Author Archives: Eugene Ivanov

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About Eugene Ivanov

I help mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits, solve persistent strategic, operational, and organizational challenges through AI-supported problem solving. As founder of INSILICONOVATION, I build and apply AI tools that think with you, not for you—helping uncover root causes, surface assumptions, and turn ambiguity into clear paths forward.

Why Do Startups Fail?

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

I came across a March 2015 TED talk by Bill Gross, founder of the business incubator Idealab. He set out to identify the “single biggest reason why startups succeed” (or fail). To do so, he considered the five major factors: … Continue reading →

Posted in Startups | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

3 Ways to Improve the Efficiency of the “Idea Generation” Process

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

In my previous post, I compared the efficiency of two approaches to corporate innovation: “bottom-up” and “top-down.” The former approach relies on ideas that are first generated by a company’s employees and then channeled up to the company’s senior management. … Continue reading →

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What Do Numbers Say About Different Models of Innovation?

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

I’m not a fan of the “idea generation” model of innovation. This approach, which I call “bottom-up,” puts the focus of innovation on ideas that are generated by employees on the ground and then channeled upwards to senior management. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Crowdsourcing, Innovation, Innovation Service Providers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Start-ups as an enemy of entrepreneurship?

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

On July 27, The Telegraph published a column offering a blistering criticism of start-ups and what it’s calling a “start-up culture.” As the column author, Lucas Mikelionis, argues in the header, “Start-up culture is corrupting our youth and killing real … Continue reading →

Posted in Startups | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What Questions Does Chattanooga Shooting Raise?

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

I like to argue that a key to successful crowdsourcing campaign is to ask a right question. It doesn’t really matter what this question is about, for as long as it well-thought-out, properly defined and clearly articulated. For, in the … Continue reading →

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On Henry Ford, Toyota and Faster Horses

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

A consensus seems to have emerged that customer feedback, gathered through market research, is a key to successful innovation. And yet, dissenting votes can still be heard. Some folks claim that paying too much attention to customers can stifle innovation, degrade … Continue reading →

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Have too many ideas? Blame your CEO!

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

In an elegant piece in Harvard Business Review, Whitney Johnson points to a problem that many innovative companies face: an excess of good ideas. Obviously, only a fraction of them can be pursued. But what are we going to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Three Reasons for your Company to Write an Innovation Charter

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

 This piece was originally posted to the Qmarkets blog A lack of executive leadership is one of the most commonly mentioned reasons for the failure of innovation. This leadership vacuum usually comes in two flavors. The company’s CEO loudly declares “Let’s … Continue reading →

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Is Religion an Obstacle to Innovation?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

In a recent piece, The Economist touched upon an interesting topic: the link between religion and innovation. The piece refers to a study, “Forbidden Fruits: The Political Economy of Science, Religion, and Growth,” published by America’s National Bureau of Economic Research, … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Myth of “Unstructured” Innovation

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Eugene Ivanov

I’m grateful to everyone who commented on my post, Does Innovation Need “Structure”? Many agreed with my assertion that adopting a formalized process (“structure”) provides innovation with direction and helps create what is commonly known as culture of innovation. Yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments