Steve

Patent Expiry Can Increase Innovation

While patents help protect innovations, patent expiry can lead to an explosion of creative new uses for existing technologies and create new business opportunities. As an example let’s consider 3D printing.

Don’t You Want 17% Growth in Earnings ?

I am frequently asked, “Why should my company adopt Open Innovation?” My new response will be, “Don’t you want 17% growth in earnings each year.” Let me explain.

Three Reasons People Reject Creative Ideas… and Three Things You Can Do About It

We have all experienced it. You have a great idea but it’s rejected by your colleagues, your boss or your CEO. Rejection is common. While most people admire creative individuals, entrepreneurs or writers they can find it difficult to back a creative idea. Why is that? Here are three reasons why people reject novel ideasContinue reading “Three Reasons People Reject Creative Ideas… and Three Things You Can Do About It”

Invention is Reinvention

So, you don’t have a new idea for a wonderful product. Not a problem. Sometimes invention is reinvention. Many successful ideas are new ways of reusing existing ideas or new combinations of existing things. Here are three examples:

The Five Innovation Myths That Destroy Big Companies

Nokia is seen as a company that was innovative but is in decline. It was the company that made cell phones fashion accessories. In 2008 it had a 40% share of the global mobile phone market. Today it has just 3% of the smartphone market and the company is worth just 5% of it’s 2008Continue reading “The Five Innovation Myths That Destroy Big Companies”

Innovation Needs Action – A Quick Approach to Market Testing

Got ideas for new products or services? Will other people buy them? Test this as quickly, and as cheaply, as possible. Then, you can focus your resources on developing your most promising ideas. Here’s a quick approach to market testing ideas, that we used recently with one of our clients.

Your Adjacent Possible – It’s Bigger Than You Think

Why didn’t Leonardo da Vinci invent the helicopter? In the 1480’s he drew a vertical flight machine. His notebooks reveal that he built small models of it. So why wasn’t he the first person to make a helicopter?

Loose Connections Stimulate Innovation

How many friends do you have? How many acquaintances and contacts? 5, 50, 150, more? Often innovation is about making unexpected connections. A diverse network of contacts increases our chances of making these connections. Your network is a great asset in expanding your thinking, providing new inputs and generating novel solutions.

Innovation – Where Should You Invest?

Recently I visited a company that wanted to invest in innovation. They wanted to act, yet they were hesitating. They were thinking of innovation as the creation of totally new, game changing products that radically change the marketplace. They were reluctant to invest all of their innovation budget in such high risk projects. A veryContinue reading “Innovation – Where Should You Invest?”

The Benefits of Innovation – The 20:20:20 Rule

When I talk about innovation I usually start with an explanation of why innovation is important. To do this I use two reports, one published in 2000 by PWC, the other published in 2010 by DeBooz. Although the surveys were published 10 years apart they provide a remarkably consistent view of why we should innovate.Continue reading “The Benefits of Innovation – The 20:20:20 Rule”