Tag Archives: Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire

Latest Interview with Voltage Control’s Innovation Series

Latest Interview with Voltage Control's Innovation Series

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Douglas Ferguson of Voltage Control, to speak with him for their Innovation Series about my work as a popular keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and thought leader on the topics of continuous innovation and change, and some of my work with clients to create innovative strategies, digital transformations, and increased organizational agility.

But mostly in this information-packed interview, I reveal key lessons from the Human-Centered Innovation Toolkit™ and my books Charting Change and Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, including what’s hard about making innovation sustainable, the difference between invention and innovation and how the human elements are the key to successful innovation.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Start with the end in mind

Measurement provides a good starting point for establishing a strong foundation. “No innovation idea emerges fully formed. What people come up with are idea fragments and you have to collect and connect those dots to create a fully formed idea.” Based on those ideas, begin by identifying the value you want to create.

In order to make sure an initiative creates all the value it intends to, Braden advocates for the use of experiments with checkpoints. “You can have checkpoints that you establish along the way in terms of getting from what you’re able to do now versus your vision for the full value that you hope to create.” When thinking through experiments to validate assumptions about feasibility, viability, and desirability, also consider the flaws that might be present in your experimentation process.

“Start plotting out all the different experiments that you plan to run and the learning that you hope to get from each one. Those are the things that you can measure against to show that you’re making progress, to show that you’re going to get to the end and that you’re on track.”

The Experiment Canvas was designed to help with this:
Click here to get The Experiment Canvas™ (11″x17″)
Click here to get The Experiment Canvas™ poster (35″x56″)

Planning with the end in mind also includes consideration for scaling the invention. “Make sure you’re laying out checkpoints around your ability to scale it, because if you can’t get to that [wide] adoption point, then most likely you’re not going to get your investment back.” Think through what you’ll have to work against in order to scale so that profitability is part of the long-term plan from the beginning. Braden looks to companies like Tesla as an example of the potentially disastrous effects an inability to profitably scale can have on a product and a company’s viability despite having strong ideas and exploration practices.

Click here to read the entire interview

Here are some additional links:

1. Click here to visit the Voltage Control interview page

2. Click here to get your copy of Charting Change

3. Click here for more information on the Change Planning Toolkit™


Accelerate your change and transformation success

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Interview with Launchstreet About How to Increase Organization Agility and Speed of Innovation

Interview with Launchstreet About How to Increase Organization Agility and Speed of Innovation

I was fortunate enough to join Tamara Ghandour of GoToLaunchStreet, a TED speaker and entrepreneur recently for an interview for her Launchstreet podcast. From building and running multi-million dollar businesses, advising Fortune 500 companies like Disney, Procter and Gamble and RICOH on fostering innovative ideas and people, Tamara’s life is about breaking through the status quo for game-changing results, and that’s what her keynotes, online programs and assessments can do for you. Obviously we’re kindred spirits so check out the lively conversation we had on her podcast!

Listen now to this episode on Inside LaunchStreet:

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio

Click the links below to find out more about the resources mentioned in the podcast:

The Experiment Canvas™

The Change Planning Toolkit™

Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire: A Roadmap to a Sustainable Culture of Ingenuity and Purpose, by Braden Kelley

Charting Change: A Visual Tool Kit for Making Change Stick, by Braden Kelley


Accelerate your change and transformation success

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Where is the Innovation Bonfire the Hottest?

Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire Sales

Now that I’ve secured a book deal with Palgrave Macmillan for my second book, I thought it might be interesting to peek in on the Nielsen Bookscan sales numbers on Amazon and look back at the last couple of years of sales by geography in the United States for Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire. This is what you’ll see in the map above (darker color indicating more dense sales). Unfortunately they don’t collect international data an so I can’t show you a world map, despite the book’s global popularity.

So where in the United States does the innovation bonfire burn the brightest? Here are the top ten cities:

  1. Washington D.C.
  2. Boston
  3. Los Angeles
  4. New York
  5. Philadelphia
  6. Silicon Valley
  7. Seattle
  8. Cincinnati
  9. Chicago
  10. Dallas

Think your city should be on the list?

Get a copy of the book or ask your library to acquire it.

Curious what my second book is about?

My intention is to make it the definitive instruction manual for planning successful change (complete with guest experts and numerous collaborators).

I’m currently developing the powerful visual, collaborative change planning toolkit that will sit at its core and building the web site that will allow me to start inviting people to register their interest in getting exclusive early access to the toolkit before the rest of the world, so people can use it with their clients or in their company as soon as possible, and also possibly contribute to its evolution.

So, stay tuned and subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get the latest info on this exciting new project!


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Building a Common Language of Innovation

Building a Common Language of Innovation

One of the most important efforts you’ll want to make as part of Five Ways to Make Your Innovation Culture Smell Better (free white paper download) is to create a common language of innovation.

Unfortunately, there is no universally accepted definition of the word innovation, and there have even been multiple articles written by the Doblin Group, Geoffrey Moore and others about how many different types of innovation there are and how you must choose which types of innovation to focus on. When it comes to innovation, individuals speak about it differently and there are lots of misunderstandings.

A common language of innovation is the foundation of any sustainable innovation effort and is realized by putting these five building blocks in place:

1. Define what Innovation will mean in your organization

Innovation means so many different things to so many different people that every organization should consciously sit down and define what innovation means for them (and what it does not). Setting the baseline for people in your organization for what innovation is, and what it isn’t, is the first and most important building block in a sustainable innovation foundation.

My definition is:

“Innovation transforms the useful seeds of invention into widely adopted solutions valued above every existing alternative.”

This definition highlights a difference between useful vs. valuable and invention vs. innovation and emphasizes that something must be widely adopted to be an innovation (at the expense of something else).

Next you’ll want to consider how company vision, strategy, goals and infrastructure impact innovation within your organization.

2. Create an Innovation Vision

Employees need to know why innovation is important and what leadership’s vision is for the innovation direction of the organization so they apply their efforts in a manner consistent with the vision.

John Kotter, as part of his change principals, highlighted six key characteristics of an effective vision:

  1. Imaginable: They convey a clear picture of what the future will look like.
  2. Desirable: They appeal to the long-term interest of those who have a stake in the enterprise.
  3. Feasible: They contain realistic and attainable goals.
  4. Focused: They are clear enough to provide guidance in decision making.
  5. Flexible: They allow individual initiative and alternative responses in light of changing conditions.
  6. Communicable: They are easy to communicate and can be explained quickly.

Your innovation vision should ask and answer:

  • WHERE are we focusing our innovation efforts?
  • WHY are we pursuing innovation?

3. Craft an Innovation Strategy

When it comes to setting an innovation strategy, organizations should ask and answer the following questions in setting their innovation strategy:

  • WHAT are we doing to try and realize our vision?
  • WHO is expected to participate?

Chris Thoen, former head of the Connect+Develop program at P&G had this to say about P&G’s innovation strategy:

“P&G has incredibly talented employees – employees who are proud of the work they do. Moving from “only invented at P&G” to “proudly found elsewhere” required a change in mindset. It was important that employees realized that Connect + Develop was not another name for downsizing and outsourcing jobs but instead, a strategy to ensure sustained business growth for the Company.”

Determine who and what are you going to focus on as part of your innovation strategy and its goals.

4. Set Your Goals for Your Innovation Efforts

When it comes to goals, the S.M.A.R.T. framework states that goals must be:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Time-bound

When created thoughtfully and consistently with S.M.A.R.T. goal principles, your innovation goals should tell everyone how you are trying to execute on your innovation strategy and vision. One of P&G’s innovation goals was to source 50% of the company’s innovation from outside. This was measured by looking at the source of new product launches and other variables.

5. Build an Innovation Infrastructure That Demonstrates Your Commitment to Innovation

The final building block is achieved by building a framework and a methodology for innovation that your organization can embrace, and by putting the financial and human resources in place to help innovation projects emerge, get funded, and be brought to market successfully. Below you’ll find a sample innovation infrastructure highlighting some of the areas you’ll want to develop and a snapshot of innovation staffing at Whirlpool that shows how deeply their innovation focus is embedded throughout the organization:


Sample Innovation Infrastructure

Conclusion

If you establish an innovation definition, vision, strategy, goals, and infrastructure you will be well on your way to creating a common language of innovation, which will help to drive alignment, and ultimately, success!

Next Steps:

Image credit: sciencenews.org

References:
1. Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire by Braden Kelley
2. Leading Change by John P. Kotter
3. https://www.doblin.com/tentypes/
4. https://www.dealingwithdarwin.com/resources/pptDownloads.php


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire – The Slideshare

I’ve uploaded a sample chapter of my highly-rated popular book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire from John Wiley & Sons to Slideshare. Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire is a great book focused on helping organizations identify and remove barriers to innovation, but also serves as a great innovation primer for organizations beginning their innovation journey and looking to establish a common innovation language across the organization.


.

Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire is available on the various Amazon sites around the world and at other fine booksellers and public libraries.

You can buy the book in bulk here:

You can download Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire in digital form here:

You can probably check out the book from your local library (or request it):

Or you can buy a traditional paper copy of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire here:

Thousands of people around the world have already purchased, downloaded, or checked out their copy of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire and enjoyed the easy, but valuable read, and I hope you will too.

Keep innovating!


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Build a Common Language of Innovation for 2014

Build a Common Language of Innovation for 2014As the end of 2013 approaches, why not give your employees and your organization the gift of innovation for 2014?

One of the biggest keys to innovation success is building a common language of innovation.

From creating a definition of innovation unique to your organization, to creating an innovation vision, strategy, and goals, a common language of innovation will accelerate the speed and effectiveness of your innovation efforts by aligning everyone’s understanding of what innovation means to your organization and how you plan to achieve it.

One way that organizations around the world are doing this, is to acquire my book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire in bulk quantities to help their organization create a common language and understanding of innovation.

In addition to helping organizations identify and remove barriers to innovation, Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire also serves a great innovation primer and a good way to get everyone on the same page.

If you’d like to align and accelerate your innovation efforts going into 2014, consider:

  1. Making a bulk order of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire from Hooks Books (an independent minority woman-owned bookseller) or 800-CEO-READ (for customized orders) to hand out as gifts
  2. Introducing the Nine Innovation Roles into your organization
  3. Contacting me about my elearning offerings (Level 1 GIMI Innovation Certification eLearning Coming Soon!)
  4. Booking me for a keynote speech, workshop or masterclass – Book Now

Keep innovating!


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

December Innovation Special

December Innovation Special

As 2013 comes to a close and the holiday season continues, I thought I would make a special offer to event organizers in search of a last minute innovation speaker for a December or early January 2014 event AND to innovation managers looking to build strong momentum for their innovation efforts as we head into 2014.

Here is the offer:

Stoking Your Innovation BonfireBook me for an event occurring between December 5, 2013 and January 15, 2014 for either a:

  • 60-90 minute Innovation Keynote
  • 2-4 hour Innovation Workshop
  • 1 Day Innovation Masterclass
  • 2 Day Training towards Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI) Level 1 Certification

… and I will include a box of fifty (50) signed copies of my popular book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire for your attendees, at no additional charge.

Book Braden Kelley for your event

P.S. Have you taken the FREE Innovation Catalyst certification BETA exam yet?


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Stoke Your Innovation Bonfire Today

Stoke Your Innovation Bonfire Today

Did you know that if you buy a paper copy of my book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire on Amazon, you can start reading it Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader today?

Well you can!

Pretty cool!

And if you prefer, you can just buy the Kindle version instead.

I’m not sure if this works in every country where Amazon has a presence, but it’s worth a try if you just can’t wait for a copy of the book to be delivered. Click the country link to go to the book’s page on that Amazon site:

Yes!

Who will be the first to review Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire on Amazon in China and Japan?

Or to invite me to speak there, for that matter. 😉


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Latest Radio Interview with The Health Maven

LeAnna J Carey - The Health MavenI’m proud to share with you the link to my latest radio interview. This time I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with LeAnna J. Carey (@LeannaJCarey), host of the popular radio program The Health Maven – Innovation Talk.

We spend the 30 minutes talking about The Nine Innovation Roles and how organizations around the world are increasingly utilizing The Nine Innovation Roles to help them build more effective innovation teams. Curious which ones I think LeAnna fills or that I see myself typically filling?

Tune into the broadcast to find out! 🙂

Click here to listen to a recording of the interview


Build a common language of innovation on your team

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Steve Jobs is Dead – Whither innovation at Apple?

Steve Jobs lost his battle against pancreatic cancer. Surely this is a huge loss for his family and friends, for the fans and employees of Apple, and for the business world as a whole because he was one of its most prominent icons. To all of you, I’m sorry for your loss.

But is it the end of innovation at Apple?

Is Apple incapable of innovating without Steve Jobs?

Can you have sustainable innovation without a CEO who sees himself as the Chief Innovation Officer?

Is innovation the purview of the lone inventor, or does it take a village to innovate?

For those of you who know me, or have heard me speak or read my book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire or my other writings here on the site, you can probably guess which side of the fence I stand on.

Personally, I don’t buy the lone innovator myth and instead think my Nine Innovation Roles is a better way to look at things. Look at the labs of Alexander Graham Bell or Thomas Edison decades ago, or the impact of private and hookah clubs or coffee shops and universities throughout time. Instead I think that organizations need to be looking at the innovation that has come from the interconnectedness of our economies and make sure that their organizations are as interconnected as they need to be to maximize their own innovation capacity. Has your organization built a global sensing network? Should it?

If you were to ask me to describe Steve Jobs from the outside in, I would describe him as a great entrepreneur, not a great innovator. There is a subtle distinction there. Innovators create value, entrepreneurs help people access and translate that value into their life. Entrepreneurs are also really good at helping innovators commercialize things and turn inventions into innovations. Steve Jobs was really good at driving his deep team of talented innovators towards innovative solutions. He was a great innovation leader, but not necessarily a great innovator. In that way it seems like he might have been very much like Thomas Edison, which if he is to be remembered in a comparative sense, is not a bad way at all to be remembered.

Here is a rare Steve Jobs narrated version of the iconic Think Different ad done as a tribute by jeremytai:

Again from the outside looking in, Apple started as a very entrepreneurial company when it was led by an entrepreneur, but lost its way when Steve Jobs was forced out by the executive mindset, only to buy NeXT to get a modern OS to rescue the company (and get Steve Jobs back in the bargain – but also its entrepreneurial mindset). Every organization must continuously look to balance the tension between the entrepreneurial mindset and the executive mindset. Which begs the question:

Should an organization be led by an executive or an entrepreneur?

I have two more final points I want to examine before I go to bed. The first is that I found myself thinking while I was sitting there eating dinner in a coffee shop in New York City when I heard the news that Steve Jobs had died I thought to myself:

  • Is the death of Steve Jobs, my generation’s or avocation’s JFK moment?
  • Will people forever remember where they were when they heard that Steve Jobs died?
  • Have people ever felt that about a business leader before?

And second, in talking with one of my co-founders, Julie Anixter, the question was sparked about whether you can have sustainable innovation without someone fanatical in charge of innovation that isn’t afraid to tell people that their solution sucks and send them back to the drawing board, pushing them towards greatness instead of feeling the need to praise and accept the merely good. This has been the popular outside in perspective on Steve Jobs’ approach to innovation. Is this what it takes? What do you think?

Now, I’ve posed a lot of questions in this piece because death presents more questions than it answers, and I’ll leave you with one or two more.

Am I completely off base here? Will Apple fall into complete disrepair again now that Steve Jobs is gone, again?

Sound off in the comments.

I hope to see you next week at the Business Innovation Conference 2011 or the following week at the Back End of Innovation conference – October 17-19, 2011 in sunny San Diego.

You might also enjoy Renee Blodgett’s post here.

If you’ve read this far down, here are a couple of bonus items:

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.