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I'm often asked how to teach the skills necessary for innovation. Based on my real world experience, I usually focus on the hands-on aspects, encouraging people to choose a small, manageable project and just get started. Usually this works best with a mentor, or...

In writing the Innovation and Neuroscience chapter, I was surprised to learn the extent to which our brains are "wired" in a way that is conducive to innovation.  In Professor William Duggan's book Strategic Intuition, he...

I recently contributed a chapter for a forthcoming book, "The Global Innovation Science Handbook", which will be published by McGraw Hill Professional some time this fall. The chapter is titled Innovation and Neuroscience. When the editor approached me to...

By now it seems to be common knowledge that when talking about Innovation and New Product Development, the Fuzzy Front End is where the magic happens.  However, I've come to the conclusion that it's not that way at all.  All the fuzzy magic people are...

Last week I attended the International Society of Professional Innovation Managers (ISPIM) conference in Barcelona. I had never been to this conference before and had no idea of what to expect. I had decided to attend because they had accepted a topic I had submitted...

What do Innovation, Tempered Radicalism, and Breakfast at Tiffany's have in common? I just read a fascinating book called "Fifth Avenue, 5am", by Sam Wasson. It's about the making of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I picked it up while...

I don't usually do this, but it's time to air a little pet peave of mine.  It has to do with the use of the term 'font' when what is meant is 'typeface'.  In art school I studied graphic design which required quite a bit of focus on typography.  I'm not the best at...

I was explaining the value I've found in Twitter to a skeptical friend not long ago.  But when she asked how often I tweeted, I did have to honestly answer "not much".  It made me think about why I seem to have this love/hate relationship with...

A friend of mine, Alicia Arnold, wrote a new book which will be published in August titled Creatively Ever After; A Path to Innovation. She sent me an advance copy, and there were several things about it that I felt were excellent. Alicia makes very clever use of...

Last month I was the Chairperson for the Voice of the Customer (VOC) Summit Sessions at the Front End of Innovation Conference in Boston. To kick off the day, I was asked to deliver some opening remarks stating my thoughts on the state of VOC today.  This was an...