Author Archives: Geoff Zoeckler
The Issue: The space for idea and innovation management software is becoming increasingly crowded and it is difficult to quickly understand who the main players are and how they are different. The Background: On the surface, idea management companies seemed similar to me and were hard to tell apart. After having spent 8 weeks immersed in the space talking with independent experts like Ron Shulkin, submitting questions on LinkedIn groups, attending the Front End of Innovation conference in Boston, and demoing eight of the top players; I have come to a conclusion: It IS very hard to tell idea management companies apart – especially on capabilities alone. You must dig deep into the details of the organization and trust some of your gut feelings for the true differences to emerge. All four parts of my research (reaching out to experts in the field, submitting questions online, attending innovation conferences, and … Continue reading
On Wednesday, March 10, 2010, I had the privilege of attending an innovation conference and discussion – Elsevier’s Corporate Connect Event: Implementing a Culture of Innovation. Given the low price tag (free) and complete sponsorship by one company (Elsevier), I was not sure how much information I would be able to apply directly to my company. I was very pleased to find that the event was far from a day long sales pitch and was truly an opportunity to connect and talk about ways to improve innovation within company walls.The event was organized into four presentations and one expert panel discussion (with multiple networking opportunities in-between). Presentation topics:Elsevier’s Innovation Journey (Jeff Honious at Elsevier)Building a Culture of Innovation (Peter Skarzynski at Strategos)Implementing a Culture of Innovation (Mike Hess at Medtronic)Supporting a Culture of Innovation (Cynthia A. Larson at Eaton)The expert panel consisted of four Information Specialists (super librarians) from Eaton, … Continue reading
