Category Archives: Portfolio Management

The “French perfume” innovation

(This post originally appeared on Medium) I grew up in the Soviet Union and know a thing or two about the shortage of goods. The perennial chasing of hard-to-get stuff had instilled in me and my compatriots one simple habit: … Continue reading

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Bring me problems, then solutions, then problems again…

Innovation managers hate the line “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.” They insist that before any innovation project can begin, a thorough investigation of the underlying problems must take place; collecting solutions can only start when the problems are … Continue reading

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Applying open innovation tools to business model innovation

Recently, I proposed a “map” of existing open innovation tools based on the identity of open innovation partner(s) and the mode of interaction between them. Three large “baskets” were included: co-creation (known partners, two-way interaction), crowdsourcing (unknown partners, two-way interaction) … Continue reading

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Cloudy Vision, Cloudy Execution

  As every high-quality report on innovation, Accenture’s 2015 U.S. Innovation Survey is a mixed bag of news. On the one hand, responses provided by “500 managers and executives with roles in innovation at large U.S. companies” paint a bright … Continue reading

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The Art of Killing (a Project)

(This post first appeared on the Front End of Innovation Blog) As innovation becomes an increasingly popular topic in business literature, social media and public discussions, it also turns into a powerful magnet for clichés. One of the most used, if … Continue reading

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Internal Innovation Networks as a Basis for Corporate Intrapreneurship

(This post first appeared on the Front End of Innovation Blog) Intrapreneurship is a relatively new concept developed to help large companies create new businesses, a process often called transformational (or disruptive) innovation. Intrapreneurship aims at instilling the spirit of entrepreneurship–usually … Continue reading

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Ambidexterity vs. Ecosystems: In Search for Sustainable Model of Intrapreneurship

(This post first appeared on the Front End of Innovation Blog) Innovation has climbed to the top of the corporate agenda in many large organizations, but its practical impact on the corporate performance has often been disappointing. Some would go as … Continue reading

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Should We Celebrate Failure Worth A Billion?

As every popular topic, innovation is a powerful magnet for clichés. Some of them obliterate more than illuminate. For example, I’m not sure that mixing innovation with DNA is a good idea. Though I kind of understand what Clayton Christensen … Continue reading

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The Terminator Effect

(This post originally appeared on Innovation Excellence) I’d like to touch upon a subject that doesn’t come up often in innovation discussions: I’d like to talk about how we kill projects. Everyone would agree that killing projects is a key to … Continue reading

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