Innovation Methodologies

Book Excerpt: Think Like a Privateer, Not a Pirate

An Ambidextrous Approach to Innovation Has Never Been More Important

Is Your Organization Earning ‘Trust Points’ with Customers — or Losing Them?

Working from Home: Seven Tips for Doing It Productively

15 Slide Presentations from Big Company Innovation Executives

Book Excerpt: Think Like a Privateer, Not a Pirate
An Ambidextrous Approach to Innovation Has Never Been More Important
Is Your Organization Earning ‘Trust Points’ with Customers — or Losing Them?
Working from Home: Seven Tips for Doing It Productively
15 Slide Presentations from Big Company Innovation Executives

It’s hard to change the way large companies operate — from sourcing and developing ideas to launching them into the market — without bringing in new approaches. We don’t advocate the use of any particular innovation methodology; rather, we report on how companies are applying them and the results that they’re achieving. We also interview leading teachers and proponents of various methodologies.

Our coverage of innovation methodologies has included approaches like design thinking, lean startup, frugal innovation, the dual operating system, and the business model canvas, among others. One place to start is with our report on how the lean startup methodology is being applied in large organizations.

Articles & Case Studies

Five Innovation Tips to Start Your September

Vacation season is over, so brush up on what you missed while you were at the beach. Check out five takeaways from our August coverage of corporate innovation…

The Five-Step Approach to Disruptive Thinking

Luke Williams of NYU walks through the five steps of disruptive thinking, the “hybrid” approach to innovation, and what innovators can learn from professional chefs…

A Magna Carta for Corporate-Startup Collaborations

In this book excerpt, Trond Undheim, entrepreneur and former head of the MIT Startup Exchange, shares four elements of effective corporate-startup interactions, and some of the factors that can lead to failure or frustration.

Innovation at The Nature Conservancy

Jennifer Chin of The Nature Conservancy discusses the organization’s Sustainability Accelerator, and what corporates can learn from nonprofits…

Suzi Hamill on the Power of Play

Suzi Hamill, the former Vice President of Design Thinking at Fidelity Investments, shares how play can help teams work more cohesively. Watch the video…

Inside AXA Next’s Innovation Avenues

AXA Next unites the French insurance company’s innovation initiatives. Learn more about AXA’s different innovation funds and how the company explores the insurtech.

Research Report

Making Lean Startup Work

Our 83-page downloadable report is filled with advice, case studies, articles, interviews, and results from our recent survey of Innovation Leader members on lean startup deployment.

Audio & Video Resources

Discover, Access & Manage Ecosystem Relationships in a Low/No Touch World

How do you build ecosystems when travel and serendipity are limited for the foreseeable future? Watch this webcast to learn how to form partnerships during lockdown.

Leveling Up Customer Empathy at Fitbit & More

How can teams use empathy to understand their customers? Irina Kozlovskaya, Director of Industrial Design at Fitbit, shares how her team uses empathy to design better products.

The Secrets to Success at Intuit’s Lean Startup Program

In this episode of One Quick Thing, Bennett Blank shares how Intuit’s Lean Startup program generated $20 million in new revenue.

A New Model for Teams Adapting to Disruption

Tad Haas and Ivan Lloyd of edison365 discuss a revised model for innovation that combines an innovation office with a project management office.

How Your Team Can Acclimate to Remote Work

Scott Berkun, author of the book The Year Without Pants: Wordpress.com and the Future of Work, shares best practices for running a distributed team. Watch the video.

Podcast: Loonshots — Crazy Ideas that Just Might Work

How can companies embrace risky — but potentially revolutionary — ideas? Authors Safi Bahcall and Hugh Molotsi tackle this question at Innovation Leader’s 2019 Impact event.

Boundaries, Blockers, and Overcoming the Limits of Innovation

Learn methods for recognizing the boundaries to innovation practices, and how to work around them. Get advice on how to move your organization into a position to thrive.

‘Loonshots’: How to Support Crazy Ideas That Just Might Work

Ideas that have the potential to reshape industries may end up stuck in the corporate basement. So how can companies embrace risky ideas? Authors Safi Bahcall and Hugh Molotsi serve up answers in this video.

Best Videos: Corporate Innovation Concepts and Methodologies

Watch our favorite YouTube videos on key innovation concepts and methodologies like the three horizons, the Innovator’s Dilemma, design thinking, and rapid prototyping.

Inside the Mind of Alex Osterwalder

“What’s the latest from the mind of Alex Osterwalder?” We sat down with Osterwalder to discuss business model innovation and the themes in his upcoming book.

Uncovering Breakthroughs — Six Steps

How do you solve a problem if you don’t know the biggest challenges to focus on? Ludwig Melik and Sara Husk of Planbox explain.

Innovation Essentials: The Nature Conservancy

”What can corporate innovators learn from the world of non-profits?” To find out, we break down one of our articles and read it aloud for you. Listen here…

Closing the Innovation Blindspot with a Visual Story

Using just a pen and paper, Dan Roam shows you how to tell your innovation story under 10 minutes — even if you can’t draw to save your life.