Innovation Requires a Change in Behaviour

What is the most important innovation ever? I’ve argued before that it is hand-washing in hospitals. This innovation was a major driver in the improved health outcomes that have increased our life expectancies from less than 60 years at birth to nearly 80 in most developed countries. It’s such a simple idea, and so easy […]

Procter & Gamble – Using Open Innovation to Become a World Class Innovator

Note: This is part of a series of posts discussing The Innovation Matrix. See this post for a description of the full model and what can be done with it. We can use The Innovation Matrix to help us understand how the innovation capability of firms evolves over time. A great case study in this […]

Why You Should Care About Network Structure

When carbon atoms connect, they most commonly form molecules built on rings of six atoms. The things that are built out of these six atom rings of carbon are amazingly diverse. Here are the structures of two of these things: graphite (A) and diamond (B): You can see the rings in both. Same material, same […]

The Innovation Matrix Reloaded, Again

I’ve continued to test out the ideas behind The Innovation Matrix with senior managers, and it seems to be working its way towards becoming a useful tool. As I do this, it continues to evolve. Today, I am going to revisit The Innovation Matrix as a broad concept, then over the next couple of weeks […]

Want Old Ideas? … Then Keep Talking to Your Friends

If you have been reading this blog for a while you will know that a lot of the research work that Tim and I do looks at the link between networks and innovation. When we talk about networks, we mean all sort of ways that people and businesses can connect to each other. For example, […]

Eight Models of Business Models, & Why They’re Important

The term Business Model is one that gets thrown around a lot these days. Even though it might sound like a buzzword to you, it’s important to understand what a business model is, and how they are useful. One of the confusing things about the business model concept is that there are a wide variety […]

Innovation is the Process of Idea Management

Here are a number of actual quotes from this week. On Monday, Mark and I had a research meeting with a colleague in the business school who does business process research. When Mark asked if she has ever looked at innovation, she said: I haven’t, because innovation isn’t a process, is it? After a bit […]

Five Forms of Filtering

We create economic value out of information when we figure out an effective strategy that includes aggregating, filtering and connecting. The three steps interact and reinforce each other – and successful information-based business models have all three. We can undertake business model innovation by changing our methods in these three areas, or by changing where […]

Personal Aggregate, Filter & Connect Strategies

A while back my PhD student Sam and I were talking, and he asked me about my RSS feed. His question was something along the lines of ‘what blogs would I have to read if I wanted to be able to make the connections that you do on your blog?’ As we talked, I realised […]