Best Practices Are Stupid – A Great Book on Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

So many books, so little time. I think we all know this when it comes to reading – and reviewing – books. This was also my case when I got, Best Practices Are Stupid – 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition, the new book by Stephen Shapiro a few months back.

I am glad I picked up this book. I used to read lots of innovation books, but I stopped a few years back as I find more value in blog posts when it comes to insights gained versus time spent. Books are too often too long while lacking new insights and ideas.

This is not the case with this book. It is not only inviting by being fairly short. It...

How to Use Yammer to Drive Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

Many companies use Yammer to drive innovation and especially idea generation / development within their company. They often learn that it is fairly easy to recruit people for the Yammer platform which lets employees share and connect with coworkers in a private, secure enterprise social network.

It is, however, much more difficult to keep the users engaged over time. So what kind of engagement drivers work for innovation initiatives on Yammer? I am wondering and it would be great to hear your take on this. Here you get my starters.

First, I think we need to divide the approach into three key elements: Awareness, Facilitated content and User-generated content.

1) Awareness: Short, focused bursts aimed to build awareness of the Yammer initiative, make existing users...

Are Asians Capable of Innovation?

by Stefan Lindegaard

Of course they are, but innovation in Asia is different than what we see in the more mature (on innovation management) Western parts of the world.

I recently read a great book, Leading Innovasian – Embedding Innovation Culture in Malaysian Organizations, and I liked the perspectives on Asian innovation given by Azim Pawanchik and Dr. Suraya Sulaiman from Alpha Catalyst Consulting.

I got their permission to share the below insights from the book which I think is a great primer on the issues Asians face when it comes to innovation.

“Potential failure within the start-ups tends to be acceptable within the Western economic community as a cost of doing business. Hence many more corporations are willing to take risks, break tradition...

First Mover or Fast Follower in the Age of Open Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

I think we need to revisit an old discussion again. What is the best approach for innovation: first mover or fast follower?

Wikipedia tells us that sometimes first-movers are rewarded with huge profit margins and a monopoly-like status. On the other hand, being a first mover might also come with disadvantages such as “free-rider affects, resolution of technological or market uncertainty, shifts in technology or customer needs, and incumbent inertia”.

The first part definitely sounds promising, but the disadvantages provide good ammunition for siding with the fast-follower approach. Steve Blank is a proponent of the latter and he shares his views in this article: You’re Better Off Being a Fast Follower Than an Originator

Blank claims that research done by Golder and Tellis...

Top 5 Countries for Open Innovation in Asia

by Stefan Lindegaard

Where is the place to go to if you want to be on the forefront of open innovation in Asia? Well, that place does not exist. OK, but what are the top 5 countries to look out for if you are interested in open innovation in Asia?

This is a tough call as there is not that much open innovation activity in Asia. However, here you get my picks based on my insights and interactions in this region. It is a quick-and-dirty list, but let’s use it as a discussion starter on open innovation activities in Asia.

My top 5 open innovation countries in Asia:

1. Malaysia: This is a controversial choice as Malaysia is not known for open innovation activities at all. However, I...

How Do We Get Smarter on Innovation?

by Stefan Lindegaard

I wonder how the innovation community – corporate people, consultants, academics and others – can get smarter on innovation.

In particular, I wonder whether we still need books and whether it is still worth the effort for authors to write them given the low book sales due to the insanely high number of books being published.

There must be better ways to share insights and knowledge. Here are some of my suggestions:

• Blogs. Obviously already an important factor

• Digital documents (PDF). Share insights on a key topic on 20-60 pages. This could be part of a series of documents allowing faster publication and thus sharing of insights.

• Short videos with explanations and key messages

• Physical events. Create even more content and...

How to Engage People on Yammer – 10 Great Reads

by Stefan Lindegaard

As preparation for a client session, I am looking into ways of engaging people on the Yammer platform. If you have not heard of Yammer before, this is a solution that lets employees share and connect with coworkers in a private, secure enterprise social network.

I found lots of great insights that I want to share with you. Many of the articles were found on the Yammer blog, which has tons of great content. Definitely worth checking out for other topics as well!

As I did in my recent post on using social media for innovation efforts, I have included a short snippet from each of the articles to give you an idea of what to expect.

I hope...