As the co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman once said that trying to innovate and scale a business quickly requires you to “throw yourself off a cliff and assemble your airplane on the way down.” Sounds risky. It doesn’t have to be. For most new upstarts — be it a startup or corporate venture — finding…
DetailsOver the last two decades, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s most innovative business leaders to help develop innovative solutions and services for companies big and small. During that time, I have come across numerous methodologies for coming up with ground breaking innovations, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The power of the White…
DetailsAs a consultant, I’ve had the chance to work with some of the world’s biggest businesses and organizations to help guide innovation initiatives and business strategies. What continues to surprise me is how often leaders lack a clear understanding of what the value proposition is that they are providing to customers before developing new products…
DetailsHow do you develop innovative products and services which truly resonate with your customers? In 2016, the American economist Clayton Christensen wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Know Your Customers’ ‘Jobs to be Done’,” which highlighted the importance of developing a deeper understanding of your target audience to drive innovation. As part of…
DetailsDepending on your industry, size and company structure, driving innovation within your business can be a huge undertaking. Some companies are founded with innovation in mind, while others may have struggled to innovate from the very beginning. Innovation, and coming up with new products and services for your business to stand out in the market is…
DetailsOver the last 25 years, I’ve spent thousands of hours and run hundreds of innovation sessions designed to help business executives across all industries to develop better strategies which will enable them to stay ahead of the competition when it comes to developing the most innovative products and services to serve their customers. One…
DetailsThere were over 200 different concepts for new products and services written on multi-colored post-its and stuck on every conceivable surface across the conference room in my client’s office. The innovation session had been going on for most of 2 days, yet the participants didn’t look tired. In fact, they were energized. But how on earth…
DetailsCreating a product and bringing it to market is the true test of an entrepreneur or business leader. Successful businesses that aren’t able to rapidly create, test, and implement products that provide real value to their customers are doomed to fail. In over 25 years of business strategy and innovation consulting, I’ve seen organizations of…
DetailsA little self-awareness goes a long way. For most organizations struggling to innovate for their customers and in their markets, chances are there is a lack of genuine self-understanding and assessment around what’s getting in the way and why. In my 25 years leading innovation initiatives, I have found that big challenges arise when there’s…
DetailsBrainstorming is an art and science. Here’s how to help your virtual team generate and prioritize the best ideas. Over the past 25 years, I have run hundreds of brainstorming workshops for high-performing teams. My sessions are often part of larger strategy and innovation initiatives. But all sessions are focused on the same thing: generate, prioritize, and develop…
Details