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.

Freedom to Innovate

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Eugene Ivanov

This image was created with the help of Microsoft Designer This piece has been originally posted to Medium. Did you realize that one of the most important drivers of innovation — and the one that draws surprisingly little attention — … Continue reading →

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The “culture of innovation”: a misnomer or oxymoron?

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Eugene Ivanov

This image was created by Tatiana Ivanov This piece has been originally posted on Medium. I’m amazed at our near obsession with the so-called culture of innovation, a topic whose popularity in business literature and social media can only match the … Continue reading →

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The Holidays We Celebrate

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

I remember my first Christmas. I was thirty-six back then. On a dark, frosty morning of December 15, 1990, my family (my wife and two little kids, aged two and three) and I left St. Petersburg, Russia, and flew to … Continue reading →

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The Questions We Answer

Posted on November 26, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

As a Russian-American, I’m used to answering questions about Russia. Most of them are mundane, revolving around the same theme: how much does it cost to buy this or that in Russia? Apartment prices usually attract the bulk of attention. … Continue reading →

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Do Wars Boost Innovation?

Posted on July 24, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

A slightly different version of this piece was originally published on Change Logic’s Viewpoint Blog. War is a horrible thing. Images of killed, wounded, or orphaned Ukrainian kids, victims of Russia’s barbaric aggression, leave little room for the belief that … Continue reading →

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Will the Women Innovators Please Stand Up?

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

My wife often complains that her hairdryer was designed by a bunch of bold males. True, it produces a stream of hot air. But the control buttons on the handle are arranged in such a way that the device is … Continue reading →

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Dose Is Everything: How Religious Diversity Affects Performance

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

The idea that diversity boosts corporate performance and innovation is becoming mainstream. So far, the focus of attention has been mostly on factors of social diversity: the diversity of race, gender, and sexual identity. Unfortunately, less is known about the … Continue reading →

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Innovating in Your Dream and With a Drink

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

There are a few reported approaches to boosting human creativity. Some of them are very proper. Perhaps the most popular is taking a shower — especially if followed by going to the garden and sitting under the apple tree. Another … Continue reading →

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How to Build Your Innovation Dream Team (Part 2)

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

In Part 1, I described two potential approaches to building a corporate innovation team. One emphasizes specific individual skills of team members, the other focuses on the optimal mix of functional roles within the team. There is the third approach to the … Continue reading →

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How to Build Your Innovation Dream Team (Part 1)

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Eugene Ivanov

Do you agree that to pursue a corporate innovation project, you need a dedicated innovation team? Maybe not. We often hear that “innovation is everyone’s job” along with arguments that any structure kills creativity and stifles innovation. Why is the … Continue reading →

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