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Innovation Resources

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Planview IdeaPlace is happy to offer resources from partners and thinkers across the web, that we think provide valuable help for the success of your Innovation Program.

1	Ten Types of Innovation (Doblin) For many years, executives equated innovation with the development of new products. But creating new products is only one way to innovate, and on its own, it provides the lowest return on investment and the least competitive advantage. The Ten Types of Innovation's framework provides a way to identify new opportunities beyond products and develop viable innovations.
2	The three crucial stages for customer involvement in the innovation process (Inventium) While this blog post by Inventium focuses on engaging with customers, this approach is also critical when speaking with your internal customers, your employees. The stronger your assumptions are about needs and what creates value, the less likely you we are to seek out what they truly want or require.
3	The Idea-Driven Organization (Dan Scroeder & Alan Robinson) Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder argue that an organization's employees are best positioned to listen to the customer, identify and solve problems, and provide the insights for the next generation of products and services. Rich with examples, the book lays out a process for management to solicit and engage employees, turning the organization into an idea-driven one.
4	The Eight Essentials of Innovation (McKinsey Quarterly) Since innovation is a complex, company-wide endeavor, it requires a set of crosscutting practices and processes to structure, organize, and encourage it.
5	The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) Eric Reis' seminal work describing how to navigate through uncertainty. Essential reading for everyone involved in realizing innovation. The Lean Startup describes a methodology for practicing validated learning towards reducing the risk of creation.
6	Build an Innovation Engine in 90 Days (Harvard Business Review) Great ideas remain captive in the heads of employees, innovation initiatives take way too long, and the ideas that are developed are not necessarily the best efforts or the best fit with strategic priorities.
7	New Focus on Building Innovation Cultures (Culturevate) A recap on the FEI Conference from Culturevate and their key takeaways. One notable observation is the impact that front-line employees now have with innovation. A reconizable shift, almost every presenter talked about the need to continually engage employees in innovation activities, with a goal of generating broader cultural enhancement across the organization."
8	Managing Ambiguity (Cloverleaf) Cloverleaf has a lot of experience guiding organizations in innovation; this is a good piece on dealing with the vagaries of needs & goals, emphasizing managable, iterative action that involves contributors.
9	Ideas Are Free (Dan Scroeder & Alan Robinson) Ideas Are Free explains how sustainable competitive advantages in areas ranging from productivity and responsiveness to cost reduction and quality assurance are only possible with the attention to detail that comes from getting and implementing large numbers of ideas from employees.
10	Four Collaboration Killers – and How to Fix Them (Cloverleaf) Talking in circles, stuck in a rut, losing focus, uneven participation—Cloverleaf describes blockers and practical ways of how to overcome them. We like that Cloverleaf always finds a way to move people towards action.
11	Bottom up, top down (Inventium) We agree with Inventium’s view, that the most effective, long-running programs are able to capture both the energy from the community (bottom-up) as well as alignment with the organization's objectives (top-down). Ignore either at your peril!"
12	Seven Signs That Your Innovation Program is at Risk of Failure (Culturevate) Is your innovation program stagnate or at risk of failure? Anthony Ferrier, CEO of Culturevate discusses the seven most common signs of a failing innovation program. A few signs to be cautious of include: a focus on activity rather than more concrete business oriented results, ideas aren’t being built, and wavering executive sponsorship. We want you to avoid these pitfalls and keep on the track of success.