So much has been written on innovation over the past few years that any ‘best of’ list is sure to leave out something. Nonetheless, we have put together a short collection of our favorites. We hope you enjoy reading (or re-reading) them.


 
 

Originals from Inovo
We’ve written a great deal on innovation over the years. Here are three articles from the past few years that have gotten the most response.


 
 
 


One of the most common questions we are asked is how to form your innovation team. Start with defining the jobs you want done and then identify the proficiencies needed to do those jobs and the roles to fill. Only then can you create a good job description (and effectively interact with HR).

 
 
 
 


Innovation metrics are always problematic. There are process metrics and outcome metrics but how do you measure future outcomes? Much has been written about innovation metrics, but these are what we have found to be most effective for incentivizing the innovation system you need.


 



Successful businesses often react to strategic opportunities in detrimental ways. Managing the tension between the sustaining and the strategic is a key job of the innovation system. But what is required? Research and real-world testing provides us with answers to this question.

 
 
 

Books with Impact
We don’t review many books, but the ones we do review are ones we feel have unique and powerful things to say about the future of the practice of innovation.

 
 



For anyone wishing for a fundamental grounding in what will drive the future, this book is required reading. These 12 ‘inevitable’ trends will form the basis of literally trillions in future value creation. It’s up to us innovators to determine how these will play out.

 
 



Explanatory frameworks are necessary to figure out the ‘big picture’ of what is happening in this period of radical transformation. This is one of the most insightful explanatory frameworks we have seen. Use this to help inform how your innovation system operates.

 


Large companies can innovate and be innovative! That’s the message this book argues for and that we fully believe. But there are requirements. To be innovative in today’s rapidly transforming world, large companies need an innovation strategy, system and culture.

 
 
 

Insightful White Papers, Articles and Blogs from Others
Many important insights about innovation are found in blog posts and articles. We screen a great deal of this content and share our favorites in our Quick Insights newsletters. Here are three articles that resonated with our readers.

 
 




We all know that the premise is true. But why? It’s often because the really big ideas require an ‘architectural’ innovation that is extremely difficult for successful companies to accomplish. For fans of innovation disruption, this provides a valuable perspective on the causes and effects.

 
 



Can the equivalent of an entrepreneur (an Intrapreneur) exist within a large company? There are many reasons to think not. But there are also reasons to think that within a large company context, you can and should nurture entrepreneurial talent and behaviors.

 



The "three horizons" model of innovation is one of the most common models in use today. Has it outlived its usefulness? In some ways yes. We (and others) believe that there are newer models that are useful in today's world.

 
 
 

Qi - for Quick Insights - is also the Chinese Mandarin word for 'Life Force'

 

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