Author Archives: Stefan Lindegaard
The leaders of successful small companies understand how important it is to have the right people in the right position. When resources are slim, the ability of everyone to do their job well matters tremendously. One or two weak links can spell the difference between success and failure. So it will come as no surprise when I say that people matter more than ideas when it comes to making innovation of all types happen. You should take a moment to think about that because many innovation initiatives fail miserably because their leaders don’t understand this simple fact. In fact, it is actually more important to have grade-A people than it is to have a slew of grade-A ideas. Why? Because grade-A people can take a grade-B idea—or perhaps even a grade-C idea—and turn it into a successful reality. Grade-B people, on the other hand, will struggle with even truly great … Continue reading
What is happening in the innovation community right now? In this post, I give a quick overview of the top trends and issues based on the interactions and inspirations I have had over the last month or so. 1. User-driven innovation – does it work? How valuable is user input for innovation? This is a classic discussion that picked up more steam with this article, User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and IKEA, by Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen who states that companies should lead their users, not the other way around. The article spurred lots of re-tweets, comments and a several counter-articles such as this one by Chris Grams, User-led innovation can’t create breakthroughs. Really?, and this one by Erin Young, Counterpoint: Does Apple Value User Research?. The topic has also surfaced on several of my recent client meetings. Classic topic, but it can still … Continue reading
What is happening in the innovation community right now? In this post, I give a quick overview of the top trends and issues based on the interactions and inspirations I have had over the last month or so. 1. User-driven innovation – does it work? How valuable is user input for innovation? This is a classic discussion that picked up more steam with this article, User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and IKEA, by Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen who states that companies should lead their users, not the other way around. The article spurred lots of re-tweets, comments and a several counter-articles such as this one by Chris Grams, User-led innovation can’t create breakthroughs. Really?, and this one by Erin Young, Counterpoint: Does Apple Value User Research?. The topic has also surfaced on several of my recent client meetings. Classic topic, but it can still … Continue reading
Recently I read an article in Wall Street Journal on how the BMW iVentures capital fund plans to invest in smartphone app start-up firms. This was interesting so I decided to look further into how BMW approaches external contributions to their innovation efforts. This is one of the most respected car companies in the world and I still remember a great visit at their Technology Office in Palo Alto some years back so my expectations were quite high. I was wrong. My starting point was the BMW Group web site and the Research & Development page. They have plenty of information on their view on R&D and innovation. They also have a small box that reads “You Have Ideas?” This is where I clicked. Oops, I got this message: “To view this page, you must log in to this area on wcms40.bmwgroup.com:80:” Hmm, ok then, after clicking a few times, … Continue reading
As I wrote in a recent blog post, I have noted a shift over the last couple of years. It used to be that the most-often asked questions on open innovation evolved around intellectual property rights. How can we do open innovation and still protect our intellectual property? This is still a very important issue, but I have noticed that the questions are asked less frequently and the issue is no longer one of the main topics in the presentations you hear from corporate people presenting at conferences. The reason for the latter is that the leading companies understand that business needs to become before legal issues and they have gained experience in making this happen. A few things on this include that legal departments at these leading companies have been turned around. They now think offense rather than defense. “Yes, there will be challenges on this case, but there … Continue reading
In working with companies that are trying to build a networking culture, here are some reasons I’ve identified for why such efforts can fail or not reach the hoped-for degree of success. 1. Lack of Time Many of us simply do not have the time to network and build relationships. It is necessary to develop a strategy and initiate projects, but you also need to give your people time to invest in initiating and maintaining both internal and external relationships. 2. Lack of Skills Some people are natural-born networkers; many others are not. But the basics of effective networking can be learned, just like any other business skill. With appropriate instruction and motivation, wallflowers can learn to work a room. By providing your people with this type of training you will give them a skill that will be invaluable throughout their careers. 3. Lack of Focus A community or a … Continue reading
