5 Innovation Traps in Organization Culture

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”
- Oscar Wilde
Organizations can be such powerful forces for change. Sometimes they can get in their own way and the value they could bring to life becomes trapped. A little experience of the ways in which an organization’s culture can trap innovation might help others avoid [...]

Framing for Accountability in Innovation for Twitter #innochat December 17 at Noon EST (USA)

Accountability – the currency of social innovation

This post is to trigger dialogue on innovation in the moderated Twitter #innochat on Thursday, December 17 at Noon, EST (USA) – all interested parties are welcome to join in. Follow #innochat to join at that time.
“The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an [...]

Eyes on the Prize – In a CoIN a flexible approach to changing conditions means more wins

In his fascinating research on collaborative innovation Peter Gloor, a Research Scientist at MIT’s Sloan School for Management Center for Collective Intelligence, identified a model he termed CoIN for, Collaborative Innovation Networks. He first named this model in the popular press in his book, Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage through Collaborative Innovation Networks. His stated goal [...]

Mix Business With Design Thinking – from Fast Company

We’ve all heard the news that the traditional MBA framework is broken, but adding courses on business ethics and financial crises won’t solve the problem. And although Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, and the rest are all considering bringing new ways of thinking into their hallowed halls, a relatively small school in Canada is actually transforming the [...]

Innovation Trapped – Rethinking the flow of ideas to market

I think we do need to move very swiftly in creating value for consumers and reacting to the economics.
- Brian Becker
On BusinessWeek’s website recently (November 9, 2009), Vivek Wadhwa posted a ViewPoint column focused on the implication of globally outsourced innovation. While what he reviewed was not necessarily earth-shattering in its revelations it did highlight [...]

Space & Place – Using the physical to influence the psychological

One of the great challenges in galvanizing a team to achieve new levels of creativity and innovation lies in the intersection between the tangible and the intangible. Missing from the thinking in the realm of innovation and product development is the way in which space not only influences, but directly informs, the quality and productivity [...]

Top Elements of Successful Execution

Faculty from Cranfield School of Management–identified a series of “elements” that drive successful strategy execution. Here are their top four:
1) Maintaining management control of change programs;
2) Managing adverse impacts on operational business when delivering change programs;
3) Establishing accountability and governance of each change program; and,
4) Harmonizing the strategic leadership team to support the change [...]

Advisors & Agents – Reflections on the Trust Summit NYC October 23

After the not-so-timely NJ Transit deposited me in Manhattan bright and early this morning I made my way with my good mate Vijay to the Harvard Club for the Trust Summit. This breakfast event brought together the authors (David Maister and Charles H. Green) of one of my professional services bibles, The Trusted Advisor, with [...]

If Innovation Is Our Goal Are Institutions As We Know Them Are Dead?

“Traditional institutions will survive and thrive when management, board members and/or shareholders are able to step out of the “what we did yesterday will work for us tomorrow” mentality. In order to survive for the longterm, one has to recognize that the things that got you where you are will not get you where [...]

Review: Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit – Philadelphia, PA

As an opportunity to engage in dialogue with creative professionals from a multitude of backgrounds the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit, hosted by Innovation Philadelphia and held this week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania achieved this over-arching objective quite handily. Even in the current economy, in which tradeshow and convention attendance has dropped dramatically (in some places [...]