. I was expecting a typical "losers become winners" movie but it's actually a great story about disruptive innovation. Here are 10 take-aways from this excellent movie.
Chinese Innovation – Lessons from the East
The Chinese are innovating in a uniquely Chinese manner and consequently rising as formidable challengers to traditional multinational companies. Professor Winter Nie has found four interesting features regarding the manner in which the Chinese innovate: innovation on-site, innovation to reduce costs, tailored innovation and rapid product innovation.
10 Mistakes at the Start of Innovation
Do you find that good ideas get trashed because of mistakes made in the organization's handeling of the creative process? Gijs van Wulfen outlines 10 common innovation blunders. Do you have more?
Coaching SMEs to Innovate
In this article Dr Rowan Gilmore shares lessons from the AIC’s Innovation Coaching program which was first introduced to help Queensland (Australia) SMEs in 2009. The program works with SMEs in a number of industry sectors, helping company management to “think outside the box” to grow their business or develop new products and services.
Asking the Important Questions: A Guide to Design Thinking And a Better Way to Serve Customers
Design thinking should be a way of life for senior managers. Melba Kurman spoke to Sara Beckman, design and innovation expert at Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, about how to apply design thinking to the innovation process.
Creating a Culture of Innovation to Attract and Retain Top Talent
Many companies harbour narratives around overlooked opportunities that can come back to haunt them when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. What can we do to develop the right culture? Kathy Mast explores.
When DEC was the King of Innovation
At one time, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was one of the most innovative companies on the planet. What happened?
Innovation Lessons from Apple – Learn From a Modern Day Leader
In the face of increasing shifts in the world economy, and particularly increased competition across markets and company offerings, it would appear that one of the latest trends in instinctive strategic advice for companies is to become “more innovative!” Yet being more innovative is not necessarily easy. Learn more in this article by IMD professor Bill Fischer.
How Partners React to an Open Innovation Strategy
I have cited Psion Teklogix, provider of rugged mobile computers, several times on my blog for their promising approach to open innovation. Last month, the company took a big step forward with its strategic interpretation of open innovation – called Open Source Mobility (OSM) – when it brought its global partners together for a series of conferences at which they unveiled a new platform designed to give resellers and developer partners the opportunity to co-create with Psion.
Embrace Mistakes as a Source of Learning and Invention
How does your company deal with mistakes? If continuous learning from your employees, innovation and even breakthrough innovation are important to you, it is critical you embrace mistakes, at least as sources for learning and invention.
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.
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.
Market Orientation Supports Innovativeness Over Time
We know that clusters of co-located firms play an important role in supporting innovation and wealth creation. Spatial proximity can allow firms to take advantage of scale and positive externalities such as access to skilled labour, specialized subcontractors and rapid flows of information. Shared history, trust, and common understanding of phenomena may also enhance cluster members’ ability to interpret, and learn from, each other’s strategies. Yet location in regional clusters in and of itself does not guarantee success.
Innovation Strategy: Matching What is Possible with What is Needed
Corporate innovation has traditionally been driven from the technology side; from departments like R&D and engineering. It’s an approach that can be very successful. Indeed, it has often led to great breakthroughs. But if a company wants to win in today’s value-based economy, this is no longer the best way of doing things.