From idea to client portal

Creating something new, like a client portal, is not hard. Creating a client portal that your clients will use is much harder. Most difficult, is creating a client portal that your clients want and are willing to pay for. Take for example a company that wanted to develop a client portal as part of its […]

Better support for innovation teams

Providing better support for innovation teams

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 […]

Time to innovate or close?

Is COVID19 the time to innovate?

Is COVID19 the best time to innovate? I would love to answer that with a resounding ‘yes’, but looking at previous research the answer seems to be more nuanced. Yes, necessity is the mother of invention. And yes, external events trigger innovation. However, uncertainty impacts how we make decisions and if you have never brought […]

uncertainty - prioritizing

Prioritizing in uncertain times

Don’t let uncertainty blur your outlook on the future. Bring clarity and focus, so you can stay productive and move ahead with confidence Want to take action, demonstrate your leadership, and come strong out of this crisis with creative solutions? Do you find it difficult to make choices, because there is still so much uncertainty? […]

Thriving in uncertainty

Thriving in uncertainty

Thriving in uncertainty is what I am good at. It is my job as an innovation expert. Yet, even I find myself being pulled in all directions at the moment. So, I went back to the basics. You have two options when things are uncertain, wait or act. Acting makes me feel better, because waiting […]

SBDC webinar

SBDC webinar: Innovation During COVID19

To come strong out of the coronavirus crisis, businesses must keep their innovation activities going. However, that is easier said than done. On Wednesday April 15, I gave a webinar on Innovation During COVID19 for the Virginia SBDC that addressed how to innovate as a small company with limited resources in a time like this. The […]

Putting together the unknown

Over Thanksgiving we got our puzzle board out for a jigsaw puzzle. This time it was a Wasgij (jigsaw in reverse). A puzzle where you get a few hints, but don’t know the picture you are putting together. It occurred to me, that there is a lot of resemblance between putting together the unknown in […]

Dealing with uncertainty

Imagine if the outcome of innovation projects could be predicted with accuracy, wouldn’t that be great? However, no plans or budgets are going to make an innovation project any more certain. So how best to deal with the uncertainty of innovation projects? Ignore uncertainty Most innovation pitches sound too good to be true. The possibilities […]

A good beginning makes a good ending

The best option to predict the success of an innovation project is a crystal ball that allows you to see the future. In absence of such a ball, the second-best option is making the start of your innovation project count. A good beginning makes a good ending – that is certainly true for innovation projects!