clair075

It finally came to me last week.  For over a decade I've been working with corporations, trying to help them accelerate their ability to generate new, interesting ideas to market as viable products and services.  In some instances we've been successful, and in other instances there were interesting failures.  I've recognized for a while that some major challenges exist.  I wrote Relentless Innovation as a way to frame some of the things I'd learned about the way culture resists change, and how a "business as usual" approach can stymie innovation.  But even with these obstacles it would seem we should have more innovation than we do. What came to me finally is that we are trying to do new chemistry in old equipment, equipment that is tailored for a more conservative, slow paced way of working where there is less change and more certainty.  Our businesses are "built to last" and meant to gain scale quickly and then lock in customers and channels to dri...

Over the last year I've been conducting a one person listening tour, talking to a lot of my peers in consulting, as well as prospects, customers and friends who work in government and industry.  Of course many of these conversations revolve around innovation and new product or service development (or the lack thereof), and how people are engaged in their work and their roles. One recurring development that has really troubled me over this period is the uniformity of feedback about innovation, about growth and about large companies' willingness to embrace the evolving future.  I've had the good fortune to talk to hundreds of people, in different industries, in different roles and across different geographies and countries.  One resounding consistent message I'm hearing is that the majority of the people I've spoken with are frustrated by the lack of innovation focus and effort within their organizations and the lack of engagement or emphasis placed on new growth and ...

Let's get this right out there early:  I am a huge U2 fan.  From their earliest albums like October and Boy to their latest efforts, I'm a big supporter (well Zooropa not so much, but every great artist has at least one significant flub).  On the other hand, I've never much cared for Madonna.  Too packaged, too commercial, too much a formula it seems to me.  But both U2 and Madonna have something to tell major corporations about how to stay relevant for decades:  reinvent yourself. Let's do a brief history lesson of U2 and see exactly what this means. U2 - the early years U2 started out as a punk band in Ireland, but with a twist - their lyrics were informed by their Christian beliefs and ethics.  They came on the scene just at the end of the punk era, where no one sound or formula dominated.  I think they became popular with their War album because of their commitment to social justice, their rock sensibilities and the way they came across as a f...

In what may seem a bit of sour grapes, since my own hometown lost in a close race to Austin for the site of the Army Futures Command, I'd like to think through what's right, and more importantly, what's potentially wrong, with the Army Futures Command.  And I'd like to suggest that many of the factors that will cause the Army Futures Command to struggle are also issues that every large company also faces. The question Defense News asks is:  Can Austin make the Army weird ?  That's an interesting but slightly incorrect question.  What matters is if Austin can make the Army innovative. The Army Futures Command has from its very start attempted to be different.  It is meant to be more nimble and agile than "big Army", meant to cut through red tape and create new combat systems, weapons, and platforms at a faster pace.  I suspect it is meant to open the Army up to new ideas and help it embrace open innovation as well.  If the Army Futures Command does thes...