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Enterprise Innovation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height="22px"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text] Innovative Ideas to Reclaim Our Natural Environment [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="22px"][vc_column_text]You alone can not save the world.  Neither will our governments. How about industry?  Will they have the Earth’s best interests in mind when they create their next product for market? We ask, who are the real trail blazers along this confusing and winding path of necessary environmental change? It is not until the powerful, the inventive, and the noisiest change makers collaborate across industries, governments, universities and environmental NGOs with new green technology research, design, and significant strategies that will we see the greatest environmental challenges solved.  [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="22px"][vc_column_text] New Green Technology for Recycling [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="22px"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Where does all the trash go and how can we dramatically reduce what’s headed to the landfills? Recycling is a not a new effort, but it is losing efficacy and studies show even the most mindful consumers recycle incorrectly. Luckily efforts are underway to bring new technology to an inconsistent,...

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] When velocity is constant - acceleration equals zero [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="10"][vc_column_text]Acceleration is one of those terms that is often taken for granted in today’s business environment. As a gentle reminder, the definition of acceleration is a change in velocity over time. A major disconnect in corporate external innovation groups (that is, groups responsible for identifying innovations to solve their unmet needs that lie outside their corporate walls) is that they typically - and mistakenly - expect to accelerate innovation while maintaining constant internal organizational velocity in the form of resources, infrastructure, organizational support, budget, etc. Groups seeking to rapidly change their external innovation velocities can do so through honest self-assessment of their internal capabilities, and subsequent selection of the proper resources, information management tools and collaboration models to build the sustainable external innovation organization that works best for them.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] External innovation groups seldom receive adequate internal resourcing to effectively drive enough innovation initiatives...

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The concept of an innovation portfolio is still new to some organizations; however, it's been a topic of conversation among innovation professionals for years.  In 2014 Harvard Business Review (HBR) published the article, Managing Your Innovation Portfolio. They found on average high-performing organizations focus 70% of their innovation resources on core or incremental offerings, 20% on adjacent offerings, and 10% on transformational initiatives.  Even though the average was a 70:20:10 spread, they still reference other successful models depending on your industry and your level of ambition and allocations.  The biggest take-away from the HBR report and subsequent reports is that for an innovation program to be successful, the focus should be a mix of incremental (core), adjacent and transformational initiatives.  This mix will enable a program to deliver results both in the near term and long term.  In addition to finding the right balance, organizations need to have the right resources to deliver. ...

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Benchmarking Innovation Impact 2020

If you are lucky enough to be on an innovation team you understand the need to deliver successful innovative solutions. In this contemporary world assessing your progress and allocating resources is always a priority. Recently, Innovation Leader published the report, Benchmarking Innovation Impact 2020 offering an in-depth look at innovation strategies, investments, and approaches that drive successful innovation. ...

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Innovation Budget Planning Components Top 10

As a follow-up to our recent blog on “What to Include in Your Innovation Budget” we have created an innovation budget planning components list with 10 key items you should include in your innovation budget for the coming year.   As you will notice as you go through the budget checklist, some of the key components include taking advantage of external resources. As Benjamin Franklin said, “time is money,” so keep in mind that innovation planning may go beyond optimizing internal resources and require you to invest in outside resources in order to speed up production time.     With that in mind, here are 10 key components that should be a part of your innovation budget plan:   Innovation Budget Planning Components #1 Outside Consulting Ask yourself: Do we have the skills and resources necessary for our project research and development? Can we bridge the gap with outside consulting resources?   Whether you need help developing innovation and best practices...

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]At Ezassi, we work with global innovation leaders who all are constantly grappling with the same big question: where do innovative ideas come from? While there is no definitive answer that can be applied across the board to all businesses and industries, exploring this question helps to shape strategies and find the right balance between fostering internal innovation and investing in open innovation. Simply pursing this question helps companies remain focused on being adaptive and progressive and avoid becoming static in a dynamic business environment. Innovation is more than just a buzzword, but it does have the tendency to feel like an abstract concept that lacks concrete boundaries that can be easily defined. Most businesses recognize that innovation is essential to remaining competitive, but aren’t sure where to begin. The feeling that there are too many choices can stall progress, especially when leaders fear making the wrong decision.   Where Do Innovative Ideas...

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What are the most commonly used innovation software stage-gate process stages? When deciding upon your stages of innovation, it’s important to understand what those stages should be and how to best manage an idea at each stage. To clarify the process, we want to break down the most common stages within an innovation software stage-gate process.   Innovation Software Stage-Gate Process Stages Identified   Innovation Software Stage-Gate Process #1: New Naturally, all ideas will start at the New stage. This is your innovation idea inbox and where most of your sorting will take place.   Innovation Software Stage-Gate Process #2: Request for Information After an idea has been deemed interesting as a possible solution, the organization will typically require more information to dive deeper into the idea, what’s involved and the requirements or limitation of the proposed solution. Reaching out to the submitter will enable you to better understand the submitters background as an expert and how they will...

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