My wife and I like birdwatching or birding. For us, backyard birding is a recreational activity. We place several types of bird feeders in our backyard and we fill each with different kinds of bird seed. In particular we like Kaytee Bird Seed from nearby Chilton. Watching the variety of birds at the feeders…
As we work with leaders across industries, we hear a strong focus on diversity as a way of encouraging innovation from many sources. Open innovation and strategic partnering are two proven ways to add to diversity in your organization. Open innovation, a concept that was formalized at an academic level by University of Cal-Berkeley professor…
Many inventors, entrepreneurs and companies I’ve worked with have been embracing some unusual and unique creative strategies to deliver innovation and growth. It’s that kind of creativity that brings me to Portugal this morning, presenting at the 12th annual European Conference on Creativity and Innovation. It’s a hands-on experience in which I am helping leaders…
I’m in Amsterdam, wrapping up a two-day Masterclass Collaboration Frameworks for Innovation workshop showing innovators a hands-on approach to leveraging internal and external networks to extend their capabilities. It’s been a fantastic experience both for me as a teacher/speaker and for those who are now going to apply all they’ve learned about the tools and…
I recently returned from our first Food & Beverage 2011: Sustainable Innovation Summit last week in Chicago, where some of the top innovation leaders from small and large global food giants (Kraft, General Mills, Heinz, Smuckers and many others), gathered to talk about innovation. We learned from each other how to better create a user…
I’ve just come back from hosting an incredible conference in Phoenix, where I met some of the leading innovators who have broken down walls to collaborate with other companies to deliver innovation and customer satisfaction. Here’s my newspaper column this week on how co-creation can work in organizations of any size: This week I had…
Every company has a unique story to tell about their innovation journey. As I’ve partnered with innovation trailblazers all around the world, I’ve been inspired by so many incredible, thought-provoking insights from those who have faced and overcome daunting challenges in their industries. That’s why I’m so excited about a brand new innovation convergence happening…