If innovation has become a word that is met with a lack of enthusiasm, this article from Kaihan Krippendorff may inject fresh inspiration and motivation. People talk about innovation a lot… but often in the conversation around innovation, there isn’t an innovation strategy. If there’s a semblance of an innovation strategy, it’s not often clearly articulated or it’s not connected to an overarching business strategy. That is when things start to fall down.” Dr. Simone Ahuja is the founder of…

Shelli Baltman shares an article on exploring how to unlock the creative potential of the next generation of innovators. Our mission at The Idea Suite is to unlock the creative potential of people and businesses through innovation – but that mission goes beyond just business, and the day to day work of our company. We also share a strong and deeply-rooted belief that every child deserves to learn the creative problem solving, design thinking and entrepreneurship skills that will help…

Robyn Bolton shares an insightful article on the importance of developing psychological safety in innovation and how to foster it. “Why doesn’t anyone bring me ideas?” “Why doesn’t anyone ask questions during my meetings?” “How can I get people to challenge my ideas?” If you have asked any of these questions, you are not alone. I hear these questions from managers to C-suite executives in every industry imaginable because they know that sharing ideas, asking questions, and challenging others are…

Stephen Wunker shares a paper he co-wrote with Charlotte Desprat, and Jennifer Law that identifies five key principles learned during COVID to improve innovation strength. We are all innovators now. As the pandemic slowly wanes, we can look back on the last year and a half knowing that we have discovered innovation muscles that we didn’t know we had. We needed to innovate in order to cope with the upheaval in our personal lives, as well as for businesses to…

Robyn Bolton tackles common resource allocation mistakes and explains how to avoid them. You know that to deliver today’s business and achieve tomorrow’s goals, you need a portfolio of projects that improve your existing operations and a portfolio of innovation projects. You also know that to max out your odds of hitting tomorrow’s goals, you need a portfolio of different types of innovation projects. You are also keenly aware that with limited resources, you can’t possibly fund every project. So…

In this article, Robyn Bolton guides the pursuit of innovation through various storms. Everyone knows about brainstorms but did you know there are three other types of storms that can blow you to your innovation destination? Questionstorms First introduced in The Innovator’s DNA, these storms happen at the start of an innovation effort and seek to surface all the assumptions, expectations, concerns, and actual questions currently locked in individuals’ brains.  The value of this session is that it makes the…

Robyn Bolton shares a post on where innovation happens and why. “Innovation happens in the gaps.” It’s a statement so simple yet so profound that as soon as my client said it, I wrote it down.*  It’s not sexy to innovate in the gaps.  Most people and companies believe that innovation must be something entirely new for the world.  That innovation is all about filling a white space, thinking blue sky, or swimming in a blue ocean.  That innovation must…

Robyn Bolton shares a well-balanced post that explains why 95% of new products fail and how to do the right things in the right ways at the right times to ensure success.  Most people know that 95% of new products fail within three years of launch.  It’s often cited as evidence of big companies’ inability to be innovative, keep up with changing consumer demands, and respond to the nimbleness of start-ups. Naturally, companies don’t want to fail in the market,…

  Robyn Bolton reflects on lessons learned as a child that she brings into her field to help problems solve and drive innovation.  Innovation is all about embracing the AND. Creativity AND Analysis Imagination AND Practicality Envisioned Future AND Lived Reality Looking back, I realize that much of my childhood was also about embracing the AND. Mom AND Dad Nursery School Teacher AND Computer Engineer Finger paint AND Calculus A few years ago, I wrote about my mom, the OG…

  Robyn M. Bolton makes a poignant observation on the popular approach to innovation and provides a few tips on how to punch out of the proverbial box.  The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting different results.” This quote, often (wrongly) attributed to Albert Einstein, is a perfect description of what has been occurring in corporate innovation for the last 20+ years. In 1997, The Innovator’s Dilemma, put fear in the hearts…

  Przemek Czerklewicz has been invited by the Hong Kong University chapter of ShARE (a global organization that connects students with international clients for pro bono, socially responsible consulting projects) to speak during their series of online training sessions.  The training will take place on October 12th between 7 and 8.30 PM Hong Kong time and will be titled:”Breaking into Innovation Consulting: What to Expect and Where to Look”. He will speak to young, aspiring consultants about how innovation consulting…

  This article on Sean McCoy’s company blog explains why long-term forces and trends are forcing many heavy industries to reshape value chains, change economics, and disrupt business models. Digital technologies are making it possible for firms to expand their offering and meet new customer needs and serve new customers. For a manufacturer or heavy industrial company, this means companies that were not your competitor yesterday are your competitor today and tomorrow. The executives at GM and Ford lose many…

  Ian Tidswell provides an infographic that provides the details of the key 6 steps to creating and capturing value in MedTech, from offer design through market access and reimbursement approval to new product transitions. Success in the Medical Technology industry requires constant innovation. However, capturing a fair share of the value (pricing) from that innovation throughout the product life cycle is especially challenging given multiple market access hurdles, constrained healthcare budgets and diverse stakeholders.   The steps illustrated include:…

  C.V. Ramachandran discusses what it takes to institute digital transformation successfully by engaging a holistic approach that provides support for every part of a company’s value chain. Big data, machine learning, connected vehicles, industry 4.0, robotic process automation, blockchain … No matter what industry you are in, you have surely come across these popular buzzwords in recent years. These are the phrases that define digital transformation, a modern industrial revolution that has the potential to dramatically transform companies and…