Thoughts & Insights
Don’t Let Your Digital Transformation Efforts Get Stuck in the 90’s
(even though old habits die hard) Most newly appointed Chief Digital Officers or CTOS remember the 1990s well - they were earning their stripes while listening to Boyz II Men & Pearl Jam on the radio and CDs. The music might be different now, but this current tech...
Stop Slowing Down Your Innovation Projects
Disruption of markets worldwide has proven that speed is an important attribute of strong innovators. Companies that aren’t optimized for speed often don’t generate the returns on innovation and product development that they’re looking for; in fact, 42% of global...
10 Essentials for Starting a Venture
For many of the people we work with who launch new business ventures, our collaboration together is their first trip to Venture Island. “What’s the weather going to be like?” they often ask. After launching PX, our venture studio, it looks like we’ll be taking even...
What Manufacturing Leadership Looks Like in Industry 4.0
The steam engine and mechanical loom, mass production and commercial electricity, the personal computer and digital technology—these advances powered three industrial revolutions. Today, we’re in the midst of a fourth revolution. This one’s driven by cloud storage,...
The Future of Supply Chains and its Impact on Manufacturers and Retailers
Retailers and manufacturers hoping to compete in the $2.3 trillion global e-commerce market rely on a supply chain under increasing pressure from competitive innovation fueled by rising consumer expectations. To withstand that pressure, the concept of the traditional...
Stop Asking Your Team to Innovate Like Entrepreneurs… Until You Make Decisions Like VCs
Corporate innovation teams are taught in their organizations, and in the media and classes, to act like entrepreneurs navigating risk in a new venture or idea. But entrepreneurs usually work in partnership with their Venture Capitalists (VCs), because together they...
The Challenge of Measuring Innovation
Since 1955, the average lifespan of an S&P 500 company has decreased by 44 years. And in the last 15 years alone, 52% of S&P 500 companies have disappeared. Whichever way you slice it, it’s never been harder for companies to survive, let alone thrive. And in...
Are Your Breakthrough Innovations Failing to Break Out?
It is always difficult to develop an early idea, earn revenues, and exit. This struggle is especially true whenever firms fall in love with that new idea and manage (and fund) it like a traditional project. There’s an alternative path, though.
2020 Insurance Trends: Good Vibrations for Agile Insurers
If you swim in the waters of insurance and financial services, it’s a good time to paddle out and stand up. While the potential blockchain tsunami remains trapped behind legal and regulatory reefs, several good vibrations are creating strong waves to propel you forward. The question for insurers is: How can we get in the best position to ride these new industry dynamics?
The 8 Hidden Venture-Killers
Large enterprises struggle at launching fast-growing ventures because they fall victim to hidden venture-killers. Many of these obstacles are the corporate attributes you’re most proud of. Here are the 8 venture-killers, and what to do about them.
How to Set Price: 10 Steps That Will Reveal the Right Price for Your New Offering
As we help firms introduce new, breakthrough services and experiences, there comes a moment that can feel like the first day of school: No matter how much preparation has come before, the venture team can suddenly feel uncertain, anxious, and wracked with doubt. ...
4 Tactics for Business Risk Mitigation During Innovation
Corporate Innovation Groups (CIGs) are often on “offense” when it comes to new product development and technological innovation, particularly when it comes to engaging the market and mitigating market-facing risks.
Creating a Customer Behavior Data Research Strategy
Evolve your research design from measuring what your target customers ‘say’ to measuring what they actually ‘do’ by gathering behavioral data in scrappy ways.
A Simple Definition for a ‘Business Model’
The term business model is used loosely to describe how a business operates, but what is it as its simplest? Our CEO, Natalie Foley, breaks it down into simple terms and describes how a business model develops around a consumer need and evolves quickly through testing that de-risks concepts.
Using the VC Mindset for Successful Innovation
When your leadership thinks like a VC, there’s a better chance a new growth opportunity that your customers love will make it to market.
AI=IA, Intelligence Augmentation as an opportunity rather than a threat
Much has been said about the disruptive potential held within artificial intelligence (and this is not a new debate). Rather than envisioning catastrophe scenarios, what opportunities are present in this new capability set?
Creating a Children’s Book with Elementary Students and Teachers
How our Design Strategist, Anthony DeThomas, used design thinking to write and publish a children’s book, My Friend Failure.
Scaling a Business with Innovation Teams
A high-level summary of our findings from research with innovation teams at large companies to deliver successful innovation projects to market.
