Six Sigma Drives Innovation

Katie Barry

Real Innovation’s sister site, iSixSigma.com, features a regular cartoon strip – the Cox-Box. Although his comics mainly focus on the trials and tribulations of Six Sigma, his newest strip tackles the question for how Six Sigma drives Innovation.

Click … Read More

Process for Innovation

Praveen Gupta

About two weeks ago, I attended the Process of Innovation conference in Chicago, organized by IQPC. Among so many conferences on innovation, this was the first attempt to learn more about the process of innovation. There were some  lessons … Read More

Melding Design and Strategy for Faster Innovation

James Todhunter

In the September issue of the Harvard Business Review (one of my favorite publications), there is a short article titled “Innovate Faster by Melding Design and Strategy” by Ravi Chhatpar of Frog Design.  In the article, Ravi suggests … Read More

Report from the Process of Innovation, Wednesday afternoon

Ellen Domb

Cheryl Perkins from Kimberly-Clark fascinated the audience with her data on the lack of clear metrics in the innovation “space.”    She gave characteristics of good metrics, particularly the advantages of leading (vs. lagging) metrics.   The continuum of innovation requires … Read More

Report from the Process of Innovation – Wednesday Morning

Ellen Domb

Wednesday morning started with Harry Flotemersch conducting a “Management Think Tank” workshop—he used the conference participants’ questions to pair them up and structure sessions for mutual help. Real Innovation Commentators Praveen Gupta and I had the most international table—people … Read More

Report from the Process of Innovation, Tuesday afternoon

Ellen Domb

Lev Buslovich spoke about his experiences at both GE and Carlson Hotels Worldwide, as a black belt, MBB, and innovation advocate.   He talked about the communication and cultural differences between public and private companies, and showed the distribution of … Read More

Report from the Process of Innovation -Tuesday Morning

Ellen Domb

The chairman’s opening address set the theme for the conference:   Joe Ficalora from SBTI used Steve Jobs’ quote, “Innovation is the difference between followers and leaders” as the kickoff message for the conference.   His Six Sigma background showed through … Read More

Report from the Process of Innovation Conference

Ellen Domb

I’m in Chicago IL USA this week at the conference organized by IQPC on the Process of Innovation.  I’ll be reporting progressively throughout the week on the highlights of the conference.  (If anyone is reading this in the Chicago … Read More

Theories of Innovation

Praveen Gupta

There has been much discussion lately about various innovation methodologies. As innovation is becoming an imperative for any for-profit organization, there is confusion about how to go about innovating. Many companies have been innovating for decades, so there must … Read More

Innovation is Different and So Are People

Jack Hipple

When we are “innovating,” it is seldom that all the people we work with and interface with are the same as us from virtually any perspective. They have different backgrounds, experiences, motivations, and styles of behavior. These different type … Read More

The Economics of Innovation

Michael S. Slocum

You know from the field of psychology that behavior is a function of values, so an organization has to value innovation if it is to consistently engage in innovative behaviors. But what if your organization doesn’t value innovation … Read More

Innovation From a Six Sigma View

Katie Barry

Over at the iSixSigma Blogosphere, blogger Robin Barnwell recently wrote about innovation.

Robin states that “innovation is a very personal endeavour rather than a group endeavour. What I have seen a number of times is innovation happening like a … Read More

The People Side of Innovation

Jack Hipple

Comments at meetings by senior executives such as “now that the cutbacks are over, we can get on with innovation” really concern me. Research and Technology magazine’s recent annual surveys show innovation as a #1 issue, but five years … Read More

The Innovation Constraint

Michael S. Slocum

Innovation has been practiced in an unintentional and non-focused manner for far too long. The focus on providing structure to a business was placed on other areas of interest. Various focal points have been targeted with great success … Read More

The Importance of Good Innovation Habits

James Todhunter

Over on the Innovate On Purpose blog, Jeffrey Phillips talks about making ideation productive.  He makes three key points.

First, enterprises should take on a proactive approach to innovation.  This is undeniably true.  The practice of waiting for the … Read More

Innovation at Ford – A Micro-Case Study

Cass Pursell

It’s instructive to take a few minutes every now and then to look back and remind ourselves of what fueled the growth of some of the greatest businesses of the last century. Henry Ford once said, “If I’d asked … Read More

Process for Innovation Conference

Katie Barry

Taking place August 21-22 in Chicago, the Process for Innovation conference will include global innovation leaders and practitioners. Companies including Unilever, Motorola, DaimlerChrysler and Procter & Gamble will be represented with sessions including “What Is Innovation? Develop A Clear … Read More

Think Innovation Is A Numbers Game? Think Again; Change The Rules.

James Todhunter

Here are a few common statements that signal serious problems in a company’s innovation program.

“We have all the ideas we need.”

“We just need to fill the pipeline with more ideas.”

“Open innovation is the answer to all … Read More

Strategy, Discipline and Six Sigma Drive Innovation Effectiveness

Michael Cyger

Those that rate their efforts most effective say they rely on a clear strategy and systematic methodologies, according to a new survey of 1,000 business professionals released in the July/August 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine.

The result I expected … Read More

Innovation – Why?

Praveen Gupta

Why Innovation?

Recent buzz has started the launching of a new fad, innovation. Is it really new? Innovation has been with mankind forever, so what is new about it now? Why suddenly are we asking for innovation? In one … Read More