The history of the Great Recession shows that firms must continue to invest in innovation to be successful amid the market volatility. Such market volatility sometimes means exasperation for innovation officers and their staffs as they try to maintain their budgets and portfolios amidst buffeting from completely external forces.
Strategists and managers are finding themselves under intense pressure to accelerate growth bets in emerging markets, while simultaneously lacking the time or capabilities to do so.
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(Harvard Business Review, 8 May 2012) In Brief: Breakthrough innovation is impossible without the right people to develop the product, this writer says. Start from scratch and throw out all assumptions. Build a team for the specific task, rather than cobbling one together from whomever is available. Don’t be afraid to rethink your hierarchy. Our [...]
Read More(Forbes, 6 May 2012) In Brief: No single company is likely to have a monopoly on all the best ideas, this writer says. Open innovation to create and develop better products can take various forms, including co-development and other non-equity alliances, crowdsourcing, and user innovation. Our View: Companies spend more than 20% of R&D budgets [...]
Read More(TLNT, 9 May 2012) In Brief: Before you can engage your employees, you need to serve them, according to this writer. Give them your time, concern, and interest, he says, and they will reward you with increased productivity and a higher level of commitment. Our View: Start assessing your employees’ level of engagement by getting [...]
Read More(Chicago Tribune: Business, 10 May 2012) In Brief: To increase sales of specialty foods and expand its mix of products, Bed, Bath & Beyond will acquire Cost Plus Inc. in a deal worth $495 million. Our View: Companies should prioritize their deal opportunities systematically and transparently to accelerate M&A value capture. Conduct due diligence to [...]
Read More(Fast Co.Design, 3 May 2012) In Brief: Four ingredients are needed for a culture of innovation: the right employees, reward programs, an understood definition of innovation, and engaged leaders who demonstrate their concern for creativity. Our View: Collectively, an organization’s talent, environment, and process drive its ability to innovate. Communicate to the organization that failure [...]
Read More(Harvard Business Review, 8 May 2012) In Brief: Instead of following continuous improvement methodology for every aspect of your organization, be selective about how and when to apply it, this writer says. Challenge assumptions on which processes need to be improved, eliminated, or disrupted. Always consider the effects on corporate culture. Our View: Implementing lean [...]
Read More(Huffington Post, 8 May 2012) If your son or daughter is a fan of horror flicks, then Dominic Deville is the evil birthday clown for you. When he’s hired to entertain at children’s parties, he sends warning notes, calls and texts during the week leading up to the celebration, and on the big day, he [...]
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