5 Industries with the Most Innovative Companies

Have you ever wondered where great ideas come from? If your company has ever stalled for the lack of innovation, then you’ve probably thought about it from time to time. Innovative ideas can come from nothing, or from a long process of brainstorming and debate, but it always seems like some industries are consistently coming out with the best new products and processes, while others lag far behind. This isn’t your imagination; some industries are moving much more quickly than others. But which industries are the most innovative, and what sets them apart?

Innovation Hot Spots – Countries vs. Cities

We increasingly see the world and much of its innovation through the lens of cities not countries, but there is little clarity around where the true innovation hotspots of today, let alone tomorrow, are to be found. While there is general agreement around which are the most innovative countries, the lack of consensus around the criteria used to identify an innovative city has produced multiple views and varied answers. If we want to understand more about the approaches that are the most effective in leading locations, we must decide on the best way to assess which cities are the most innovative.

5 Reasons Sustainability Drives Innovation

Sustainability is one of the key emerging trends in recent years. But much like innovation, it is a maturing discipline with few established business practices and lots of evolving methodologies. Sustainability champions at organizations often face the same challenges that innovation champions do: lack of senior level buy-in, lack of process, lack of resources. The benefits of successful sustainability and successful innovation are similar, as well: a competitive advantage, improved profit margins, and better brand sentiment from employees and customers.

Using Design Thinking to make your employees ready for the Internet-of-Things

Recent advances in technology put Internet-of-things (IoT)-innovation on top of the management agenda across industries. It is predicted to increase economic value by $11.1 trillion in 2025 (McKinsey 2015). The Service Science Factory and Noventum collaborated on this article to present a state-of-the art view on the Internet of Things and how to implement this vision within organizations.

10 Skills You Need to Nurture in Your Innovation Group

Organizational innovation requires discipline. And like any other discipline, it requires monitoring and training to make sure that you’re on the cutting edge of your capabilities. But what skills should you focus on building and how can you track your progress?

How Business Intelligence Software can Help you Increase Operational Efficiency

Business Intelligence software is an essential tool for analyzing your company's strengths and weaknesses. From inventory management, to accounting, to customer intelligence and beyond, there are many ways you can use BI software to inform your decision-making, increase operational efficiency, and gain a competitive edge.

As Self-Driving Cars Hit the Road; Innovation Is Outpacing Insurance

The revolution in self-driving vehicles has advanced faster than insurance companies can react to it. These cars introduce unique factors that must be integrated into the models that are used to set insurance premiums. At this time, coverage for self-driving cars is set using the same formulas as for traditional cars. Not long ago, there was a fatality involving the Tesla Model S. This occurred while the vehicle's Autopilot mode was active. The case brought new attention to the risks of using self-driving cars on the road, and insurance companies noticed.

How the IoT can Change your Workplace

The IoT (or "Internet Of Things") is becoming a more popular topic of conversation these days. Many have already realized this with regard to individual use (say, through fitness trackers) or "smart homes." But the IoT can also have a huge effect on the workplace - here's how.

The Changing Face of Corporate Intrapreneurship

In early September 85 smart people gathered for two days at the Pfizer conference center in New York City to talk about their practical experience in identifying, engaging, driving value from and (at times) failing with the most innovative employees in their respective businesses. The 2016 Corporate Intrapreneur Summit was 100% on point in targeting key areas of interest around how intrapreneurs in a corporate setting.

40 Design and Innovation Leaders in Social

Design Thinking Leaders discover innovative ideas by working through challenging, and often chaotic, situations where disruptive opportunities are typically hidden. These creativity-minded professionals embrace the consumer’s perspective and balance that with the brand’s needs and aspirations. The result? Simple, yet radical solutions that seem so obvious in hindsight.

Challenged by Innovation? Someone May Have Already Solved Your Problem

In 1946, Soviet inventor and science fiction writer Genrich Altshuller developed a methodology called TRIZ. It became known as "the theory of inventive problem-solving" and was based on a simple premise: across different disciplines and applications, the same challenges occur again and again. Unfortunately, people keep solving nearly identical problems from scratch. The main lesson from TRIZ is this: if you understand how your innovation challenge is similar to someone else’s, you can reapply solutions that already exist, instead of reinventing the wheel time and again.

5 Emerging Trends in the Financial Sector

The financial landscape is changing and the crowd is uniquely suited to help banks and other financial institutions solve some of the challenges they face. In this article, we look at five tech trends and how they’re changing how financial institutions interact with their customers.

Innovation that Matters: Tomorrow’s Winning Cities

Innovation that Matters examines and ranks 25 cities’ readiness to capitalize on the inevitable shift to a digital economy. It carves out critical trends every U.S. city leader can learn from and offers recommendations local leaders can adopt to strengthen their region’s digital competitiveness.