The Secrets to Making Open Innovation Projects Work

Open innovation often requires global teams with national culture differences to work together, which presents some challenges. Here’s how to navigate them.

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.

3 Ways to Reduce Costs While Maintaining Business Integrity

Integrity is regularly considered one of the top characteristics that a business leader can have — whether you're asking employees or CFOs. Sometimes, however, business integrity is considered a cost or burden — a commitment that is almost guaranteed to make a business harder to run over time.

Where to Start with Innovation? Begin by removing the Barriers

Surveys show that the large majority of senior executives see innovation as critical for their businesses but what if you want to make your organization more agile and innovative where should you start? You could launch a big initiative with grand statements, training classes and an ideas scheme but you tried all those last year and they fizzled out. It is better to begin with a brutally honest assessment of what is preventing innovation from happening today.

How to Effectively Manage the Fuzzy Back End of Innovation

You have doubtless heard of the fuzzy front end of innovation. It is another name for idea generation. But Jeffrey Baumgartner believes that the back end of innovation, where implementation is supposed to take place, is just as fuzzy. Many companies lack clear, efficient processes for implementing the ideas they generate.

Preparing Ourselves for Innovation Standards

There has been a continued debate around finding and adopting a set of standards for innovation. I blow a little hot and cold on this - not dependent on the time of day but the very “force” that is pushing the agenda along. Far, far too many who push for standards often have very narrow agendas, where this fits their commercial purpose and you get the feeling that they are not as aligned to the broader innovation communities as they should be.

How to Accelerate Open Innovation Initiatives with Disruptive Technology

Global companies focused on open innovation can accelerate corporate innovation strategies by partnering with a select set of early stage, disruptive technology providers. The result can accelerate open innovation initiatives to fulfill existing market needs or to access new market opportunities while leveraging intellectual resources from outside your organization.

How to Leverage Results from your Research and find Buried Treasures

Every year hundreds of millions of pounds are spent on consumer and market research. All those involved in NPD will know how a myriad of research projects is deemed fundamental. Yet, managers across the globe may be wasting a good portion of their research budget. Learn more on how to leverage research results and create new opportunities in this article by Bryan Urbick, Chairman of Consumer Knowledge Centre.

Structuring Companies for Innovation and Operations

The appropriate structuring of companies is becoming more and more relevant as a mechanism for managing and enhancing their innovation capability. This article explores the concept of the Viable Systems Model (VSM) of Stafford Beer as a tool to better structure organisations for effective innovation and efficient operation.

Collaborating Downstream in Emerging Markets

Not so long ago, internal R&D activities were considered one of the most valuable assets a company could have. The rather “outmoded” concept of closed innovation, in contrast to open innovation, was built on self-reliance and on the principle that successful innovation required control and secrecy.

To Spur Innovation, Break Down Internal Barriers

Within larger organizations one of the biggest obstacles to innovation is poor internal communication. Every organization has to find ways to promote internal communication and collaboration and to fight internal division and competition. Here are some ideas from Paul Sloane for breaking down barriers to communication.