The Future of Innovation is FEWER IDEAS, Not More

In 1997, Stephens and Burley found through their research that, in most industries, it takes 3,000 initial, undeveloped ideas to produce a single successful commercial product.  Other research determined that in the pharmaceutical industry it can be as many as 6,000.  The Universal Success Curve thus launched the notion that innovation is a numbers game. …

Down But Not Out: Disappointing Prototypes Need a Standing 8 Count

Sometimes innovation leaders need to play a role similar to that of a referee in a boxing match and give projects a standing eight count when everyone else wants a TKO. A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing judgment call made by a referee during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts …

Is An Innovation Process Really Necessary? 2 Perspectives…

Startup Perspective from Jeff Hilimire Jeff  has founded four companies - Spunlogic, Engauge, Dragon Army, and 48in48. He writes about his experiences at jeffhilimire.com.  Jeff's perspective on the necessity of an innovation process is: Every company needs to be focused on innovation. Whether you're a technology-based company or you're in the least innovative field around...what would …

There is no such thing as “Disruptive Innovation”

We can't predict whether any innovation we launch will be disruptive, any more than we can determine in advance a video we post online will go viral.  So why do many of us continue to talk about it as if we can design disruption into an idea?  Here's a good example of the misuse of …