Innovation in the News

For Innovation that Works, Dispel Obsolete Assumptions and Ask New Questions

Top-Consultant.com (February 2009) - For most firms, no road map exists to direct them toward consistently successful innovation, including how to achieve it or how to implement it. Nonetheless, attaining innovation that works again and again is possible. By challenging outdated assumptions and then adopting an "innovation architecture," you can chart out what you need to do around the three most critical dimensions of innovation: the what, the who and the how.

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A Personal Creativity Refresher

Think For a Change Blog (March 9, 2009) - Let's take a step away from the troubles in the economy for a bit and take a refresher class on personal creativity. After all, the only real way out of this current economic "crisis" is going to be that one key idea that someone generates, has the courage to pursue and the ability to shepherd it through into reality. Assume for the moment that the "killer idea" has yet to be discovered. Here are some suggestions to increase the odds of getting that idea to see the light of day.

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Crowdsourcing: Free Problem-Solving for Your Biz

Alibaba.com (March 2, 2009) - If two heads are better than one, are millions of heads worldwide that many times better than the heads in your office? The growing number of crowdsourcing advocates would answer this riddle with a resounding "yes." Moreover, many will argue that businesses cannot afford to ignore the trend that's driving growth in fields as varied as sneaker design, software development, mining, apartment management and restaurant marketing.

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Dr. John Kao Launches Institute for Large Scale Innovation

iStockAnalyst.com (March 2, 2009) - Deloitte and Dr. John Kao today announced the Institute for Large Scale Innovation (ILSI), a non-governmental organization created to mobilize and coordinate innovation capability around the world and to address macro-level challenges by bringing fresh perspectives to the field of innovation. The ILSI defines large-scale innovation in terms of regional, national and global systems.

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Six Deadly Orthodoxies of Recessions

Chief Executive (February 11, 2009) - The recession-fighting advice given to executives in every industry can be summed up in a few words: hunker down, retrench and cut costs. This advice comes with a corollary: forget about innovation. It was fine when times were good, but it's now a luxury you can't afford. There is only one problem with this advice. It's wrong. It reflects a number of entrenched orthodoxies that are deeply held and widely shared beliefs about how to succeed, that may have been right a long time ago, but are now outdated. Unless your organization is on the brink of immediate collapse, reacting to recessions through these knee-jerk strategies can have deadly consequences. Long-term success requires challenging these orthodoxies, and in most cases overturning them.

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Innovation: Does it Matter?

Oren Harrari (March 2, 2009) - You can't separate innovation from the customer, because the customer defines whether your innovation is creating value, explains business strategy and innovation expert Oren Harrari.

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How to Form an Innovation Dream Team

Innovation in Practice (March 1, 2009) - Innovating takes teamwork. Properly selected teams using a facilitated systematic method will outperform ad hoc teams using divergent, less structured methods such as brainstorming. How do you create the "dream team" for an innovation project? There are three key factors: team roles, diversity, and processes.

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Using Creativity To Create A Killer Career

Killer Innovations (March 1, 2009) - Humans devote an incredible amount of ingenuity to solving social, economic, political and even technical challenges. The one area where ingenuity is applied nearly as much is when it comes to planning our careers and preparing future job prospects. Can you apply the same killer question approach to planning your career? Yes, says Phil McKinney.

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Don't just think: Create a right-brain file

The M.A.P. Maker (February 27, 2009) - In a culture that places a high value on taking a left-brained, analytical approach, many of us are only tapping into part of our brain's potential. We completely miss out on the right-brained, intuitive, flash of brilliance out of nowhere potential each of us have.

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Teach a man to innovate, he'll create value for a lifetime

Innovate on Purpose (March 2, 2009) - Few people ever learn "how" to innovate, we are just expected to innovate based on the knowledge and skills we already possess. Teaching a person to innovate often seems difficult or disingenuous. However, until we provide the insights, methods and skills, what we are basically asking people to do is use the same old skills they've had to solve new and different problems.

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