Category: Innovation Examples & Lessons

Is there a completely different way to deliver what you deliver?

Michael Dell Is there a completely different way to operate in your business? If all your competitors are using a broadly similar approach, is there an entirely separate approach that could deliver what your customers want? In the early 1980s the leading manufacturers of Personal Computers were companies such as IBM, Compaq, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard and Olivetti. They operated a similar model. They... Read More--

How would you handle a truly radical idea?

Albert Einstein Einstein said that all great original ideas at first appear absurd. This is why it is so easy to dismiss radical suggestions when they surface. We point out that they are absurd and so miss great opportunities. How would you react if an unorthodox business idea was presented to you and you could immediately see problems with it? Imagine that you are the boss in each of these situations: Spectacles... Read More--

Two Important Things that lead to Innovation are Pain and Slack

If you want innovation then think about these two words – pain and slack. They can lead you to innovation success. Wherever there is a pain there is a need for innovation. So if you are looking to create new products or services look for the pain points. Study your customers and their everyday activities. Where do they have difficulties in using the product or services that you and your competitors... Read More--

A Six Point Plan to Boost Innovation in your Business

1. Diagnose the current situation First you need to assess how good you are at innovation and find out what is impeding it in your organization. Could it be a lack of vision or a complacent culture, or perhaps a difficult approval processes for new ideas? Try our interactive survey on the Test Yourself page. Or for a fuller understanding of the issues you can carry out an Innovation Audit. The audit... Read More--

Get Brilliant Business Ideas from an Innovation Camp

I have facilitated a number of corporate innovation camps for clients. One was for Amdocs, a $3B software and services company that supplies mobile service providers. It took place over four days: the first two were spent on a bewildering variety of crazy creativity activities. These included blowing huge soap bubbles, a giant pacman, wacky physics experiments, lateral thinking puzzles, improv theatre... Read More--

Process Innovation – Transfer some of the job to the customer.

Online check-in for flights is a great innovation. Instead of standing in line at the check-in desk I can select my seat and print my boarding card at the computer on my desk (or on my smart phone). For me, the passenger, online check-in offers time saving, control and convenience. For the airline it means less administration, fewer check-in desks and competitive advantage (I would rather fly with... Read More--

How Leading Retailers Innovate

When consumer spending falls, as it has recently, retail becomes a desperately competitive business. The natural reaction is to compete on price with sales, customer discount coupons and special offers. However, there is always scope for innovation and as we walk down the high street we can see imaginative retail approaches to the business of attracting customers. Here a couple of striking recent examples. IKEA... Read More--

Borrow with Pride

Sometimes the best way to innovate is to borrow someone else’s idea and apply it in your business. A successful innovation does not have to be an all-new invention. It just has to be something useful which is new to your business. Maybe everyone in Singapore is doing it but you are the first in Holland; maybe every consulting firm does it but yours is the first doctors’ surgery to try it;... Read More--

Try Asking a Different Question; it will lead to a Different Answer

Every year millions of babies die within the first week of birth.  Most could be saved with the use of incubators, which are widely available in the developed world but not in under-developed countries.  There is a common problem with interrupted power supply.  Also much of the medical equipment that is donated to hospitals in these countries falls into disuse because of the lack of spare parts... Read More--

Pain can be the Father of Innovation

Necessity is the mother of invention. And pain can be the father of innovation. Whenever you or your customer has a problem, an inconvenience, a difficulty or a pain there is an opportunity for innovation. A new product or service is called for to alleviate the pain. Nick D’Aloisio was a 16 year old London schoolboy when he invented a mobile phone app called Summly. He said, “I was revising for... Read More--