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Yet another music streaming service has joined the ranks of Spotify, rdio, tidal, Pandora and on the surface looks to have an exciting feature set though reportedly a bit buggy. The real question is it enough to make people switch and transfer their playlists and learn a whole new way of interacting with an app? After 2 weeks, Initial signs seem to indicate yes, but time will tell.    http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-music-vs-spotify-whats-the-difference/Read More →

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never has there been such a disruptive technology as the digital tools we have at our fingertips. Companies capable of getting senior leadership and the board to get behind a digital strategy can be competitive with companies much larger than themselves.    http://www.cio.com/article/2934888/it-strategy/digital-and-innovation-not-or.html/Read More →

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It’s not uncommon for those who are less vocal or visible to remain in the background when there are more vocal extroverts in the organization. As today’s business world becomes more data driven and teams dispersed around the world where communicating virtually is more common, the introvert is playing and will play a much larger role in a company’s success. http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/introverts-will-soon-rule-the-business-world.html As you formally or informally create an innovation team goes without saying that you need to take personalities into account. As more and more research is showing the value of introverts in terms of innovation and success, the team consistency should be adjusted toRead More →

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Great article on HBR. How many times has a product been brought to market in search of a problem to solve, only to have mediocre sales, consume funds keeping it alive and then the political in fighting of discontinuing after investing over a long period? https://hbr.org/2015/06/deciding-to-fix-or-kill-a-problem-product/  Ask the right questions early, keep emotion out of the decision process of deciding to bring a product to market or to invest in a fledgling product and define and stick too metrics to be used to determine course of action. Read More →

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Are your innovation efforts tied to corporate objectives which are clearly communicated? In corporate america aligning to goals and objectives is critical to keeping resources and expenses in check. Teams going off and spending wildly on misaligned initiatives siphons off funds that can be utilized elsewhere. Often times objectives are either not clearly communicated, change and are not updated or simply lack the clarity needed to resonate with the majority of employees. All your companies innovation strategy is forming, keep in mind the early checkpoint of making sure the initiative is aligned with a corporate objective. The goal is to not micromanage, which ultimately willRead More →

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The Harvard business review has a great article on formulating and the benefits of innovation strategy. Connecting your innovation strategy and business strategy, which should appear common place, but is in fact not happening to the degree of should.     A good example of how a tight connection between business strategy and innovation can drive long-term innovation leadership is found in Corning, a leading manufacturer of specialty components used in electronic displays, telecommunications systems, environmental products, and life sciences instrumnets. (Source: https://hbr.org/product/corning-156-years-of-innovation/608108-PDF-ENG ) Coupling your innovation and business strategy together, ensuring that the right processes, personnel and motivation are in place and tied to investments and objectives isRead More →

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Having the desire and objective to innovate from a management perspective is of little value without the process and diverse team in place to apply creativity, business understanding of a particular issue and relevant solutions. Forming the team is a crucial step in not only increasing the likelihood of success but also the speed at which you yield results. When considering the individuals to collaborate on a particular objective, carefully consider the following qualities: Knowledge of the underlying business (in general) Knowledge of the objective or problem trying to address Motivators (Financial, Fame, Desire to win, Personal connection to objective) Business Relationships that can beRead More →

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As you approach innovation and motivating your work force, is there hesitation? Fear of failure?   How many times did you fail today? Was it a good fail or a bad fail? Iteration is core to the engine of innovation producing results. Setting the stage for good failure, that being within preset boundaries and related to core business objectives, is essential.Read More →