June, 2024

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How would YOU improve chess?

Idea to Value

Imagine this. You work for a board game manufacturer, and you have been asked to improve the sales of your chess games. They have been slowly falling over the past few years and your boss has asked you to come up with innovative solutions to make it more appealing and increase sales. How would you approach this innovation challenge? A lot of people might begin thinking that innovation means finding ways to “improve” the product.

System 180
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Four Principles Of Successful Digital Transformation

Innovation Excellence

GUEST POST from Greg Satell When Steve Jobs and Apple launched the Macintosh with great fanfare in 1984, it was to be only one step in a long journey that began with Douglas Engelbart’s Mother of All Demos and the development of the Alto at Xerox PARC more than a decade before.

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Is AI Selfish?

Digital Tonto

When evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins claimed that genes are selfish, he didn’t mean that he thought they are cognisant, with a will of their own. Rather, that genes act as if they are selfish, working to replicate themselves in the most efficient way, regardless of what that entails for the organism that carries them. In other words, the phrase "survival of the fittest" applies to our genes, not to us.

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Nike Should Stop Blaming Working from Home for Their Innovation Struggles

Innovation Excellence

GUEST POST from Robyn Bolton “But even more importantly, our employees were working from home for two and a half years. And in hindsight, it turns out, it’s really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe on Zoom.

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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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The Power of Product-Based Thinking in Customer-Centric Innovation

Planview

The landscape of digital transformation and technology management is undergoing a significant transition as enterprises transition from project-based to product-based management driven by customer-centricity, cost optimization, and cultural shift. Leading organizations now prioritize long-term customer value, using real-time feedback for continuous improvement and use an incremental funding approach based on results to reduce technical debt.

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Experts can often be Sceptics and Wrong

Destination Innovation

There are several notable historical examples where a large number of scientists opposed an idea that later turned out to be true. Here are some instances: The Theory of Special Relativity was put forward by Albert Einstein in 1905. It contained revolutionary ideas about light, energy and space-time. Many scientists rejected Einstein’s work for decades.

More Trending

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Take a Hike! Leadership Choices That Determine Whether or Not Your Business Grows

IdeaScale

I recently listened to a podcast in which the speaker talked about his hike to Machu Picchu. He spoke about the difficulty of the hike and the moments when his confidence wavered.

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The 3 Pillars Of The Changemaker Mindset

Digital Tonto

Most of the time, we operate with a manager mindset and that works fine. We build consensus and execute with predictable outcomes. Our colleagues are motivated, customers are satisfied and everybody is happy. However, in an era of disruption it’s only a matter of time until we need to adapt and drive transformation. That’s never easy. Top performers learn to switch between mindsets.

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The Most Strategic Leaders Excel in 4 Disciplines

Harvard Business Review

Strategic fitness is a leader’s ability to learn from and adapt to their environment to set direction and create a competitive advantage. A study of 77 C-suite executives over four years found that strategically fit leaders excel in four disciplines : 1) Strategic fitness, or setting clear direction and calibrating when necessary; 2) Leadership fitness, or refining their style to meet the moment; 3) Organizational fitness, or investing in thinking about the future state of the business; and 4) C

Exercises 145
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Managers Make the Difference

Innovation Excellence

Four Common Mistakes Managers Make GUEST POST from David Burkus Senior leaders set strategy. But middle managers and front-line managers make the difference in whether that strategy gets executed…and in whether or not people are engaged and motivated in an organization.

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Prepare Now: 2025s Must-Know Trends For Product And Data Leaders

Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, and Terrence Sheflin

As we look ahead to 2025, business intelligence and data analytics are set to play pivotal roles in shaping success. Organizations are already starting to face a host of transformative trends as the year comes to a close, including the integration of AI in data analytics, an increased emphasis on real-time data insights, and the growing importance of user experience in BI solutions.

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Discovery Self-Survey: Startup & Technology Scouting

Qmarkets

Considering a new startup relationship management program? Download this practical tool to understand your organization's current approach and capabilities, as well as your needs and requirements for a dedicated software solution.

Survey 103
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Why are innovation ecosystems important?

Paul Hobcraft

Recently, I presented my framework to the GIMI think tank GIMI was initiated by a worldwide group of chief innovation officers, innovation executives, academics and consultants in 2009. The framework I offered is built upon interconnected ecosystems. Connecting innovation, business, dynamics, and enterprise is crucial for creativity, growth, adaptability and growth.

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Why Adjacent Innovation is Your Key to Managing Risk and Accelerating Growth

IdeaScale

It’s not easy leading innovation. Especially these days. You need to do more with less. Take risks while guaranteeing results. Keep up with competition through incremental innovation and redefine the industry with radical and disruptive innovation. It’s maddening. Until you find the Goldilocks Zone of adjacent innovation.

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This Is One Big Reason Why So Much Business Thinking Is Crap

Digital Tonto

Management fads tend to come from people who did well in school. Many of these are business school professors and consultants, who've never operated a business. They are often people who’ve never failed, been told that they’re smart all their lives and expect others to be impressed by their ideas, not to examine them thoroughly. They tend come up with their ideas by talking to other smart, successful people about their experiences.

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How To Select the Right Software for Innovation Management

Finding the right innovation management software is like picking a racing bike—it's essential to consider your unique needs rather than just flashy features. This oversight can stall your innovation efforts. Download now to explore key considerations for success!

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How Starbucks Devalued Its Own Brand

Harvard Business Review

Starbucks is struggling. It has strayed from its successful strategy of offering customers exceptional experiences and, in the process, has commoditized itself. This article analyzes where it went wrong and offers ideas for how the company can turn itself around. It holds lessons for other companies that compete by providing customers distinctive experiences.

Strategy 144
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How To Create The IKEA Effect

Innovation Excellence

A Customer Experience That Will Be Appreciated GUEST POST from Shep Hyken When reaching out for customer service and support, most customers still prefer to communicate with a company or brand via the traditional phone call. That said, more and more customers are attracted to and embracing a do-it-yourself customer service experience, known as self-service.

How To 101
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Planview ERGs Honor Juneteenth, Pride Month, and More in June 

Planview

With so much happening in June, we want to outline important events at Planview with some employee insight. At Planview, ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) play a crucial role in creating connections and involving people in groups that pertain to people’s interests. Our ERGs, such as Planview Kaleidoscope, Pride, and Women at Planview, are actively organizing events and educating employees about their initiatives.

Groups 98
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AI Evolution: Equipping Your Team Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges

Daniel Burrus

A huge buzzword in today’s digital age is “AI” or “artificial intelligence.” AI excites some people and strikes fear in others. Yet whatever your position, this Hard Trend is undeniable and will shape the future of your business or organization in some way. Applications like ChatGPT, deep data algorithms, and others are changing the face of work and how we approach business practices at an unprecedented speed.

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How To Set Up Innovation So That It Aligns With And Enables Corporate Strategy

Speaker: Paul Heller

Most innovation work proceeds independently from company strategy. As a result, the products that arrive in the market are not well aligned with the company’s goals. This challenge is particularly significant in organizations with transformation-oriented strategies, where innovation must directly support growth, scalability, and strategic pivots. In this session, we will discuss why innovation in large companies is so often not aligned with the company’s strategy and what innovation leaders, pro

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The Lesson of the Direct-to-Consumer Revolution: Strategy 101 still matters

IdeaScale

Every so often a new business model, often enabled by technology, takes the world by storm, attracts a lot of hype, eventually proves unable to live up to the headlines and disappears or becomes a shadow of its former self. The latest entries in this category? Direct-to-consumer companies. Image via Startups.

Strategy 130
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Why Bad Ideas Don’t Just Die

Digital Tonto

I recently read David Sanger’s new book, "The New Cold Wars," which was excellent in many ways. It was very well sourced, often insightful and excellently written. It was also riddled with relatively minor errors. These didn’t really affect the story he was trying to tell, but they were annoying and undermined an otherwise excellent book. What probably happened is that the fact checker was intimidated by Sanger’s prominence and didn’t call him out or didn’t bother checking facts that, truth be

Culture 116
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How to Get Your Team to Actually Speak Up

Harvard Business Review

There is a common leadership misconception that merely encouraging team members to voice their opinions will foster an environment of openness. But people won’t speak up unless they feel safe doing so. As a leader, this means you have to address the underlying reasons for employee reticence, including the individual and systemic barriers to speaking up.

How To 145
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Think Outside Which Box?

Innovation Excellence

GUEST POST from Howard Tiersky We’ve all said it. We need to think “outside the box.” But what is this box-like barrier that would otherwise constrain our thinking, and how do we move beyond it?

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Driving Responsible Innovation: How to Navigate AI Governance & Data Privacy

Speaker: Aindra Misra, Senior Manager, Product Management (Data, ML, and Cloud Infrastructure) at BILL

Join us for an insightful webinar that explores the critical intersection of data privacy and AI governance. In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, building robust governance frameworks is essential to fostering innovation while staying compliant with regulations. Our expert speaker, Aindra Misra, will guide you through best practices for ensuring data protection while leveraging AI capabilities.

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How a Lean Transformation and Framework Facilitate Innovative Business Strategies

Kainexus

In an era where efficiency and agility are paramount, Lean business transformation has emerged as a pivotal strategy for organizations aiming to streamline operations and enhance value creation. By adopting Lean principles, companies can significantly reduce costs, improve quality, and accelerate time-to-market. In today's dynamic business environment, the Lean method is prized for its adaptability across various industries, from manufacturing to services, and its ability to ensure that business

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What is social health and why does it matter for our well-being?

Christensen Institute

The current health care ecosystem incentivizes provider organizations to perform services that treat illness instead of those that keep people healthy. Many people think of health in terms of medical care and physical health, or simply, the absence of sickness, but that isn’t a complete perspective. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Survey 85
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How Can You Use Gamification to Boost Innovation?

IdeaScale

Gamification can help at sevaral phases in the Problem Solving process We all know the benefits of gamification: it promotes disinhibition, reduces prejudice, encourages cross-disciplinary teamwork and co-creation, helps groups with very different profiles to speak the same language and achieves a level of engagement that drives participants to go one step further.

Groups 130
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Why Do Pundits Work So Hard To Deny These 3 Things About Human Nature?

Digital Tonto

In "Homo Deus," author Yuval Noah Harari asserted that “organisms are algorithms.” Much like vending machines are programmed to respond to buttons, Harari argues that humans and other animals are programmed by genetics and evolution to respond to “sensations, emotions and thoughts.” When those particular buttons are pushed, we respond, much like a vending machine does.

Software 106
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HR Meets AI: The New Way of Keeping Large Workforces Connected and Engaged

Speaker: Miriam Connaughton and Donald Knight

As organizations scale, keeping employees connected, engaged, and productive can seem like a monumental task. But what if AI could help you do all of this and more? AI has the power to help, but the key is implementing it in a way that enhances, rather than replaces, human connection. Join us for an exploration into how industry trailblazers are using AI to transform employee experience at scale while addressing both the potential and the pitfalls.

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How AI Can Make Make Us Better Leaders

Harvard Business Review

Humans are good at inventing tools, but not as good at adapting to the change these tools can cause. While there has been much focus on the technical impacts and potential dark side of AI, the authors’ research has shown that AI can enhance and empower leadership, actually helping make leaders more human. To do this, we need to invest just as much in the development of our human potential as we do in harnessing the power of AI.

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Designing Organizational Change and Transformation

Innovation Excellence

GUEST POST from Stefan Lindegaard Over 40% of organizations report that change fatigue is their biggest barrier to organizational change. To combat this, we need to approach change processes from another perspective: a human-centered perspective. It’s not just about adapting to what’s normal and settling into a routine; it’s about constant change.

Change 102
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Three Key Elements for Achieving Strategic Portfolio Management Excellence

Planview

Choosing the best strategic portfolio management (SPM) solution for your enterprise can be tough, but it’s a topic at the forefront of many business leaders’ minds. In research conducted by Economist Impact, commissioned by Planview , 86% of executives believe their organization needs to improve accountability in strategy implementation. However, according to Gartner, “only 13% of organizations have done the work to gain high effectiveness with the three attributes of strategic portfolio managem

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Operational Excellence Examples for Business Growth

Kainexus

Operational excellence is the continuous pursuit of improvement in an organization's processes and systems to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, and agility. It involves streamlining operations, reducing waste, optimizing resources, and enhancing productivity to deliver high-quality products or services at lower costs and faster speeds. The impact of operational excellence on business growth is profound.

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.