Expert insights. Personalized for you.
The school I want to begin MORE
The covid pandemic in the U.S. has been going on for a year, now, more or less. I can remember taking what became my last trip for work at that time: a routine flight to Minneapolis. MORE
Usually, people are terrified about being wrong. But based on a breakthrough announcement in particle physics, thousands of scientists are thrilled about the prospect of some of our most deeply held beliefs being proved wrong last week. MORE
In today’s episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak once again with Simon Hill. The last time we spoke with Simon , he was the CEO of Wazoku. Since then, he has also taken over the Open Innovation platform Innocentive. MORE
Up until recently, most of the things we bought were designed by humans. Cars, computers, cans, chairs and cathedrals. Everything could be traced back to an individual or team who set out to design products with the ideal the combination of form and function. MORE
What is more stable: A pure diamond or pure graphite? And what does this have to do with innovation? MORE
If you told a child today that, twenty years ago, every household had a printed directory of every resident and every business in their town—and that the directory weighed upwards of ten pounds and was dropped on people’s doorsteps once a year with a satisfying “thunk,” they would think you were crazy. . No way. . It’s true, however. MORE
How sure are you that your products are better than the competition? How confident are you that your company will not be disrupted by a smaller competitor? This story shows how an entire industry was so convinced of their superiority that they weren’t even aware that they were being overtaken. MORE
When looking to improve something, it seems like people always want to add more. At least, this is what an interesting new piece of research by Adams et al suggests, just published in the journal Nature. MORE
In my work with clients I have found value in having the Business Model Canvas and the Customer Discovery Flow available in Microsoft Visio as a template. Alex Osterwalder developed the Business Model Canvas in his book, Business Model Generation. Steve Blank developed the Customer Discovery Flow in his book The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Together with Eric Ries' book, The Lean Startup , the three serve as the capstone for people who want to think through how best to pursue entrepreneurship. MORE
The New Yorker ran an article , “Power Brokers,” on how start-up companies—some homegrown, some from Silicon Valley—are offering for the first time a reliable source of electricity to people living in remote parts of Africa. Ghana. Tanzania. The Ivory Coast. The startups have created simple kits that include a solar panel, batteries, installation, and basic house power to run a couple lights, a television, a refrigerator, and maybe a small fan for at least part of the day. MORE
As we all know, innovating and creating something new is usually seen, for good reason, as an important, yet highly risky endeavor. As such, innovation leaders are constantly under a lot of pressure from many different directions. MORE
Several years ago I had the opportunity and the privilege to serve as an examiner for the Baldrige Awards for the State of Ohio in the U.S. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. companies who commit to performance excellence in five (5) areas: product and process outcomes, customer outcomes, workforce outcomes, leadership and governance outcomes, and financial and market outcomes. MORE
Organizations mint Chief Customer Officers (CXO) as readily as they mint Chief Innovation Officers. What is it about the Digital Age that causes organizations to mint chiefs of all stripes in the way sheriffs from the Old West would mint deputies to join them on the posse? MORE
In a recent article , I observed that the modern-day organization prizes certain cultural traits. We seek to foment a culture of innovation. We seek to foment a culture of quality. We seek to foment a culture of sustainability. And, a culture of safety. The successful organization comes to mirror the well-rounded individual whose sense of self-worth rests not on a singular character trait but on a connected set of values that link to one another, naturally and intrinsically. MORE
The recipe for success and the recipe for lasagna enjoy many similarities. First, let us compare the drive to succeed with the desire to make lasagna. We start by observing that nobody makes lasagna for one. No, lasagna is made for others to enjoy: beloved family, close friends, or acquaintances on the path to joining one of the first two groups. MORE
The computer hardware company Cisco published an article on how blockchain technology holds promise in accelerating the adoption of solar energy. The approach, which uses a version of Bitcoin called Solarcoin, incentivizes people who produce small amounts of power through micro-payments of the crypto-currency. The article stayed at the macro level, envisioning small payments to millions of households connected to the grid. MORE
Have you heard of ShotSpotter? The ShotSpotter company sets up microphones on the top of buildings within a community to capture sounds. The ShotSpotter software tied to the microphones can tell the difference between a gunshot and similar noises, such as the backfiring of a car. When the ShotSpotter software detects a gunshot, the system dials 911 to call the police. The police treat calls from the ShotSpotter system with the same urgency as they do call from citizens. MORE
Introduction. Many organizations have committed to developing deeper intimacy with their most important clients by establishing customer advisory boards. The most compelling, worthwhile forms of engagement within this structure occur when board members and stakeholders from the sponsoring organization explore possibilities for helping one another realize their respective visions. They collaborate and innovate on what a shared future might offer. MORE
Image by Neven Divkovic from Pixabay. If you are planning a major change, a big initiative, a new product launch or something really innovative then try writing a future news story. Imagine that the project has been a surprisingly big success. MORE
Introduction. “Innovate or die” becomes the order of the day. People in response seek ways to innovate. Of late, many have embraced the practice of collaborative innovation, with its application of social media to sourcing crowds and ideas, and design thinking, with its structured approach to vetting hypotheses about new business opportunities. Having arrived in the organization by different routes, they exist as potential complements. MORE
Last week I had the good fortune to participate in and present at the Innova-Con 2018 conference. Booz Allen Hamilton hosted Innova-Con at their new Innovation Center across from McPherson Square in Washington DC. The International Association of Innovation Professionals (IAOIP) sponsors Innova-Con as the capstone to their annual cycle of events. MORE
Whatever we do, we do far better when we become emotionally connected. Often understanding a good story builds this emotional connection or simply puts you off. Stories can inspire and spark even greater ideas. MORE
My dad loved both the creative and technical aspects of photography. He loved taking pictures. And, he loved developing the images. Both activities have within them a bit of art and science. When he passed I inherited the negatives. Over time I have been shuttling the negatives to our local camera shop. The technicians there digitize them. The earliest negatives, in black and white, lend themselves well to digitization, much more so than the color images. MORE
After the publication of Great Question! I began running workshops around “building a culture of inquiry.” ” The workshops are designed to help people explore what it means to embrace a spirit of inquiry in meaningful ways within their organization and, ultimately, within themselves. Great Question! and its predecessor, The Dirty Maple Flooring Company , spoke to the power behind convening a group of people to identify and pursue the critical questions facing the group. MORE
Do you remember your first real job? The job where you had to show up on time? The job where, when you got your first paycheck, you were shocked—shocked—at the inexplicable chasm between gross and net pay? My first real job was at Long John Silvers. Long John Silvers served seafood as fast food. Any creature that began its life below the waves was, in the world of Long John Silvers, fair game for the deep fryer. MORE
Introduction. Robert Kaplan and David Norton popularized the Balanced Scorecard twenty years ago. Its simple, visual framework helps organizations depict linked sets of goals that define strategy. Today, with new mindsets, practices, and technologies, people have more opportunities to engage in helping their organizations envision the future. The scorecard, however, can at times seem like an Easter Island statue, offering mute, impenetrable witness to firm performance. MORE
In today’s episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with international creativity advocate Dr Robert Alan Black. We touch on his history working with the late, great Prof Paul E Torrance and speak about the history of creativity research. MORE
People are so obsessed with getting the “right” ideas. Instead, it is often much more effective to just have LOTS of ideas. This makes the likelihood that at least some of those ideas will be of high quality significantly more likely. MORE
People distinguish between attending meetings and doing their jobs: “all these meetings are getting in the way of my real work.". Implicit in this complaint—"I don't have time to get my job done"—is that meetings are an unwelcome imposition upon our more life-affirming endeavors. MORE
Taylor Swift is one of the world’s biggest music stars, having sold over 200 million records and receiving 11 Grammy awards. She is also respected for being a highly creative songwriter and performer. MORE
One afternoon last week I picked up my four-year-old daughter from her pre-school. On the drive home she said, “take me to McDonalds.” ” We continued driving home. I had no plans to take her to McDonalds. When she realized that we were not going to McDonalds, she asked, “Dad, why isn’t the car taking me to McDonalds?” ” Her question surprised me. The matter of agency arose in my mind: Who was in control of the car? I checked my hands. MORE
Most new products and services are developments or combinations of existing offerings. But just adding features can lead to a product overloaded with ‘feature bloat’ Instead try giving with one hand and taking away with the other. MORE
Today we are facing many current disruptions where we need to react fast and intelligently. There are many situations we are facing that are a race against time. MORE
What has been will be again, . what has been done will be done again; . there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9. When I was around four I tripped running up the back stairs to our house. I landed on the sharp edge of the pressed sheet metal box that the local dairy provided their customers who signed up for milk delivery. The box made a deep gash by my left eye. My mom took me, bleeding and sniffling, to the doctor for stitches. MORE
Innovation Archetecture
MARCH 7, 2021
People distinguish between attending meetings and doing their jobs: “all these meetings are getting in the way of my real work.". Implicit in this complaint—"I don't have time to get my job done"—is that meetings are an unwelcome imposition upon our more life-affirming endeavors.
Innovation Archetecture
FEBRUARY 28, 2021
The covid pandemic in the U.S. has been going on for a year, now, more or less. I can remember taking what became my last trip for work at that time: a routine flight to Minneapolis.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Innovation Archetecture
FEBRUARY 22, 2021
If you told a child today that, twenty years ago, every household had a printed directory of every resident and every business in their town—and that the directory weighed upwards of ten pounds and was dropped on people’s doorsteps once a year with a satisfying “thunk,” they would think you were crazy. . No way. . It’s true, however.
Innovation Archetecture
MAY 19, 2020
What has been will be again, . what has been done will be done again; . there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9. When I was around four I tripped running up the back stairs to our house. I landed on the sharp edge of the pressed sheet metal box that the local dairy provided their customers who signed up for milk delivery. The box made a deep gash by my left eye. My mom took me, bleeding and sniffling, to the doctor for stitches.
Advertisement
Take our short quiz to determine if your IoT pilot is set up for success, or at risk of being delayed.
Innovation Archetecture
OCTOBER 9, 2017
After the publication of Great Question! I began running workshops around “building a culture of inquiry.” ” The workshops are designed to help people explore what it means to embrace a spirit of inquiry in meaningful ways within their organization and, ultimately, within themselves. Great Question! and its predecessor, The Dirty Maple Flooring Company , spoke to the power behind convening a group of people to identify and pursue the critical questions facing the group.
Innovation Archetecture
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
Organizations mint Chief Customer Officers (CXO) as readily as they mint Chief Innovation Officers. What is it about the Digital Age that causes organizations to mint chiefs of all stripes in the way sheriffs from the Old West would mint deputies to join them on the posse?
Innovation Archetecture
MARCH 14, 2017
The computer hardware company Cisco published an article on how blockchain technology holds promise in accelerating the adoption of solar energy. The approach, which uses a version of Bitcoin called Solarcoin, incentivizes people who produce small amounts of power through micro-payments of the crypto-currency. The article stayed at the macro level, envisioning small payments to millions of households connected to the grid.
Innovation Archetecture
JUNE 27, 2017
The New Yorker ran an article , “Power Brokers,” on how start-up companies—some homegrown, some from Silicon Valley—are offering for the first time a reliable source of electricity to people living in remote parts of Africa. Ghana. Tanzania. The Ivory Coast. The startups have created simple kits that include a solar panel, batteries, installation, and basic house power to run a couple lights, a television, a refrigerator, and maybe a small fan for at least part of the day.
Innovation Archetecture
APRIL 6, 2018
One afternoon last week I picked up my four-year-old daughter from her pre-school. On the drive home she said, “take me to McDonalds.” ” We continued driving home. I had no plans to take her to McDonalds. When she realized that we were not going to McDonalds, she asked, “Dad, why isn’t the car taking me to McDonalds?” ” Her question surprised me. The matter of agency arose in my mind: Who was in control of the car? I checked my hands.
Innovation Archetecture
MARCH 21, 2018
Introduction. “Innovate or die” becomes the order of the day. People in response seek ways to innovate. Of late, many have embraced the practice of collaborative innovation, with its application of social media to sourcing crowds and ideas, and design thinking, with its structured approach to vetting hypotheses about new business opportunities. Having arrived in the organization by different routes, they exist as potential complements.
Advertisement
Every company is either an experience company today or will need to reinvent themselves to become one. Learn how Cadillac is using research, experience design and organizational change to deliver a next-generation user experience.
Innovation Archetecture
MARCH 5, 2018
Last week I had the good fortune to participate in and present at the Innova-Con 2018 conference. Booz Allen Hamilton hosted Innova-Con at their new Innovation Center across from McPherson Square in Washington DC. The International Association of Innovation Professionals (IAOIP) sponsors Innova-Con as the capstone to their annual cycle of events.
|
Innovation Archetecture
FEBRUARY 21, 2018
Have you heard of ShotSpotter? The ShotSpotter company sets up microphones on the top of buildings within a community to capture sounds. The ShotSpotter software tied to the microphones can tell the difference between a gunshot and similar noises, such as the backfiring of a car. When the ShotSpotter software detects a gunshot, the system dials 911 to call the police. The police treat calls from the ShotSpotter system with the same urgency as they do call from citizens.
Innovation Archetecture
JANUARY 4, 2018
Introduction. Many organizations have committed to developing deeper intimacy with their most important clients by establishing customer advisory boards. The most compelling, worthwhile forms of engagement within this structure occur when board members and stakeholders from the sponsoring organization explore possibilities for helping one another realize their respective visions. They collaborate and innovate on what a shared future might offer.
Innovation Archetecture
NOVEMBER 29, 2017
Introduction. Robert Kaplan and David Norton popularized the Balanced Scorecard twenty years ago. Its simple, visual framework helps organizations depict linked sets of goals that define strategy. Today, with new mindsets, practices, and technologies, people have more opportunities to engage in helping their organizations envision the future. The scorecard, however, can at times seem like an Easter Island statue, offering mute, impenetrable witness to firm performance.
Innovation Archetecture
NOVEMBER 29, 2017
Do you remember your first real job? The job where you had to show up on time? The job where, when you got your first paycheck, you were shocked—shocked—at the inexplicable chasm between gross and net pay? My first real job was at Long John Silvers. Long John Silvers served seafood as fast food. Any creature that began its life below the waves was, in the world of Long John Silvers, fair game for the deep fryer.
Advertisement
How do micro-innovations affect businesses' way of thinking? Those small acts of 'everyday innovation' are the stuff of greatness. Download the eBook today to learn more about micro-innovations and how they have influenced some of the biggest companies to date.
Innovation Archetecture
NOVEMBER 18, 2017
My dad loved both the creative and technical aspects of photography. He loved taking pictures. And, he loved developing the images. Both activities have within them a bit of art and science. When he passed I inherited the negatives. Over time I have been shuttling the negatives to our local camera shop. The technicians there digitize them. The earliest negatives, in black and white, lend themselves well to digitization, much more so than the color images.
Innovation Archetecture
SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
Several years ago I had the opportunity and the privilege to serve as an examiner for the Baldrige Awards for the State of Ohio in the U.S. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. companies who commit to performance excellence in five (5) areas: product and process outcomes, customer outcomes, workforce outcomes, leadership and governance outcomes, and financial and market outcomes.
Innovation Archetecture
MARCH 24, 2017
The recipe for success and the recipe for lasagna enjoy many similarities. First, let us compare the drive to succeed with the desire to make lasagna. We start by observing that nobody makes lasagna for one. No, lasagna is made for others to enjoy: beloved family, close friends, or acquaintances on the path to joining one of the first two groups.
Innovation Archetecture
FEBRUARY 12, 2017
In a recent article , I observed that the modern-day organization prizes certain cultural traits. We seek to foment a culture of innovation. We seek to foment a culture of quality. We seek to foment a culture of sustainability. And, a culture of safety. The successful organization comes to mirror the well-rounded individual whose sense of self-worth rests not on a singular character trait but on a connected set of values that link to one another, naturally and intrinsically.
Advertisement
Xandr, a division of AT&T, has built an identity graph that connects information on people, households, and more. The company is using this graph to provide advertisers an ability to deliver commercials more successfully than ever before. Learn more.
Idea Champions
AUGUST 20, 2021
The school I want to begin
Idea to Value
APRIL 22, 2021
In today’s episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak once again with Simon Hill. The last time we spoke with Simon , he was the CEO of Wazoku. Since then, he has also taken over the Open Innovation platform Innocentive.
Idea to Value
APRIL 21, 2021
People are so obsessed with getting the “right” ideas. Instead, it is often much more effective to just have LOTS of ideas. This makes the likelihood that at least some of those ideas will be of high quality significantly more likely.
Speaker: Karen Lim, Alliance Academy
The concept of Global HR is becoming more common as more companies become permanently remote. As companies expand their talent-bases beyond borders, HR reps will bear the responsibilities that come along with it. Adapting to different cultures, distances, and legal implications whilst preserving core company values is essential. Once you can do this, the world becomes your oyster. Join Karen Lim of Alliance Academy, and learn to thrive in a remote-first mindset.
Idea to Value
APRIL 20, 2021
How sure are you that your products are better than the competition? How confident are you that your company will not be disrupted by a smaller competitor? This story shows how an entire industry was so convinced of their superiority that they weren’t even aware that they were being overtaken.
Idea to Value
APRIL 14, 2021
When looking to improve something, it seems like people always want to add more. At least, this is what an interesting new piece of research by Adams et al suggests, just published in the journal Nature.
Idea to Value
APRIL 19, 2021
Taylor Swift is one of the world’s biggest music stars, having sold over 200 million records and receiving 11 Grammy awards. She is also respected for being a highly creative songwriter and performer.
Idea to Value
APRIL 7, 2021
What is more stable: A pure diamond or pure graphite? And what does this have to do with innovation?
Advertiser: Rosetta Stone
Communication is the lifeforce of any company. Without it, productivity, employee happiness, and ultimately your business suffers. Investing in language learning better positions global business leaders to see gains in organizational effectiveness as a result.
Idea to Value
APRIL 13, 2021
Usually, people are terrified about being wrong. But based on a breakthrough announcement in particle physics, thousands of scientists are thrilled about the prospect of some of our most deeply held beliefs being proved wrong last week.
Paul Hobcraft
APRIL 6, 2021
Whatever we do, we do far better when we become emotionally connected. Often understanding a good story builds this emotional connection or simply puts you off. Stories can inspire and spark even greater ideas.
Idea to Value
MARCH 25, 2021
In today’s episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with international creativity advocate Dr Robert Alan Black. We touch on his history working with the late, great Prof Paul E Torrance and speak about the history of creativity research.
Destination Innovation
APRIL 5, 2021
Most new products and services are developments or combinations of existing offerings. But just adding features can lead to a product overloaded with ‘feature bloat’ Instead try giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Every sales forecasting model has a different strength and predictability method. It’s recommended to test out which one is best for your team. This way, you’ll be able to further enhance – and optimize – your newly-developed pipeline. Your future sales forecast? Sunny skies (and success) are just ahead!
Paul Hobcraft
APRIL 19, 2021
Today we are facing many current disruptions where we need to react fast and intelligently. There are many situations we are facing that are a race against time.
Idea to Value
APRIL 12, 2021
As we all know, innovating and creating something new is usually seen, for good reason, as an important, yet highly risky endeavor. As such, innovation leaders are constantly under a lot of pressure from many different directions.
Idea to Value
MARCH 26, 2021
Up until recently, most of the things we bought were designed by humans. Cars, computers, cans, chairs and cathedrals. Everything could be traced back to an individual or team who set out to design products with the ideal the combination of form and function.
Destination Innovation
APRIL 14, 2021
Image by Neven Divkovic from Pixabay. If you are planning a major change, a big initiative, a new product launch or something really innovative then try writing a future news story. Imagine that the project has been a surprisingly big success.
Advertiser: Treehouse Innovation
You can achieve a huge amount in a short period with a virtual design thinking project. While some teams want to come together for several weeks or months to tackle a challenge, others want to run short, sharp projects to find a quick solution. And with the right preparation, attitude, and structure in place, that's totally possible.To help make sure your short innovation projects are a success, download this free guide from the team at Sprintbase, a virtual design thinking platform, to learn their top tips.
32 
Let's personalize your content