Innovation Weblog

CIO strategy: Don't hire from the outside

Innovation author Robert B. Tucker, in a new Thought Leader interview on this website, makes a surprising assertion: If an organization is planning to create a Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) position, it shouldn't hire from the outside, but rather promote someone internally into the position.

According to the innovation experts I talk to, CIOs tend to have a fairly short tenure at large corporations - not because they're forced out, but because they tend to burn out after only a year or two. Conventional wisdom would say to hire one of these people, who already have experience leading the innovation function. But Robert says this approach is bound to be problematic.

Read the interview to find out why!

New report outlines how to develop business models for service innovation

Peer Insight, a consulting firm that has done pioneering research in the field of service innovation, recently published a new report that provides a practical framework for exploring potential business models in this area. Entitled The Six Secrets of Business Model Exploration, it outlines six methods that innovation practitioners can use to increase your odds of success in formulating your firm's service strategy.

This report is a free download, but you must register to access it. I think it contains some valuable insights, and I recommend that you read it.

Five pillars of sustainable innovation culture

What does it take to create a sustainable innovation culture? James Todhunter, writing in his Innovating to Win blog, explores five factors that innovation leaders need to keep in mind, in the areas of:

1. Executive leadership,
2. Skill development,
3. Innovation infrastructure,
4. Developing a network for innovation mentoring and facilitation, and
5. Internal promotion of the firm's innovation successes.

James intends this post as an overview; he plans to dig into each factor individually in the near future. This is a brief but worthwhile read, and I look forward to reading his posts as he explores them further.

What is incubation, and how can you utilize it to be more creative?

Paul Williams, in his excellent Think for a Change blog, recently wrote a post the defines what creative incubation is, and how you can put it to work on your ideas.

Most creativity books and experts tend to focus on utilizing different methods and techniques to generate ideas. But incubation is just as important, because it leverages the incredible power of your subconscious mind. Paul describes how this works, using several common examples.

"Simply understanding how your subconscious mind works provides you with a critical advantage in problem solving," he explains. "Once you understand how the process works, you can create the right environment for the incubation process."

Paul then shares six tips for creating a rich environment for incubation. If you're looking for ways to be more creative, I would definitely read this blog post!

New Innovation in Practice Blog tackles the practitioner's perspective

One thing that has been lacking in the innovation blogosphere during the last few years is a practitioner's perspective. Drew Boyd, Director of Marketing Mastery for a division of Johnson & Johnson, aims to remedy that with his Innovation in Practice: A Fortune 100 Perspective Blog. Recent posts include these gems:

• Innovation behavior - Top organizations drive growth by nurturing and investing in innovation as a competency.  One way organizations make it real is by including innovation within formal competency models.
• Innovation through Co-opetition - How do you innovate a business model?
• Choosing innovation consultants - Choosing an innovation consultant is challenging for several reasons.

This blog should be on your "must-read" list - it's that good!

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