As more companies move toward self-service, it is relevant to ask how customer participation impacts satisfaction and service quality. Research is reviews that makes it clear that firms should take care to find the optimal level of customer participation for their service, and that this optimal level depends on customer readiness to serve themselves.
Read More »Monthly Archives: February 2016
Business Becomes Human
An R&D scientist once said to me, “We need to always begin new product development projects this way,” after sifting through more than 20 in-depth consumer narratives of their condition. These people went into great details about their lives, their struggles, their rituals, and their beliefs. As we unpacked their learnings, the scientist understood the complexities of having...
Read More »Innovation – the best (and last job) in a Machine World?
Creativity and originality are thought to be one of the last traits that machines will be able to learn so as everyone asks which jobs are going to be replaced by machines is innovation the best job in the world?
Read More »Innovation is Change
Can you think of a single innovation that didn’t change something? I didn’t think so. Innovation is change, or at least, innovation requires change. In my role as an innovation keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, I recently led a German-based industrial company’s North American IT leadership team through an innovation workshop, during which we spent part of the time working to define their common language of innovation (as described in my book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire). For companies looking to build a sustainable innovation capability this is...
Read More »How Heinz Innovates to Reinvent the Humble Baked Beans
The story of innovation to reimagine baked beans at KraftHeinz resonates with innovation leaders no matter their industry. And, it has Design Thinking at the heart.
Read More »Actions to Reduce Fear and Innovation Failure
Fear is one of the avoidable elements that often lead to innovation failure. As a result, knowing the actions to reduce fear enable a successful innovation program.
Read More »We Need to Innovate the Innovation Process
All too often, we see innovation as a single event. The truth is that the road to any significant innovation is a long and twisted path. Greg Satell writes here about 'integration' and 'team of teams'.
Read More »Collaborate to Innovate
How do enterprises use collaboration as a tool for innovation? Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise is a new book by Peter Cook.
Read More »Are Universities Missing Out on Open Innovation Growth?
A recent study finds that companies are not working effectively with universities. Are they missing out on potential innovations?
Read More »Calling All Engineers: Beyond Form, Fit and Function for Formulated Products
Like most engineers, I learned about rules of interchangeability back in school. These rules help companies decide whether a product change should require a new item number or simply a revision of the same item number. The standard “form, fit and function” (F/F/F) definition has served the needs of discrete manufacturers well for a long time. But what about formulated products?
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