Artificial Intelligence is probably one of the most popular and hyped technology terms of our time. But, beyond the media hype, there is a real revolution happening. To understand the potential, just consider the recent advances in domains like Computer Vision or Natural Language Processing and their applications. — The ability of a computer to ‘see’ is an astonishing achievement. AI-powered systems can ‘understand’ the context of an image or a video at an impressive level of detail. They can identify a growing set of entities — such as persons, named individuals, cars, buildings, and eventually any object —…

Corporate innovation is not easy. While most of companies out there claim to be innovative, it is only a minority of them that are able to systematically create value through their novel products, services, or business models. — There are companies that only scratch the surface of innovation — they focus on ‘appearing innovative’ — while others try hard to foster innovation but with no success. In practice, even the most expensive, well-thought innovation programs and sophisticated innovation labs often fail to produce real innovation outcomes. …

Considering that a significant percentage of patents granted is not utilized commercially and that only a small minority provides protection for IP holders or generates revenue streams via licensing, it is worth answering a few important questions. — When should a company consider filing a patent? How important is it for a company to have a patent strategy? How could this strategy generate value for the organization? On the practical side, how early in the innovation process should ideas be evaluated for patentability? When should companies keep a…

One could argue that some of the greatest achievements of our times are related to our ability to self-organize in groups and communities that work together to create value — having other than monetary drivers. This naturally extends to the organization level, where companies become part of an ecosystem of knowledge exchange and co-creation. — We ask seven leaders to explain the most essential forms of open innovation and present real-world scenarios. We also touch on the societal benefits of Open Innovation. Read expert insights from Ralf Wilden, Lisa Seacat DeLuca, Pedro Costa, Dermot Roche, and Sofia Fernandes.

In the age of Artificial Intelligence and rapid technological change, the role of the Chief Innovation Officer is becoming even more important. — In a previous article, I outlined the mission of the Chief Innovation Officer and the essential responsibilities. In this article, I am presenting the talents and skills that I consider to be essential for a great Chief Innovation Officer. The skills and talents that make a great CINO

Along with being agile and innovative, companies typically claim that they are also (being) digitally transformed. But, is Digital Transformation yet another business buzzword? We asked seven leaders to explain what Digital Transformation is and how technology, processes, and culture are interlinked in this context. — In this chapter, our leaders describe the conditions under which companies need such a program — they also explain how to set up a team to drive the efforts and the role of the leadership. …

Public sector companies have special structures and organizational attributes that, in some cases, slow down or even block innovation. — In this chapter, we explore how innovation is different in public sector organizations and the factors that might affect the velocity and pace of their innovation efforts. …

Nearly every company claims to be agile (and innovative). But the reality is that most people don’t truly understand these terms. In this chapter, we examine how the term agile — which became popular through the agile engineering processes and the lean startup — can be used to describe a certain class of companies. — We asked five global leaders to identify the essential characteristics, behaviors, and cultural elements that make a company ‘agile’ and explain how ‘being agile’ brings impact to the business, employees, and teams. …

Innovation can be thought of as a standalone organizational entity or as a fully embedded process in the product development function. The latter raises various interesting questions, such as: How should product innovation be orchestrated after launching the MVP in the market? How can product innovation continue as part of the ongoing product development — through the fast iterations of the agile approach? What kind of innovation processes, methods, and tools do modern companies apply when building a digital product?