3M is one of the most innovative companies in the world, releasing on average twenty-five new products every week. It’s total product portfolio comprises fifty-five thousand items and has received in all three thousand and seven hundred patents during the course of its time. The total employee strength is over ninety-thousand spread across two-hundred manufacturing plants and eighty-six labs. Major lessons in business innovation may be gleaned from them. The first such is that time must be devoted to interacting with the final customers and deriving valuable business intelligence in the process. Further, in order to develop innovations, specific time must be allotted to the same. They have developed the McKnight Principles, which state that innovations can only be developed when mistakes are allowed. If too much caution creeps in, then newer discoveries will not be made. People at 3M who genuinely strike gold in terms of creating new value, are rewarded and remembered for others to be inspired. Most importantly, a company-wide philosophy of collaboration needs to be fostered so that specific interest areas are ultimately all aligned towards the common goals.

Source:http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2017/11/07/five-innovation-lessons-from-3m/

Uploaded Date:16 November 2017

Crowdfunding has become the new rage with a World Bank report stating that this entire gamut could be worth US$96 billion by 2038, which is a full 1.5 times greater than the present size of the venture capital industry. It is also now understood that crowdfunding has been and will further democratize investments, leading to funds being available with lean start-ups to compete with traditional giants. This is further evidenced by the blossoming of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, Indie Go-Go and Go Fund Me. However, the reality is less rosy as further introspection suggests that crowdfunding tends to go better with safer projects rather than true businessinnovations. This is because the majority of investors on such platforms do not have the overall vision that large VC firms have and so opt for utility products. An interesting business intelligence provided by Kickstarter is that when the terms novelty and utility were mentioned individually, their rate of getting funded increased by 200 and 1200 percent respectively. However, when the terms were both mentioned simultaneously for a single product, the acceptance went down by 26 percent implying that people did not see these two values as co-habitable.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Does-Online-Crowdfunding-Reward-Actual-Innovation?gko=7f14c

Uploaded Date:16 November 2017

Elon Musk’s story remains one of pure entrepreneurial success, one after another. Zip2, PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla have all proven to be influential companies within their fields. Thus, some lessons ought to be learnt from his life and work. The first thing needed is a vision to see things beyond the usual, as Musk did with SpaceX when he visualized a world where space travel could benefit all people and not just astronauts and when with Tesla he created electric vehicles on scale. Another lesson is not to sit back and rest on laurels, but to constantly keep innovating to build the next big thing. True business innovations require the founder to defy the existing norms, as disruptions will hurt many existing players. Tesla has likewise bypassed many existing channels.

Source:http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2017/11/01/3-things-innovators-can-learn-from-elon-musk/

Uploaded Date:15 November 2017

In order to achieve any level of developing business innovations, it is essential to build a prerequisite fitness for the same. The first step to that is simply getting started. At this stage, the needs and imperatives are outlined, the critical path is designed and resources separated. The next stage involves the dynamics which is about a clear focus of the efforts towards the overall corporate strategy. So proper alignment is needed. Then the quantification is done where resources are allocated to various aspects. Constant feedback needs to be taken so that processes may be improvised identifying needs along the way. The system is then designed to veer towards the right direction by framing a strategic architecture. Beyond the tangible aspects of the innovation, process, the softer side need also be explored. This evaluates the intellectual capital and the intangible benefits while balancing differing rivalries. Next up is building a sense of sustainability so that the rivalries can be dimmed and capabilities be built in. At the penultimate stage, the innovations need to be pilot tested. Once the process rolls on, the people behind it must take a step back, but continue observing it for risks and improvisations.

Source:http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2017/10/16/9-stages-for-building-innovation-fitness/

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017

While almost every country in the world is grappling with ways to approach business innovation, most are looking at it from the wrong perspective. Instead of the one-off ‘aha’ moment romanticized in literature and cinema, it is actually a series of steps that bring organizations closer to path-breaking innovations. This step-by-step prioritization can best be captured in a canonical lean innovation framework. The first step here is addressing the innovation sourcing. At this stage, brainstorming takes place among group members on problems, ideas and technologies worth giving a try. The next step is Curation, where the entire set up is designed and all internal projects are veered towards this process. Once this list is out, prioritization needs to be done on which ideas will work best or need attention. For this the Three Horizons Models built by management consulting leader McKinsey must be used. Then a Hypothesis needs to be developed around which solutions are to be explored. This is followed by the Incubation stage, where the project takes baby steps towards the target. At the final count, all work thus far needs to be refactored and integrated to align with overall goals. Organization debt needs to be rectified if any.

Source:https://hbr.org/2017/09/what-your-innovation-process-should-look-like?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017

In order to foster increased levels of business innovation, Google abides by nine principles which are recommended to others as well. An important thing to acknowledge is that innovation cannot be curated, but is something which can arise from anywhere. Any innovation will only be useful till it is focused on the needs of the final users. A lot of so-called innovation is simply incremental. Companies must aim for substantial transformation up to ten times and not a mere ten percent. Any business intelligence received on technological transformations must be supported to view the progress. Another insight provided by Google is that companies must not wait for the ideal market to be developed, but must quick to launch into the market to experiment, and later improvise if need be. Google has a principle where each person must spend a fifth of one’s office hours in creative tasks. Failure is celebrated at Google, because otherwise risks will never be taken. Google also believes in being open to the outside world, so that the best ideas can constantly pour in. Finally, each organization must have a mission which drives its very work.

Source:http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2016/09/19/learn-from-the-best-googles-nine-principles-of-innovation/

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017

The biggest hurdle to fostering business innovation in any organization is nothing but the people’s mindset. Mindset refers to the assumptions and beliefs that drive one’s thinking about how the world works. Innovation does not however correspond to personality. A lot of the innovation ability tests such as MBTI, Strengths finder or DISC are in fact measures of personality. Instead, innovation involves deviating from the established norms and procedures. Brainstorming or Creative Problem Solving is one method for inducing a sense of innovation among people. A lot of the managers who claim to support innovation, do the very opposite in their own decision making. Before venturing forward to exploring innovation or entrepreneurship, it is essential to systematically update one’s own thinking.

Source:http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2016/07/13/the-value-of-an-innovator-mindset/

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017