Author Archives: Caspar van Rijnbach
When people tell me that their company is creating an innovative culture by having everyone participate in the innovation process through idea programs and inspiring environments, I encourage them, because I think this is a great idea. But when they start telling me that this is the main initiative to make their company highly innovative, I am getting worried. And my reason lays in the logic of sports…
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Finding the reasons why innovation does not work at your company is in general not that difficult. Overcoming those obstacles is somewhat harder. Here are three steps to start working on turning your situation around. Continue reading
When I hear people speak about innovation, or when one sees people present innovation, most of the time it comes back to the same old talk about iPads, iPhones, iPods and other i-something in the making. Many people are still stuck to the same old pattern that innovation is all about bringing new products and technologies to the market and Apple of course is in this aspect the iCon. Not taking anything away from Apple’s capability to take innovations to the market, we do have to remember that not all companies are like Apple and that Apple’s innovations are not simply product innovations (see an earlier post of mine: “Steal ideas and create value”). There is a lot of service and business modeling part of the innovations they bring to the market. If we take innovation to a broader platform, innovation is not only about delighting the customer or investing … Continue reading
It seems very obvious, but in daily corporate life it does not always happen: Research should be managed differently than Development. Although it is normal to mention Research & Development together, they are clearly quite different in nature. Sure, in the end they are part of the same innovation funnel, but their objectives and characteristics are very different. Research normally has as its objective exploration, while development has as its objective the exploitation of technology. And different objectives require different: Human Resources Financial and Risk management Funding Responsibility Location First of all, you will need people with different skills and different mindsets. Whereas in Research you will need researchers, in development you will need project managers and staff with business acumen to be able to commercialize the innovation (all very obvious, right?). When it comes to risk, please forget the calculation of ROI and EBITDA on ideas in preliminary stages. … Continue reading
It seems very obvious, but in daily corporate life it does not always happen: Research should be managed differently than Development. Although it is normal to mention Research & Development together, they are clearly quite different in nature. Sure, in the end they are part of the same innovation funnel, but their objectives and characteristics are very different. Research normally has as its objective exploration, while development has as its objective the exploitation of technology. And different objectives require different: Human Resources Financial and Risk management Funding Responsibility Location First of all, you will need people with different skills and different mindsets. Whereas in Research you will need researchers, in development you will need project managers and staff with business acumen to be able to commercialize the innovation (all very obvious, right?). When it comes to risk, please forget the calculation of ROI and EBITDA on ideas in preliminary stages. … Continue reading
Are we prepared for the future? by Caspar van Rijnbach In the Age of Knowledge, the competitiveness and future of companies, is becoming more and more dependent on the knowledge companies possess and how they use, share and protect it. It is not that hard to agree with me on this. However, it is not that easy to manage. In the end, what knowledge needs to be managed? And how should it be managed? We do know that not all knowledge is important and that different types of knowledge need different forms of management. Some types of knowledge are much more critical to organizations than others. To know how to fly an airplane is much more important for an airline company than knowing how to serve the employees in the restaurant, although both are important and required for the company to function well. Also, knowing how to fly an airplane … Continue reading
