5 Ways Small Businesses can Innovate Like the Big Guys In traditional thinking, being competitive in the global marketplace requires a significant investment in time and resources. But the reality is that any organization today can take advantage of open innovation to innovate faster and cheaper than ever before, positioning them as true competition in the industry. This article will explore the top five ways SMEs can leverage open innovation. The pace of business today requires creativity, new ideas and new product innovations on an almost on-demand basis. To solve this problem, a growing number of small and medium sized companies are turning to open innovation and crowdsourcing as a way of leveling the playing field with large, global corporations boasting extensive in-house marketing, R&D and business development departments, without increasing fixed costs. Recognizing the opportunities that open innovation presents, below are some tips to help you take advantage of open innovation in 2012: By Dwayne Spradlin About the author
The List of Lists August 14, 2010The List of Lists Of the 410 postings on this blog, the most popular ones have been our lists. Many have "gone viral" (which, I guess, is better than "going postal.") Anyway, just in case you want to see what all the fuss is about, here is a list of our lists -- something for everybody -- even a list about WHY lists are so compelling. 1. 26 Reasons Why Most Brainstorming Sessions Suck 2. 50 Ways to Foster a Culture of Innovation 3. 20 Reasons Why Many People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower 4. 56 Reasons Why Most Innovation Initiatives Fail Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at August 14, 2010 01:41 PM i still say that guy at the piano shoulda been in the Marx Bros. i'll read yur blog of lists if i find the time (hey, don get me Stawted!!) Posted by: Jaimo at August 14, 2010 09:46 PM An excellent list of lists on innovation, thanks for sharing. Posted by: Frostfireltd at August 15, 2010 03:42 PM Post a comment Thanks for signing in, . You are not signed in.
Weconomy | Chi divide perde, chi condivide vince The ultimate guide for the ambitious Innovation Manager (100+ sources) Running innovation projects is hard. By definition you’re doing new things so you can’t rely on old habits and routines. If you and your innovation team don’t feel uncomfortable, you’re simply not innovating. That doesn’t mean you’ll need to fly blind. At every moment in your innovation process you can use tools, references, checklists and other innovation methods. We do the same in our innovation projects. I. I.a Subscribe to innovation blogs Everyday you and your innovation team should be fuelled with fresh ideas. Our favorite websites to steal ideas: Where do you find new business ideas? Startup Stash Non-English innovation & inspiration feeds: I manage and read my +500 feeds via Feedly (also available on iPad/mobile). Many of the above blogs and websites have some awesome daily/weekly newsletters. Newsletters worth signing up to: Pocket is a great tool for keeping a track of what you have already read & plan to read! I.b Use social media as innovation news filters II. Evolve or dissolve!
Random acts of innovation need not be so random: here’s how - Sm We've been preaching innovative thinking since the inception of this blogsite as the best path to more enlightened management, sustainability, and growth. But innovative thinking isn't just based on random acts of brilliance -- it can be forged into a systematic process that can be learned and built into all organizational operations. BusinessWeek recently published a special report on an emerging paradigm called "design thinking," in which innovation is systematically ingrained into processes, much as quality management or Six Sigma. It appears a number of leading business schools are incorporating design thinking into their curriculum. But how practical is it for business? According to BusinessWeek, design thinking, while still couched in academia, is seeing success in real-world business environments as well. BusinessWeek defines design thinking as such: What better example of turning on the light bulb of innovation than at a lighting manufacturer?
Wide Angle » The Open Innovation Toolbox We often think of open innovation as one technique, when in fact it represents a range of techniques that serve different purposes. These techniques fall along a spectrum from the most open (anyone can submit any idea, the crowd selects the best) to the least open (pre-screened experts submit ideas on a specific problem, the company selects the best). Three choices determine which tool you end up with: 1) who to include, 2) what to ask, and 3) how to select answers. Answers to these questions will depend on your objectives: are you trying to boost engagement, solve an urgent challenge, or understand the most widespread customer needs? A better understanding of the benefits and challenges of each technique in the toolbox will improve success rates and limit frustrations. Jeffrey Phillips at Ovo Innovation recently built a typology of open innovation, based on different approaches to idea collection (who is asked and what they are asked). 1. 2. 3. 4.
Heart of Innovation (Mitch Ditkoff) April 10, 2014The Art of Self-Acknowledgment If you're a creative person regularly involved with starting new projects -- the kind unlikely to get results overnight -- here is a simple practice that will keep you in a positive frame of mind and save you from the all-too-familiar phenomenon of depressing yourself by focusing on the cup (or your life) being half empty. At the end of each work day, acknowledge yourself for all of your accomplishments, small, medium, and large. But not just silently, in your head, verbally -- aloud. Most cultural creatives, no matter how inspired they are at the beginning of a project, eventually end up feeling down in the dumps. Continue reading "The Art of Self-Acknowledgment" Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) April 09, 2014Storytelling in Business Infographic Infographic: LookBookHQ and Beutler Ink Sagacious storytelling in businessGreat storytelling quotesIdea Champions Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:25 PM | Comments (0) Idea Champions 1. 1. 2.
Learning Optimism with the 24x3 Rule - Anthony Tjan by Anthony K. Tjan | 9:47 AM July 26, 2011 One of my greatest mentors was the late Jay Chiat of TBWA Chiat Day, an iconoclast in the field of advertising with a constant imagination for possibilities in business and life. Jay embodied the three traits of a “lucky attitude” that I described in my last post: humility, intellectual curiosity, and optimism. Of these three characteristics, it was Jay’s optimism which was perhaps his greatest lesson to me. The capacity to be a natural recipient of ideas and other peoples’ optimism is what makes for the ultimate optimist. Here’s a practical tool for the skeptic or cynic in all of us: the 24×3 rule. And yes, you should also work towards the ability to wait 24 hours — one single day — before pondering or verbalizing the cons against something.