Monthly Archives: November 2009
by Braden KelleyThis week I will be leading Workshop B on identifying and removing barriers to innovation on December 2, 2009 at the Open Innovation Summit in Orlando, Florida at the Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal.Adding a front line perspective to the workshop will be:Greg Fox (Cisco Systems) – Chief Marketing Officer, Strategic Alliances, WW Operations & Business DevelopmentHelene F. Rutledge (GSK Consumer Healthcare) – Director of Open InnovationsHutch Carpenter (Spigit) – Vice President of ProductThe workshop will be a discussion with participants about identifying the barriers to innovation that can cripple the innovation capabilities that make organizations successful. This interactive workshop will also examine how to make immediate changes in your organization to start removing participants’ particular barriers to innovation and accelerate their organizations’ innovation capabilities.Highlights will include:An examination of how successful organizations go from nimble David to sluggish GoliathAn introduction of a framework for identifying barriers to innovationGroup Exercise … Continue reading
My heart goes out to innovators the world over. Even at the best of times, it can be tough to find financial backing for radical new ideas. But in the midst of a once-in-acentury, out-of-control economic crisis, with corporate profits in a steep nosedive and banks unwilling to lend, the chances of getting some resources to push an idea forward are currently close to zero in many organizations. Yet it’s estimated that 70 percent of today’s revenue-producing products and services will be obsolete in just five years, not to mention the industry business models behind them. So if companies give innovation the thumbs-down now, exactly how and when do they intend to renew their offerings – and their core business strategies – for driving future growth?We all know that over the last several months global demand for almost everything has fallen off a cliff. Customers across the board are cutting … Continue reading
This is the seventh of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What is the most dangerous current misconception in innovation?’. Now, here is my perspective:by Braden KelleyFor my money, the most dangerous misconception that leaders have is that coming up with a great idea is the key to innovation.This is not the case. Insights and execution are the most important ingredients for creating innovation. As more industries become commodity battlegrounds, success will now be the driven by two key things:The quality of the insights a company has identified to build ideas uponThe organization’s ability to turn their insight-driven ideas into realityAs innovation moves front and center in an increasing number of companies and industries, the quality of insights and execution will separate the winners from the losers.Apple moving into the phone business should not have surprised a single handset … Continue reading
I love those truisms that people use to describe a situation. Strangely they are usually based on obvious failures, but perhaps it’s simply easier to teach people based on failure than success. Some relatively well-known truisms include:You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drinkYou can’t push a string uphillTime waits for no manI’d like to add one about innovation. While we like to say that everyone can innovate, its probably also safe to say thatYou can’t force a disinterested person to innovateNow, to me, a person who loves change and new ideas, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t leap at the chance to participate in innovation. Sign me up! But I’ve discovered that while “everyone” can be innovative, many people usually aren’t, and there are several good reasons for that. Understanding the reasons, and identifying the people who can or will overcome the barriers, will … Continue reading
It’s a classic “When Growth Stalls” scenario: start with a fast-growing and profitable company; add an aggressive new competitor that begins to successfully woo the same customers; watch as the previously flourishing company loses its nerve, its focus, and its consistency, leading to languishing sales and lackluster results.When Gap, Inc. launched Old Navy in 1993, the spare retail chain sporting affordable merchandise and wacky ads was an immediate hit. Rather than risk losing focus at brand Gap (which was near its zenith atop the retail world), parent company Gap, Inc. used Old Navy as a counterforce to the big discount stores that were trying to ride on Gap’s fashion coattails by ripping off its designs.Within four years Old Navy sailed past the billion-dollar revenue mark, accounting for nearly half of Gap, Inc.’s top line and some 40 percent of its profits. Offbeat commercials featuring has-been celebrities made the chain the … Continue reading
This is the sixth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What is the most dangerous current misconception in innovation?’. Now, here is Rowan Gibson’s perspective:by Rowan GibsonOne of the most prevalent and dangerous misconceptions in innovation is that it’s all about coming up with ideas. So when companies catch the innovation bug, their tendency is to run off and immediately launch fun initiatives like online suggestion boxes, creative competitions, open innovation programs and offsite brainstorming sessions. Of course, in themselves, these initiatives are not wrong. In fact, they can be an essential part of the process. But ideas are just the front end of innovation. Without the back end of innovation – the capacity to effectively screen ideas, align them with strategy, allocate resources to them and manage them successfully toward commercialization – all of those light bulbs … Continue reading
