By Elijah Eilert “We failed but we have learned so much,” is often heard from innovators. In principle, we should welcome this, as innovation teams sharing their failures is one of the signs of a healthy and effective innovation ecosystem. But, we need to ensure that ‘learning’ does not turn into an excuse for [...]
By Tristan Kromer & Elijah Eilert It is not enough to say, “We’re early stage and we shouldn’t focus on a business plan or metrics.” It is not enough to say, “We’re focusing on qualitative data.” And it is certainly not enough to say, “We’ll figure out how to monetize later.” As an early-stage venture, you don’t [...]
By Elijah Eilert What do gold mining and breakthrough product innovation have in common? The odds of success are low. Only 1 gold mine comes to fruition from 10,000 potential prospects. Obviously, mining companies do not put all their dollars into one location and hope for the best. Miners are managing a multitude of [...]
By Tristan Kromer Every once in a while, there’s a question on a forum or in a breakout room that really starts a wild discussion. My favorite example from the Innov8rs forum might be: How do you develop and align Innovation Strategy with Corporate Strategy? There are a ton of ways to answer [...]
By Tristan Kromer & Elijah Eilert In times of uncertainty, we strive for predictability. The relentless pace of change driven by rapid technological advancement has made more and more companies paranoid. They look over their shoulders trying to find their own blindspots. They try to anticipate the next wave of disruption, like a tourist who [...]
By Elijah Eilert Traditional accounting methods measure and manage innovation efforts but too often they are one of innovation’s biggest disablers. Standard business cases and financial modeling for example are not helpful in funding corporate innovation initiatives nore measure progress in a meaningful way. Perversely, standard accounting methods, metrics and funding mechanisms can work [...]
By Elijah Eilert Where do the dollars go – which ideas get the dosh? Who’s innovation project wins the funds? And more importantly why? The reality is, that in most cases the best storytellers win. The writers and the great politicians, those are not always the ones with the best ideas. This approach is [...]
By Tristan Kromer KPIs can kill you. Or at least it can kill your efforts to create a truly disruptive innovation. And I can’t think of a more deadly KPI than growth. Of course, growth is every company’s aspiration. There are revenue growth targets, market share growth targets, margin growth targets, and even simple [...]
By Tristan Kromer A lot of tours come through Silicon Valley full of CEOs, CTOs, and board members who want to figure out what makes the region tick. They want to see startups, hear thought leaders, and of course, have a glass of wine in Napa. These tours can be inspirational. But they don’t [...]
By Tristan Kromer Paid, retention, viral. Those are the three “engines of growth” suggested by Eric Ries in The Startup Way. Companies can pick one of the three to be great at, but they generally can’t manage more than that. Why? How do these engines work with your innovation strategy? How do they differ [...]
