The Innovation Blog

The other day I was having a conversation with the Division President of a large company about innovation. I mentioned to him that in our 30 years in the innovation space, we have noticed that innovation initiatives tend to have a 3-5 year life. The pursuit of breakthrough innovation – “Big Bet” innovation that expands the opportunity for significant growth through expanding markets or creating new ones, takes time. The unfortunate result of changes in Corporate Will is that too often, just when investments begin to pay off with new platforms, new technologies, etc., the efforts are often abandoned.

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Topics: Innovative Culture, Communication, executive sponsor, Alignment, Success Factors, breakthrough innovation, leadership, strategy, Strategic Goals, decision-making, breakthrough, Transformational Innovation, changing the game, innovation decision-making

There are three ascending tiers of innovation that you can pursue.  The level you choose will dictate the simplicity or complexity of the journey you will undertake.  Unfortunately, far too many companies expect to achieve the highest levels of innovation while only providing the strategy, tools, and support for lower-level success, at best.  The three levels are:

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Topics: breakthrough innovation, Incremental Innovation, Transformational Innovation, innovation portfolio

Last week, the controversy over the popular iPhone Hipstamatic app sparked once again as the feature story in Lens, The New York Times photojournalism blog. For those of you unfamiliar with the app, the Hipstamatic produces highly processed shots with color filters and vignette framing that simulates vintage photography. The images are dreamy and while the iPhoneographer (note: this term actually exists) has a degree of control over the style of the shot, no two pictures turn out exactly alike. The debate over the validity of a smartphone camera app started November 22, 2010 when the following paper hit the newsstands.

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Topics: creativity, Lorie Lin, Innovation, new product development, Incremental Innovation, Transformational Innovation

After the announcement of the new Nintendo 3DS on Monday, the Week asked if it was a "game-changer" innovation.  Early reports indicate that the 3D technology is off the charts superior to everything we have seen previously.  Critics contend that the 3D novelty will wear off, and soon smartphones with 3D displays will render Nintendo's product irrelevant.

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Topics: breakthrough innovation, Incremental Innovation, Transformational Innovation