Svetla K

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The idea(s) and the funnel

A particularly interesting discussion on idea management was opened (but not closed) during the annual Continuous Innovation Network Conference and related workshops. Since the purpose of the Conference is to gather academics and practitioners, those of us who don’t read papers on a regular basis had the chance to catch up with the latest and greatest. For the rest, I assume, it was a useful exercise anyway as measuring innovation is never a plain black and white debate.

So, researchers says you need solid knowledge to approach innovation but innovation specialists swear you have to be playful instead - a true clash of the titans! An efficient and accountable, therefore superior stage-gate process must be measurable and most often compares the incoming and the outgoing (volumes). However, involving experts late in the process or directly at the go/no go evaluation point involves the...

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#askingforafriend

Can you cook bacon with a hair straightener? askingforafriend

The above seriously made me think about the execution and outcome of this gourmet interpretation. But something else too - “The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt1 . Clearly I found this quote on The Internet - the holy sanctuary of all knowledge - but if there’s one thing you won’t find that’s everyone agreeing on something. Google it, tweet it, post it on Reddit and see what happens… So, have we ourselves, chosen to drop the privilege to not know and consequently inquire in favour of the convenience of anonymous internet knowledge? Have we numbed the voice of curiosity because of a stigma looming over our self-confidence or reputation? Are we getting away with sharing failure but not success? And are we doing all that as a precaution...

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Why you’ll never find yesterday’s weather forecast

Covering blunders? One big conspiracy? Or … could it just be as pointless as buying CD storage racks when you only really use music streaming service?

In any case, let’s try and start by dividing the good to know and the nice to know. The former is your map and gets you there. The latter is your compass and brings some added value - speed, convenience, you name it. Armed with both, you are ideally able to make informed decisions as the more accurate and complete your knowledge, the smarter the choices it triggers. But now back on the weather forecast. And how exactly is it connected to your business and your aspirations to grow, innovate and do better. Believe it or not, there is very simple yet dramatic resemblance between the two.

Let’s imagine for a second you could only look back in time and ground your current behaviour on insights collected in the past, like yesterday’s weather...

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Innovation is a journey, not a destination

In my very first blog post ever I am going to tell you about my innovation journey and how I figured it is about when more than what, how or even why.

By playing with the famous quote above, I am also implying innovation is critical for survival - and it really is - but more on that later.

Just like every journey, with innovation you will have to sit and plan in advance. Think of a family trip with prickly children, allergic cousin, one grandma and a dog. These are your stakeholders and you want to ensure everyone is a) comfortable embarking on the journey together b) aware of the rules and c) ready and fit to keep up with the group. So, do your research and determine whether you(r team) have got what it takes to begin. Nothing screams anti-innovation like jumping into the deep blue unprepared, or worse - the one screaming will be you (and your business). Planning also helps you see...

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