Innovation Requires a Standards Body

Over the last thirty years, the importance of innovation as a core driver of business value has increased to the point where few CEOs would disagree. Unfortunately, most companies are not able to innovate in financially meaningful ways. And for those companies that...

Blended Innovation Strategy

Many business people live in a contradiction when it comes to understanding an important aspect of business and technical innovation in Japan and Korea. On one hand, they marvel at the business success stories found in corporations like Honda or Sony. On the other...

Business Model Innovation Demystified

All business models are not alike. Unfortunately, many executives look at their own firm’s business model as a given—as the natural, the best, or perhaps even only way to make money in a given industry. But, in reality, there are many, many business models that...

Business Sector Innovation

What Business Sectors are in Need of Innovative Thinkers? As the world creeps out of the worst financial crisis in decades, company leaders must avoid falling back into bad business habits that preceded it. One of these habits is a lack of attention to innovation....

Managers vs. Leaders

What is the difference between a leader and a manager? Figuring out the distinction between leaders and managers might seem like an academic question to some, but getting the answer right has tremendous, real-world impact. In my last article, I discussed the fact that...

Thinking Innovatively

How Can We Encourage Employees to Think More Innovatively? There are many barriers to thinking more innovatively. The trick is to overcome or compensate for those barriers. But this is not easy. In fact, these barriers are hard to overcome because they often become...