By Joseph Semsar, Associate Consultant Last week, I had the pleasure of listening in on a joint conference call between the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) and the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO). The call marked the first time these national organizations — which both work to make state governments moreRead… Read more »
Crowdfunding is a technique commonly utilized by software designers and programmers to amass enough financial support to create a new application or tool. However, in its most essential form, crowdfunding combines the spirit of collaborative innovation with the economic muscle to produce tangible results, and therefore can be applied to other industries and pursuits withRead… Read more »
Why are workers keen to cut costs? In an economy when many companies have abandoned hiring, those who still have jobs find themselves overworked, but keen to keep their paychecks. As a result, many companies have begun using innovation management software to pick the brains of their employees to come up with ways to shortenRead… Read more »
According to comedian John Cleese, the only way to be truly creative is to have “boundaries of space, and boundaries of time.” He argues that in a frenetic, multi-tasking world, innovation can only take place in an environment where the unconscious is allowed to explore thoughts without fear of interruptions. This downtime has helped himRead… Read more »
Can inspiration be regulated? This may sound like an oxymoron, but the idea of developing a predictable cycle of innovation is exactly what software company Ovo promises it can do. The company says that it can create “sustainable, repeatable innovation processes and [implement] software applications to enable the processes.” As our lives become increasingly mechanizedRead… Read more »
The recent launch of our software platform, Open Innovation, provides an a excellent opportunity to engage in a discussion about the importance of innovation, specifically in regard to workplace efficiency and communication. Around the globe, the past few years have witnessed significant infrastructural changes, not only in the way we communicate with one another, butRead… Read more »
What is innovation management software? Unlike traditional collaborative software ventures which emphasize open communication across an entire organization, innovation management software is more selective in how different members of the company interact. The software is tailored to construct hierarchies of ideas based on “reputation ranking” and “automated stage graduation.” Essentially, innovation management software has aRead… Read more »
Creating a reliable capability for innovation requires that a number of factors be addressed and aligned. This article addresses strategy and leadership, but equally important are culture, process, roles, skills, etc. Our prior article lays out an eight-element framework outlining each of these key factors. To assess your organization’s innovation capability across these dimensions, andRead… Read more »
You have made it through Ready, you have made it through Set, and now it is time to Go. If all of the ground work has been done correctly in gathering and selling the idea, this part should be business as usual. Please check out Part One: Gathering Ideas and Part Two: Selling Ideas ofRead… Read more »
How do you negotiate or strategically plan your organization’s next step as an active partner with 50,000 individuals? Ideation can help leaders focus a group, allowing them to speak in one clear and strong voice. Using the right social media tools helps bring the crowd together to brainstorm about a single topic, and then self-prioritizeRead… Read more »