There were at least 1.3 million professional service firms in the US, who combined had in total annual revenues of $2.7 trillion dollars before the pandemic. In today’s world, to survive firms must be innovative. That is, develop services for new client segments, incorporate novel technologies, develop new service delivery models, etc. How can you […]
“We don’t put any bureaucratic tape around ideas”, “We give people the opportunity to take action”, “Anyone can bring up any idea in their BU or practice group”, sound like best practices for innovation to thrive. However, from our 20 years of research and experience, we know that is not how organizations should go about […]
I am not joking when I say that, pre-pandemic, the most common practice to provide support for innovation teams was to have a conversation over a cup of coffee. Checking in once every 2-3 months to ask how things are going certainly makes work fun. However, it is not a very scalable approach. It is […]
For some, the term innovation management is an oxymoron. In reality, innovation management is a domain that ensures that the best ideas and innovation projects make it to practice in an effective and cost-efficient manner. As a result, innovation management is surrounded by a lot of myths. In the blog below I debunk five of […]
Efficiency kills innovation. Efficient markets, efficient companies, and efficient employees are good for many things, but not for innovation. Efficiency is created by scaling, standardizing, and routinizing labor. While each of these efforts in itself can be an innovation effort, the relentless focus on efficiency will in the end kill society’s, organizations, and employee’s ability to […]
Congratulations! Awesome! You are about to hire an innovation manager! If you want your new hire to be successful, you need to be clear about the job, hire a person with the right qualifications, make sure there is commitment from senior management, and sufficient budget to get things off the ground. For this blog, I […]
Firms use annual budget cycles. Now, during this COVID19 pandemic, it may be the wrong way to go about budgeting for 2021, because it does not leave you enough flexibility. How can you budget for next year, while keeping maximum flexibility, go after new opportunities when they arise, make the most out of your available […]
With the coronavirus pandemic, change is a given. The question is, will you follow or will you lead change and take charge of the process and your destination? The time commitment will be the same, but the experience and the outcomes are vastly different. Leading change is much more rewarding than adjusting to change. The […]
Fast Company produced its list of 100 best workplaces for innovators. Companies committed to unlocking the potential of creative individuals and as a result the best companies to work for as an innovator in 2020. It expanded this year’s list to companies, schools, and nonprofits of all sizes. The list is certainly impressive, with ASLAC/St […]
Innovating on a shoestring budget sounds like a smart thing to do. However, be careful that you are not penny wise and pound foolish. That is what Helen Wang of Organizing4Innovation said during the ILTA>ON session KM Innovation on a shoestring budget. Why is it a bad thing to innovate on a shoestring budget? Because […]
The biggest mistake innovation managers make is taking the value of innovation for granted. We tend to assume that innovation is a must; the overall right thing to do. However, if you leave your goals undefined, you’ll lack the ability to measure and explain your progress. Without results to show for your efforts, innovation will […]
What Parts of the Innovation Process Can you Outsource? Consultants can help with pretty much any part of the innovation process. However, innovation exists to help you build new capabilities and create new revenue streams; therefore, I don’t recommend outsourcing everything. If an external company can build your solution, then anyone can. In order to […]