Category Archives: Question-To-Innovate

What can business leaders do to ensure they are enabling and not blocking innovation?

in Innovation, Leadership, Question-To-Innovate

What can business leaders do to ensure they are enabling and not blocking innovation?

Paul Hobcraft recently reviewed a couple of innovation reports. One implies that executives say that innovation is important for growth, and the other says that executives nods their heads in agreement but don’t follow through.

I’m not surprised by this. Of course, it all comes back the the beloved ROI. And, innovation outcomes, like everything else, are hard to predict. This is a classic case of analysis paralysis, and by being in this state, these leaders are blocking innovation.

If they were to commit, what would “enabling innovation” look like?

In our current interconnected and transparent world, there are a few things that immediately signal that management is enabling innovation:…

What are the common sources of resistance to change?

in Innovation, Leadership, Question-To-Innovate, Questions, Strategy

What are the common sources of resistance to change?

Scott Berkun has a great quote about resistance to ideas: The default state of an idea is non-adoption.

Reflecting on this quote, it useful to consider why that is so. For many reasons, people, in any arena, will resist change. That is just the way it is, so it is best to expect it.

While too many to list, there are commonalities between them. Here are five common sources of resistance to change:…

Why should companies launch imperfect products?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions

Why should companies launch imperfect products?

Although we think there are exceptions to the rule (Apple, Square), no company ever launches a complete product.

The Lean Startup advocates that entrepreneurs can and should launch products and services that are not %100 percent complete. This idea, of constant experimentation, is not new. Most products that are launched by startups are an initial prototype that tests for market validation.

Big companies, by their nature, don’t do this. At least not all of them.

Starbucks, for example, is an outlier. If you’ve read about how Statbucks got started, then you won’t be surprised. As outlined on a Fast Company article, they’ve recently taken to experiment with new marketing channels, such as Groupon, and in doing so put their huge digital platform to the test:…

Why is competitive advantage temporary?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions, Strategy

competitive advantage is temporary

An often asked question. Yet, there are those who think that competitive advantages are everlasting.

Competitive advantage, it seems to me, has become an instrument of finance. As in, how can our company accumulate hoards of cash to become sustainable?

The defining metric for said advantage is profits. That is a mindset, I believe, of playing not to lose.

Accumulating a war chest of money doesn’t mean you will outlast the next wave of change, you have things upside down, for an investment in innovation is an investment in your future.…

What is the most productive innovation methodology?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions

what is the most productive innovation methodology

This is a question I get a lot. Just like there is no shortage of creativity techniques, there are many innovation methodologies. For me, there isn’t one single way. Just like there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” strategy that every company can plug and play onto itself. I think that just like every person/company should have their own reason for existing, they should come up with their own way on how to stay relevant.

For example, Intuit, came up with their own innovation methodology. It was crafted from their own values and reasons for doing what they do and why they do it. Here is their how:…

Are crowdsourced ideas from engaged customers worthless?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate

Are crowdsourced ideas from engaged customers worthless?

From Kirsten Osolind (@reinventioninc):

Thinking of running an Open Innovation Contest? Think Again. Interesting Read from MIT’s Office of Corporate Relations suggesting that innovation can only come from within, that crowdsourced ideas from engaged customers are basically worthless.

My take:

I think the nature of how we innovate changes. When Henry Ford was alive, the internet didn’t exist. Same thing with the Wright Bros. I think today, where collaboration is almost a given, we’re still figuring out how to open up. The barriers to “being daring” are lower now, but that also means that less daring ideas are on the table. With that said, I personally side with working in smaller groups and strategically tapping outsiders, as opposed to just “opening the gates” to whatever. The enemy is groupthink, it is always waiting to show its head. Lots of opinions are cancelled out by a person’s or small group’s drive to pursue what they clearly think should be done.

Also, it is expected that customers will replace R&D as the main source of new ideas. So, we will see more companies co-creating with customers. That is a given. This is still unexplored territory. The game is still to be defined…

Does innovation only come from within? What do you think?

What is the greatest impediment to creativity?

in Creativity, Question-To-Innovate, Questions

What is the greatest impediment to creativity?

Question-to-innovate Series: This the twentieth of a series of weekly posts where I will answer a few common questions about innovation. Please feel free to add your own response. Also, if you have any questions you think we should discuss, let me know.

The greatest impediment to creativity is your impatience. Let me explain…

Bravery has always been associated with creativity. And, while fear is an important impediment to creativity, worse, I believe, is impatience.

The inevitable desire to hurry up the process, express something, and make a splash. Sure, the speed in how we communicate is a key driver in the pace of change in the world. This puts enormous pressure on companies to forge ahead and innovate (if they can).…