Thesis-based Investment or Theme-based Investment
One of the worst mistakes companies make when pursuing innovation-led growth is to sink their money into various investments without knowing why, beyond just ‘it’s
The Innovation Thesis and its Structure
President Kennedy’s address to the joint session of the US Congress on May 25th 1961 can be viewed as the start of the space race:
Moonshots Are Nice, But do You Have a Space Program?
Probably you are familiar with the term moonshot and if you aren’t here’s a short definition: a difficult or expensive task, the outcome of which
Why a Career in Innovation Management is a Bad Idea. And What Can You do About it.
Following a career in innovation might sound really exciting. At least in theory, you will have to tap into your creative self, you will get the chance to play with the latest technology, understand the latest trends and overall have a feeling of being ahead of the curve. But in reality, in most companies, following a career in innovation might be the worst choice one can make.
Why Now? Why Us? A Radically Rational Guide for a Winning Business Strategy
Deciding on which strategic option to pursuit comes from understanding if the timing is right to act and if your comapny is in the best position to succeed in with that strategic option.
Three Things to Consider When Developing an Innovation Strategy
The process of developing a strategy in companies pre-pandemic was nothing more than an exercise in incremental adaptation of last year’s plan. The pandemic proved
Why build a system for innovation
While the debate of innovation being art or science is still raging on we have to admit that not everyone in a large company is
Telcos’ second chance
The dawn of a new technological revolution is upon us. 5G will impact our lives in more ways than we think. Unlike its predecessors though,
Corporate-startup collaboration checklist
This article was initially published on The Future Shapers where I am a regular contributor. With the increased need to diversify their innovation enabling vehicles, more and more
Introducing the innovation management matrix
To properly manage innovation, we need a new way to identify the different types When looking at the innovation maturity within a company, the existence
An executive summary of The Corporate Startup
How many times have you had to explain the concepts of corporate innovation to a new colleague, a boss or a partner? Not everyone you
Large Companies Will Be The Biggest Beneficiaries Of The Lean Startup Movement
A lot of commentary around innovation and disruption takes it as a given that startups own the future. Compared to corporate giants, startups are nimble
Eight Ways To Create Space For Innovation
In a previous article, I wrote about the myth of the innovation lab and how intrapreneurs need to focus a good proportion of their time on stakeholder
The Myth Of The Innovation Lab
Innovation labs have become popular as a way for established corporates to manage innovation. A quick search of the term “innovation labs” on Google news
Stop guessing how risky your Riskiest Assumptions are
Tape a Business Model Canvas or Lean Canvas on a wall, grab a large stack of post-it notes and pile of sharpies, invite all the stakeholders. That’s it! You’re
Innovation Accounting is dead. Long live Innovation Accounting!
“The king is dead. Long live the king.” was coined at the death of Charles VI of France. He started his reign with the nickname The
Innovation accounting and portfolio management
The other week at the Lean Startup Summit I introduced our ROI calculator in a couple of innovation accounting roundtable sessions. The sessions were overbooked in general
Innovation Teams Must Answer These Six Questions Before Launching A Product
In previous posts, I have defined innovation as the combination of creative ideas with sustainably profitable business models. While it is good that companies invest
Why Creating Corporate Accelerators For PR Purposes Is Bad For Innovation
Last year, I was engaged in an interesting debate with colleagues about the role of innovation labs and startup accelerators in large companies. Most of
Tips for governing corporate innovation
It’s always fun to do community workshops — the last one I’ve done was for Lean Startup Norway in Oslo. I believe in the power of the
Experiment Velocity vs. Learning Velocity
I was partially wrong promoting ‘experiment velocity’ as an important Innovation Accounting KPI. I’m gonna tell you why and what’s the fix. But first let
How To Create A Culture Of Innovation Beyond The Sticky Note
Corporate leaders often talk about creating a “culture of innovation” within their companies. When having these conversations, they often act as if organizational culture is
Validate before acquiring
With little effort other than financial, the thought of acquiring another company can be extraordinarily tempting for a corporation looking to jump-start innovation. PricewaterhousCoopers predicted
Forget your innovation strategy if the HR Department is not on board
Financial resources, know-how, assets, they are all created by the human resource of the company. People are behind the success or failure of any initiative