Key Questions to a Company Struggling with Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

What questions would you ask to a company that is struggling with innovation?

The questions should serve two purposes; you need to get a better understanding of the state of the innovation capabilities at the company and you need to challenge the existing mindset of their employees.

You can see my take below on four different areas. It would be great to hear what you think of them and what questions you would ask.

CULTURE AND INNOVATION

• What are the key elements of a strong innovation culture? Work this into three clearly articulated goals for innovation at your company.

• How are executives/managers at your company a hindrance for innovation? Give three examples

• What should be the key roles for executives, managers and...

Engagement Is Key: Staples Misses With Boring Pitch

by Stefan Lindegaard

A few days back, I got the below text from a PR-person trying to push a crowd-sourcing initiative on behalf of Staples. The project itself, an EcoEasy Challenge for students, actually seems quite interesting combining environmental issues with business. I like that combination.

Obviously, they want me to write about the competition, but unfortunately for them, I now use this as a case on how not to approach bloggers. In general, I do not mind getting standard press releases, but this one is just too boring. This is the intro I got.

——-
Hi Stefan,

A desk chair that controls office power consumption and a 100 percent recyclable writing instrument, college students are finding ways to help green businesses with ideas for eco-friendly...

CoDev 2011 – Don’t Miss This Innovation Conference

by Stefan Lindegaard

I am definitely on the same page with Chuck Frey from InnovationTools.com when he states that ” Last year’s conference was the best innovation conference I’ve ever attended. It was full of interesting and useful information, excellent speakers and great networking opportunities.”

I urge you to participate in CoDev 2011 – Jan 24-26 in Scottsdale, AZ as it seems to be just as interesting as last year. Personally, I am very happy to participate as a speaker in a session with Russ Conser from Shell on deal structuring for open innovation. Actually, you will find lots of corporate people sharing their experiences just like Russ will do.

I look forward to the interactions in my session just as I look forward...

Five Types of People That Kill Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

Who are the people that kill innovation in corporate organizations? Here is my take on five types. Let me know what you think and what you can you add.

Executives, who do not get innovation: The actions of executives continue to be the single-most important element when it comes to making innovation happen in organizations.

Incompetent innovation directors: These people must be able to fulfill the needs of current and future markets. They must be able to bring internal as well as external resources together in order to make this happen. At the same, innovation directors need to know how to play the political game that is always played in organizations. This is a tough job and there is no room for incompetent people.

Informal...

Mars Gets Ready for Open Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

When I speak with Mars employees or their partners or read about Mars, I sense this is a very secretive company.

I was thus intrigued when I read an article, Mars: An R&D Problem Shared is a Problem Halved, in which Simon Woolford, who heads up Mars’ connectivity and collaboration team, announced an upcoming open innovation initiative by Mars.

Woolford has several comments that touch on the challenges Mars will face on the initiative. One comment mentioned that ”bosses were still deciding what level of information to make public on the new website.”

The level of openness is a key issue that I have experienced at many other companies. Some companies really struggle on this and a strong sign of trouble is when...

How Partners React to an Open Innovation Strategy

by Stefan Lindegaard

I have cited Psion Teklogix, provider of rugged mobile computers, several times on my blog for their promising approach to open innovation.

Last month, the company took a big step forward with its strategic interpretation of open innovation – called Open Source Mobility (OSM) – when it brought its global partners together for a series of conferences at which they unveiled a new platform designed to give resellers and developer partners the opportunity to co-create with Psion.

How existing partners react to open innovation initiatives is crucial and thus I asked Todd Boone, Psion’s director of Market Development a few questions on this:

In which ways did you prepare to bring your partners on board your open innovation efforts?

Boone: We...

A Hybrid Model for Corporate Venture and Open Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

I recently wrote a blog post, Is Corporate Venture Dead, Is Open Innovation the New Thing? which got lots of comments here and especially in our 15inno LinkedIn group.

One comment came from Ignaas Caryn, who is Director of Innovation and Venturing at Air France KLM. He suggests a more holistic approach to innovation including a kind of a hybrid model for corporate venture and open innovation. I agree.

As I always like to hear what corporate people have to say on such matters, this is the full comment given by Ignaas:

“I think corporate venturing and open innovation (e.g. supplier innovation) are very complementary and should be part of a holistic approach to innovation. The same can be...

The Essential Element of Trust in Open Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

Trust is fundamental to open innovation. It comes at many levels – internally as well as externally. As you move toward open innovation, you should begin to look into two questions:

1. What does it take for you to trust others?

2. How do you convince your external stakeholders to build trust in you and your company and then start forging strong relationships?

The necessity of building trust as a basis for successful open innovation means that it is even more relevant to look at the people side of innovation than to concentrate on processes, and it also brings more power to the people who really drive innovation within a company.

Why? Trust is first and foremost established between people and then perhaps between organizations....

Good Reads on Innovation #24

by Stefan Lindegaard

Here comes a list of blog posts and articles on innovation that I have enjoyed in the last couple of weeks. I hope you will enjoy this as well. You can follow me on Twitter: @lindegaard

Cathedral or Chaos? by Steve Shapiro http://bit.ly/9EWTyX let creativity emerge from the mess

Putting heads together by Peter Dizikes http://bit.ly/cTrx05 – the smartest are not always the smartest

Cluetrain vs Madison Avenue by Valeria Maltoni http://bit.ly/dyh4JU should we put people or brand/idea first?

How to Measure the Wisdow of a Crowd by Jessica Marshall http://bit.ly/aoHPJk

What All Great Leaders Have In Common by Mike Myatt http://bit.ly/doRLEg

How to Improve Your Innovation Metrics by @timkastelle http://bit.ly/bEtphn

Great...