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During this most recent downturn, but similarly to other downturns, at least while I’ve been in the workforce, is the concept of “doing more with less” – that is, wringing more output or benefits out of the same, or often even less, inputs and resources. This idea hasn’t become a slogan, but a working reality for many businesses. That’s the ...

In a client presentation last week, I made the point of how Apple has deftly and consistently associated its brand with the concept of innovation. I offered its retail stores as one of many proof points; instead of starting where any normal, smart corporation would—studying the most successful competitive concepts (Best Buy, for example) and incorporating their best ideas, Apple ...

As I’m reviewing business plans from college grads I’m mentoring (as an alumnae mentor at Brown Univ ) and from Glengary , the VC firm I’m a partner in, this whole business plan process is getting to me. So much of what I see in biz plans is, pardon the phrase, BS. We all know none of us believe any ...

I think this is a must-look-into case for everyone with a serious interest in open innovation. Why? Because this case has several dilemmas related to threats as well as opportunities that we need to consider when we engage with open innovation. The story: As you can read in this BBC story, Microsoft’s Kinect has been hacked only a few days ...

Google & Apple vs. RIM, Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft by Adam Hartung Summary: Most planning systems rely on extending past performance to predict the future But markets are shifting too fast, making such forecasts wildly unreliable To compete effectively, companies must anticipate future market shifts Planning needs to incorporate a lot more scenario development, and competitor information in order to overcome ...

Over the years, I have heard a lot of people say a lot of daft things about creativity. Some of those things, I hear again and again. What’s worse, a lot these daft notions – or myths – about creativity are detrimental to the creative process. So, let’s end this once and for all. Below are ten creative myths. If ...

My great-grand-mother Jeanne started her own local couture business in Paris in the 1930s. She called her brand, or rather her house as people would say in those days, Micky. It was easy to memorize, it sounded fashionable, distinctive, and it was the short for her young daughter’s name Micheline. A few years later, quite unexpectedly, she got sued over ...

An article in this week’s PR News, called “Ideation Creation: Culture and Clarity Keys to Driving Big Ideas,” describes some major challenges organizations face when trying to innovate. According to the article, “the generation of ideas often suffers from a lack of clarity around the problem definition; a lack of specific customer knowledge; and a tendency to accept the status ...

In a recent blog I mentioned how critical it is for leaders to stay focused during tough times but of course, this is much easier said than done. I suggest that you all take a moment to think back on this past week. Where did you spend a majority of your time? What were the distractions that derailed you? What ...

Good artists borrow and great artists steal. Today I am a great artist, and stealing from another. At a recent speaking engagement which I attended virtually through a Twitter stream, Rob Shelton described an innovation culture as being made of vision and metrics and motivation. I thought this was an excellent summation of the attributes of an innovation culture, and ...