Creativity is generating creative ideas. Innovation is successfully implementing creative ideas. Past researchers have connected creators to implementation by looking at such factors as network position: if creators have the right network, they have a greater chance of getting their ideas implemented. In his recent research, Stanford’s Justin Berg highlights another important factor in the […]
Subject: Research & Development
Innovation and the Pros and Cons of Close Personal Relationships
An organization’s activities can be divided between exploitation — the day-to-day operations of the organization as well as strategic planning and implementation — and exploration — acquiring and using new knowledge, ideas and insights, which can lead to new products, new technologies, or new markets. Previous research has shown that social capital — the breadth and […]
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Learning by Hiring: The Challenge of Teaching Entrenched Incumbents
When research-based companies hire new scientists to join their research teams, they are looking for two benefits. The first benefit involves output: what the new scientist can produce. This direct, individual benefit is accompanied by more indirect, organizational benefits — for example, the new scientist might boost the productivity of other colleagues through new knowledge, […]
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Hunt for Innovative Ideas Externally or Internally-Just Not Both
The hunt for innovative ideas is best achieved, according to the ‘variance hypothesis’ by leaving your office and meeting a broad range of new people in new domains. The greater variety in your network of external contacts — what is known as ‘external breadth’ — the more successful the search for ideas. Variety refers to […]
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Uncovering the Elements of Knowledge at the Heart of Innovation
The idea of a new invention may seem to suddenly appear in the imagination of the inventor. In truth, the inventor has carefully constructed the idea by combining different ‘elements of knowledge’. These elements include natural phenomena and knowledge from previous scientists and inventors (not to mention the contributions of practitioners of the liberal arts […]
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Innovation Leaders Turn Creative Ideas Into Action
Whether developing new products or services, refining internal processes, or creating disruptive business models, innovation is the key to sustained competitive advantage. Many companies, however, are unable to meet their innovation goals. In a recent Center for Creative Leadership white paper, authors David Magellan Horth and Jonathan Vehar cite a survey of 500 leaders in […]
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Why Slack Time Is Important for Innovation: It’s Not What You Think
Google was famous for its 20% free innovation time policy. Google employees were allowed to spend 20% of their time in the office to pursue any personal interests and ideas that could lead to new products or revenue sources for Google. Aside from this mandate, employees were unfettered by deadlines and goals. Instead, they were […]
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Broad Knowledge or Narrow Expertise: What Works Best for Innovation?
Two schools of thought exist on the best source of innovation. The foundational school argues that a deep, expert knowledge of the domain is required to unlock new pathways. Only someone with a complete immersion in the topic is going to discover the breakthrough innovation in that topic. The tension school argues that a diversity […]
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Turn Your End-User Innovators Into R&D Partners
Innovation is expected to come from the producer of the product. That’s the reason manufacturers have R&D departments. But more and more innovation is emerging not just from the producers but also from users and end-users. For example, many users develop modifications to video games or software that changes the product they originally bought. The […]
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How Companies Are Trading Innovation Quality for Quantity
How successful are your innovation efforts? For many companies, proof of groundbreaking innovation comes in the form of patents. The question about research productivity is often answered by how many inventions have emerged from a company’s R&D capabilities, as measured by the number of patents filed. Quantity, however, does not necessarily mean quality. The true […]
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