The funding model of our roads and other transit infrastructure is broken — what happens now? Background: An unexpected side effect of increased fuel efficiency and fewer miles driven in personal vehicles is that the government is collecting (much!) less fuel tax revenue — withering the coffers at state and federal levels. This means that […]
Last week, we talked about how small, medium and large firms differed in their challenges and approaches to innovation. This week, I want to give you four key elements that must be present for success – regardless of what size firm you are in. 1) Line of Sight In his book Great by Choice, Jim […]
When I began consulting, my clients were primarily innovators within mid-size organizations. Frequently, I’m drawn into discussions with small and large firms, as well. These consultations have been fascinating lessons in the different approaches to innovation and which approach best fits with which size and stage of business. In any economy, investable organizations are the […]
Imagine this: you’ve just left your boss’ office and you were given the ball on a major, new, cross-functional project. You are buzzing with ideas about who you need, what you need, and the time and effort it’s going to take. The question running through your mind in those moments is, “what should I do […]
How many times have you seen a talented change leader and an equally bright team fail to move their innovative ideas from concept to market — despite being given a “mandate” from the C-Suite? Today I’m going to dissect how this process frequently breaks down and give you some tips on how to prevent your […]
The Big Miss is a phenomenon that occurs in larger companies. It’s what happens when a new organization forms around a new product or line of business that ultimately fails in the marketplace. When investment and expectations exceed the project’s ability to deliver, what you have is a Big Miss. In the best case, […]
This is the third post in a series intended to allow you to identify whether you are on the verge of a great opportunity with a new partner or just having an interesting conversation. The metaphor we are using is built around internal combustion, a process which needs compression, fuel and ignition to start and […]
Earlier, I wrote a series that looked at finding inflection points and capitalizing on innovation. If you use the tools described there, you’ll find fertile ground for the innovation that your organization has the capacity to deliver. After deciding how to capitalize on inflection points, you’ll need to decide 1) which project to prioritize and […]
Note: This is the second of a 6-part series on How to Harness the Power of Change Waves to Accelerate Growth (here’s the first). I invite you to add this series of posts to your reading list. (better yet, subscribe at right to have all future posts sent to your inbox). A note of thanks to Venkatesh […]
One of the great things about the technology business is that you invent your company’s assets by harnessing the global brain power of your enterprise. A few years back, Strategy+Business published their annual survey of the 1000 companies in the world that spent the most on R&D. What they found has important implications for innovators […]
