Corporate Innovation in 2024
Whilst innovation remains a top priority for every CEO, we have again witnessed recently that when markets are uncertain and costs need to be cut, the innovation function is also amongst the first to be impacted. As a function, we’re still figuring out how we contribute to our organizations’ top and bottom line in sustainable and scalable ways.…
Turn Ideas Into Outcomes: A Framework for Maturing Your Innovation Portfolio
Innovation activity is at an all-time high. From idea competitions and startup incubators to virtual whiteboards and design thinking workshops, there is no shortage of mechanisms for brainstorming what’s possible in an organization. It’s exciting to have so many ideas to work with. But what happens next? Eventually, you need to identify which…
The Failure of Innovation Training
Innovation departments are continuing to fail. Of course, innovation projects are supposed to fail in great numbers, but the idea of a corporate innovation department itself is under tremendous pressure. The macroeconomic climate is battering companies around and leading to budget cuts across the board. Companies are focusing on the core business…
Introducing the Shift Towards Autonomous Innovation
Innovation is undergoing a tectonic shift. As AI advances, we find ourselves heading towards a new era — one where innovation is not just constant but autonomous, as Board of Innovation's founder Philippe de Ridder explains below. From Design Thinking to Autonomous Innovation In the 1990s, design thinking emerged, prioritizing empathy and…
How to Keep Innovating During an Economic Crisis
During an economic crisis, funding dries up, and innovation tanks. At the same time, a crisis presents organizations with unique conditions for innovation. As long as innovation teams have a strategic approach to solving old problems with new solutions, organizations can expect to not only survive but also thrive. Tendayi Viki, Associate Partner…
InnovationOps: the Next Evolution of Innovation Management
As innovation leaders and teams we are tasked to enable our organizations to innovate at scale. Essentially, that means driving innovation in predictable, reliable and efficient ways- doing it again and again, rather than being a one-day fly. Last year alone, over $2.4 trillion was spent on R&D. Yet 90% of executives are unhappy with their…
How To Nail Your Startup Engagement Program
Engaging with startup communities has become a must for corporations pursuing innovation. But when you set up an accelerator, incubator, hackathon series, or any other kind of startup program, copy-paste doesn't work. You need to create a program that fits your specific goals and needs. And so, how to set up an effective “startup engagement…
Team Building in the Corporate Venture Studio Context
Corporate venture studios offer innovation teams the freedom to operate with the spirit, passion, and resilience of entrepreneurs, all while leveraging organizational resources. However, building successful innovation teams in this context requires careful consideration. What are the key ingredients? During our recent Innov8rs Learning Lab on…
Why Creativity Is So Important (And How to Develop Yours)
Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and simply the abundance of easily accessible data means that the world is being put on a level playing field when it comes to analytical thinking. We all have the same information and the same tools, so we need to develop skills beyond the analytical in order to compete. This is lateral and creative…
How Corporate Venture Builders Succeed (and Why They Even Care)
Eight in ten surveyed CEOs report new-business building as a top five priority despite recent heightened economic volatility. That makes sense, as every dollar of revenue from new businesses generates almost twice the enterprise value versus every dollar of core business revenues. Still, organizations will need to more than double their rate of…
Viable Innovation Teams
The right people with the right idea at the right time and with the right funding can do wonders. Yet what is considered "right" can vary significantly from day to day, and determining what factors contribute to building a viable innovation team can be challenging. During our recent Innov8rs Learning Lab on Culture, Talent & Teams, Bruno Pešec…
Always Change A Winning Innovation Team: Why Reinvention and Change are Prerequisites For Innovation
The right people in the right place are key to meeting current and future growth challenges. In the current rapidly evolving business environment, staying innovative, agile, and resilient is increasingly difficult for corporates. Without the right people in the right positions, meeting these growth challenges can become even more daunting. Is…
