In a few days I’ll be heading to Juneau County Wis., for the Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club gathering, and I am looking forward to meeting some creative innovators! I have the pleasure of presenting the keynote on one of my favorite topics–and one I feel is extremely important: The Keys to Sustainable Innovation.

I will be speaking on this topic at the Management Roundtable Product Development IMPACT 2008 conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., April 7-9. My presentation segues into an engaging discussion among top innovation leaders about some of the hot topics in this area, and I encourage you to attend if you are able!

When I advise clients on building a strategy for sustainable innovation, we talk about creating an “Innovation Ecosystem.” That is a holistic environment designed to address all aspects of innovation, including leadership, structure, culture and people.

Sustainable innovation is all about looking at the way you innovate with new eyes. How you define the problem, create ideas and blend them into a holistic system. Your ecosystem needs to build innovation with open-ended sustainable outcomes. By designing the right model and choosing the right partners, your sustainable innovation capability will deliver return on your investment steadily and predictably over time.