innovation myths

5 Innovation management myths

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 […]

What to look for when hiring an innovation manager

What to look for when hiring an innovation manager

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 […]

The Best Workplace for Innovators – Fast Company

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 – ILTA>ON

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 […]

mistake

The Biggest Mistake in Innovation Management

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 […]

Outsource innovation

Outsourcing Innovation

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 […]

innovation training

Effective Innovation Training

Innovation training for teams Innovation, like most skills, is a concept best conveyed in practice, rather than on paper. In short, you learn how to innovate by doing it. The best advantage an emerging innovator has at their disposal is an innovation training program; one that provides the innovator with support, while making their idea […]

Need better ideas

Need better ideas?

When it comes to innovation roadblocks, one of the biggest problems I see firms cite is a shortage of new ideas.  In my experience, however, there rarely is a shortage of good ideas, but rather a problematic set of criteria used to identify them. When looking for ideas, management tends to look in the wrong […]

CRCF grant recipient

CRCF Grant Recipient

We’re a CRCF grant recipient! We at Organizing4Innovation are proud to announce that we’ve been awarded a grant through Virginia’s Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) by Governor Ralph Northam. Our data analytics project will advance our ability to provide effective and efficient innovation project management.  Our Goals This project, titled “Using Team-Learning and Teamwork-Quality Indicators […]

A plan b for 2020

A plan B for 2020

All organizations need a plan B for 2020. The pandemic impacted everyone, there is no way around it. The question is now, what do you make of this plan B? Will it be a shorter and reduced version? Or will you be looking for new opportunities and perhaps turn 2020 in the best year ever? […]

The cost of innovation

The Cost of Innovation

Innovation is a cost for most firms. That is a problem because it turns innovation into a budget item to cut instead of the buoy that enables organizations to survive and thrive. You may wonder if this is the time to take risks, when nothing is the same due to looming environmental, health, and financial […]

The right time?

The right project at the right time

While COVID19 has made life challenging for millions of people, it also offers many new opportunities. How do you know yours is the right project at the right time? Is this the time to invest in a new COVID19 practice group? Is this the time to make your telemedicine clinic a permanent feature? Is this […]