How to Use Twitter for Innovation and Beyond

by Stefan Lindegaard

In this video post, I share some views and insights on how you can use Twitter for innovation – and beyond. I hope you get some value out of this : – )

Do Companies Really Need Internal Innovation Units?

by Stefan Lindegaard

Do companies really need internal innovation units in times where industry after industry has begun embracing open or external innovation?

The question was triggered by comments made to a couple of my recent blog posts. It did not take much reflection. Of course, we need internal innovation units as they deliver value by themselves and since they hold key future roles as facilitators and integrators of internal and external contributions.

A quick note on this is that companies need to establish systems and processes that allow and judge internal and external innovation opportunities on equal terms.

So yes, we do need internal innovation units, but it is fair to question what they should look like and what functions they should perform. Things are changing fast...

Does The Smartest Guy in the Room Kill Innovation?

by Stefan Lindegaard

In a recent blog post, I gave some views on why executives do not get innovation. Carolyn Merkel added an interesting comment on this:

“I also think ego gets in the way. I have often listened to the CEO make comments like “now, I’m not the smartest guy in the room…” when it is clear that he thinks that he IS the smartest guy in the room, and then, when he doesn’t understand the innovation, he dismisses it.”

I believe there is some truth to this, but since I only have an outside view being a speaker and advisor, I would appreciate hearing from corporate people on this. Is this a big issue – not just with the CEO but also...

Five Reasons Why CEO’s Don’t Get Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

Here are five reasons why I believe CEOs and other top executives often don’t support innovation, even though the business climate of our time demands it:

• The demand for short-term gains nearly always wins the day. Top executives at public companies are under enormous pressure to produce strong financial results each and every quarter. This is the area where they are rewarded for producing results, and their job security increasingly depends on it.

• They missed out on innovation education. Many of today’s top executives got their business education before innovation was a significant part of the curriculum at many MBA programs. They could compensate for this with experience, but many also missed on-the-job training, because innovation training usually happens from the top down,...

Top 3 Innovation Trends and Issues – April

by Stefan Lindegaard

What is happening in the innovation community right now? In this post, I give a quick overview of the top trends and issues based on the interactions and inspirations I have had over the last month or so.

1. User-driven innovation – does it work?

How valuable is user input for innovation? This is a classic discussion that picked up more steam with this article, User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and IKEA, by Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen who states that companies should lead their users, not the other way around.

The article spurred lots of re-tweets, comments and a several counter-articles such as this one by Chris Grams, User-led innovation can’t create breakthroughs. Really?, and...

A Great Resource on Innovation: Open and Beyond

by Stefan Lindegaard

Are you looking for inspiration on innovation and beyond? Then you should take a look at the below list of 15inno blog posts that I have written over the past two years. You can use the Find function on your computer/browser to see blog posts on topics of special interest to you.

Enjoy!

Open Innovation Examples and Resources

When Good Laughs Inspire Innovation

How to Approach Open Innovation: The 15inno Open Innovation Roadmap

A Road Map on Social Media Tools and Open Innovation

How the Rubber Band Effect Hinders Innovation

How to Gain Management Support for Open Innovation

Three Circles for Open Innovation

How Companies Kill Innovation – A Good Laugh

Top 5 Open Innovation Countries

P&G and the Future of (Open) Innovation

Why Intellectual...

Good Reads on Innovation #30

by Stefan Lindegaard

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

Wanna Solve Impossible Problems? Find Ways to Fail Quicker by Aza Raskin http://bit.ly/elzRG8

From Products to Services: How Medellín, Colombia is Overcoming the Commodity Trap by Chesbrough http://bit.ly/hOnnSF

Innovation Always Starts With Empathy; Look at Zipcar and Even Apple by Vossoughi http://bit.ly/glK8vu

The Benefits of Open Innovation in Low-Tech SMEs by Wim Vanhaverbeke http://bit.ly/eUjb2r

Fail Bigger Cheaper: A Three Word Manifesto by Umair Hague http://bit.ly/fdigSp

Why Apple Succeeds: Users, Not Designers, Have the Best Ideas by Adam Silver – http://bit.ly/eDet8K

Open Innovation &...

What a Networked Innovation Culture Looks Like

by Stefan Lindegaard

In a recent post, 4 Key Elements for Open Innovation Success, I mentioned that a networked innovation culture is critical. But what does a good networking culture looks like? It’s such a new concept that there aren’t a lot of examples available to illustrate it, but here are some key components of a good networking culture:

• Top executives have outlined clear strategic reasons why employees need to develop and nurture internal and external relationships. This includes making clear how your company’s networking culture links with and supports your innovation strategy.

• Among the things to consider when developing your networking culture strategy is what types of networks you hope to build to support your innovation efforts. If your organization is moving toward...

How the Rubber Band Effect Hinders Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

You stretch it, you hold and — swish, it just goes back to normal. This is what happens when you play around with a rubber band. You just don’t get anywhere with it.

Unfortunately, this is also the situation with many organizations trying to change the corporate culture and further develop their innovation capabilities. I have seen too many cases in which innovation leaders and team members are supposed to be inspired by books, blogs and consultants to change their corporate culture.

At first glance, it all makes sense, but the trouble comes along when we move to long-lasting implementation. This is where the rubber band metaphor kicks in. You stretch the mind-set, you try to keep people in this new way of thinking, but...

5 Things Needed to Manage Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

Sometimes I wonder whether innovation actually can be managed. If this is the case, I wonder why the return on investments and the innovation output is so low at so many companies.

Could it be that innovation is more about luck and timing than ever before? The reason for this being the fast pace of change that we have in today’s world of business.

Well, I do believe that innovation can be managed, but it does require more focus on things we did not emphasize that much just 5 years ago. This includes:

• Expect and plan for the unexpected to happen

• Develop an agile organization (more important than ever)

• Set the right conditions and the right framework rather than just telling people...