Comments on: Is the balance in innovation activity about to change?

By: Greg Lins

Greg Lins — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 00:14:24 +0000

Paul, very interesting post – I just stumbled over your blog today while connecting with people about year-end planning. Good time to learn from others practicing innovation management.
With regard to a Platform for Innovation, I’ve done some study and practice in that area, and have a working model. There are a few different types of clouds involved, for different types of digital information. The goal is to promote using the data in a manner that supports a desired outcome, which could be either strategic or tactical. Reducing the feedback loop between the CEO and the front lines is part of the challenge, so as to become data-driven toward specific objectives.
The platform provides a framework for enforcing Lean and Repeatability Principles, but these are just two types of principles that may be desirable. My hypothesis is these are great principles to start with for building a new business around a scalable innovation of some kind . However, the platform doesn’t really care what about the principles used – it’s job is to translate objectives into action according to a certain set of rules that can be tested and improved.
With the technology advances as they are, everything will have a user interface, and everything will be customized – in a “personal cloud” that will be configured to inter-operate with other personal clouds. Platforms will connect users across multiple channels and markets and serve as a “lingua franca” for collaborating members of any innovation initiative.
Anyway, my 2 cents – thanks for the article.

By: paul4innovating

paul4innovating — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 13:52:20 +0000

Fernando, Thanks for your compliments. I think it is do-able. Lets start by saying it will not be one software provider but it can be on one platform where a number of providers come, more than likely in the cloud, so you can go in, use, save, bring back down information into your ‘secure’ on premise’ site for protecting your intellectual property and when you need to work on this again, sometimes continuously, you can ‘toggle^between keeping in in secured clouds or bringing it back within the organization. I think all the ‘app’s’ sitting on the cloud can cover off the needs. It starts with building a platform.
What do you think? Make (improving) sense?

By: Fernando M. MAchado

Fernando M. MAchado — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 13:43:24 +0000

Dear Paul,
First of all, congratulations, I follow with attention and admiration your innovation postings.
I have been involved in innovation management at enterprise level for a long time, and always pursued a framework for the front end definition, in order to take out the innovation randomness and properly channel creativity, in line with the company´s competitive strategy.
Regarding the digital revolution impact on that framework, you are correct, it will enhance its effectiveness, but I sincerely cannot see one sole software taking care of all the variables the framework entails. Just as an example, big data and analytics will certainly make competitive intel easier and more effective, and related microsegmentation is revolutionizing innovation needs identification and marketing. Maybe this is shortsightedness, but I do not see, at least in the short run, analytics providing the complete integration of the above with social, economic, political, geopolitical, technological and other trends, patent data mining, resource requirements and feasibility considerations and other parts of the framework, as, in each of them, human criativity is called upon.
Cheers
Fernando Machado