Innovation can lead to higher profits!‘Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity‘ – Michael Porter , Harvard Business School. Companies which are innovation stars, do better in the market place. This has been proved by research, which also shows a clear link between better innovation practices, employee involvement, customer satisfaction and a higher market …
When you take the germinal product into a protected test market, observe the way it is used by customer. Try different version of it, if possible. For example, a manufacturer of metal furniture is carrying out hands-on experiments with customers in different retail formats whilst developing wooden furniture that customers can accept as easily as …
Let all members of the team analyze and discuss the problem. Break up the problem and analyze it in all its parts. Study the past, present and future of the problem as team members perceive it. Let everyone have a chance to imprint their personal view point of the problem.Certainly a person on the assembly …
The practice of innovation is a science studied from the time the Greeks coined the word “Heuristics”.(hyu ′ris·tiks) which means the study of the mental processes involved in problem solving. IBM and GE have a 2 year course on innovation for all their graduate engineers. The Anna University at Chennai has introduced a 40 week …
Company wide innovation is not about nurturing solitary genius in sterile laboratories but requires the bubbling enthusiasm of innovation spirals. To internalize innovation tools, use them. Teach them to others. The new IT is Innovation Tools, install them in your mind’s computer. Present the tools with examples from your company. Encourage questions. Teach the tools …
Nonsense can sometimes make sense too!The importance of nonsense can hardly be overstated. The more clearly we experience something as ‘nonsense’, the more clearly we are experiencing the boundaries of our own self-imposed cognitive structures. ‘Nonsense’ is that which does not fit into the pre arranged patterns we have superimposed on reality. Nonsense is nonsense …
Women have moved into the workforce in an unmistakable wave. In modern societies today, many of them bear the dual burden of managing a home and career. The infrastructure necessary to help them: crèches, dependable childcare, help from husbands, gadgets to make housework easier, is not yet in place. This generation of transitional women is …
Ideas imported from other fields can totally transform your company. In a Creativity Lab conducted for an internationally acclaimed company dealing in printing of tea bags, the problem was maintenance of delicate machines. The expensive machines were often handled clumsily, resulting in damage, breakdowns and loss. To counteract this, the ‘Metaphor’ tool was used. Metaphors …
Meetings can waste a lot of time or they can provide an effective way to harvest ideas and ensure buy-in, thus empowering the group to achieve greater levels of productivity. The effectiveness of the meeting can be enhanced by: Having a clear goal for the meetingCirculating the agenda in advance to ensure preparation.Having a system …
In India, the pressure on companies for immediate commercial returns is high. Management is bottom – line driven. They are extremely result driven in the short term and lose faith in concepts very fast. Innovation is a concept that requires long – term buy – in and takes time to be fully ingrained in the …
