By Elijah Eilert Innovation accounting is an emerging discipline aimed at improving the poor track record of predicting outcomes and tracking progress for innovation projects. Traditional accounting methods are not equipped to handle the absence of historical data inherent to innovation. Despite the crucial role for any type of accounting it generally doesn't stir [...]

By Elijah Eilert In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, groundbreaking business models but also large-scale environmental and social problems, 'innovation' is often hailed as the beacon of progress. Innovation is seen as our answer to pressing global challenges. However, I am uncomfortable with this narrative and the perception [...]

By Elijah Eilert I recently wrote an article called What is Innovation Accounting? Explained by Artificial Intelligence, and was surprised by how well the tool, called OpenAI, managed to describe what innovation accounting is. The challenge then arose to ask OpenAl to produce an article about innovation accounting by providing only subheaders as inputs [...]

By Elijah Eilert My friend Mark Vaughn recently found this interesting tool - OpenAI. In a group chat with friends, we had some fun with it, writing poems and asking the AI silly questions. Needless to say, I wanted to see how well the answer to this question would turn out: What is innovation [...]

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 [...]