Blog
Blog
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December 18, 2024‘Twas the night before launch day, when throughout HQ,Not a worker had left, there was... -
December 10, 2024‘Tis the season for “year in review” and “top 10 lists.” As fun (and sometimes... -
December 4, 2024Last week, InnoLead published a collection of 11 articles describing the root causes and remedies... -
November 19, 2024“We identified four opportunities for market expansion, all adjacent to our current business, and entry... -
November 12, 2024“Now I know why our researchers are so sad.” Teaching at The Massachusetts College of Art... -
November 6, 2024Corporate offsites – the phrase conjures images of everything from “mandatory fun” with colleagues to... -
October 30, 2024It’s that time of year again – the annual ritual of strategic planning. But as... -
October 22, 2024How many times a day do you ask someone to do something? If you total... -
October 14, 2024Once upon a time, in a lush forest, there lived a colony of industrious beavers... -
October 9, 2024In our race to enable and support hybrid teams, our reliance on collaboration software has... -
October 1, 2024In the often murky world of corporate communication, a leaked MrBeast document has emerged as... -
September 24, 2024Do you feel like you’re drowning in a sea of bad news? You’re not alone.... -
September 17, 2024How many times have you proposed a new idea and been told, “We can’t do... -
September 11, 2024Paul Graham, cofounder of Y Combinator, was so inspired by a speech by Airbnb cofounder... -
September 3, 2024You know that asking questions is essential. After all, when you’re innovating, you’re doing something... -
August 28, 2024You were born creative. As an infant, you had to figure many things out—how to... -
August 18, 2024AI is everywhere: in our workplaces, homes, schools, art galleries, concert halls, and even neighborhood... -
August 14, 2024In 2020, the International Standards Organization, most famous for its Quality Management Systems standard, published... -
July 31, 2024Stop me if this sounds familiar. A new hire bounces into your office and, with... -
July 22, 2024“This time feels different.” I’ve been hearing this from innovation practitioners and partners for months ... -
July 17, 2024The quest for immortality is as old as humankind. From King Gilgamesh in 2100 BCE... -
July 10, 2024“Trust no one. Suspect everyone.” Great advice if you’re an MI6 agent trying to uncover... -
June 26, 2024It’s not easy leading innovation. Especially these days. You need to do more with less. ... -
June 19, 2024As a leader in your organization, you’re under tremendous stress. Not only do you need... -
June 10, 2024I recently listened to a podcast in which the speaker talked about his hike to... -
June 5, 2024Purpose. Goal. Mission. You hear these words a lot this time of year. Not because... -
May 27, 2024Doing nothing fuels creativity and innovation, but that fuel is wasted if you don’t put... -
May 3, 2024You know the stories. Kodak developed a digital camera in the 1970s, but its images... -
April 27, 2024It’s easy to get caught up in the hunt for unique insights that will transform... -
April 21, 2024You are a natural-born problem solver. From the moment you were born, you’ve solved problems. ... -
April 17, 2024“But even more importantly, our employees were working from home for two and a half... -
April 10, 2024“Time is a flat circle. Everything we have done or will do we will do... -
April 2, 2024You’ve heard the adage that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Well, AI is the fruit... -
March 19, 2024Growth is the lifeblood of any organization, and the quest for growth opportunities is not... -
March 11, 2024In 2014, rumors started to circulate that Apple was developing a self-driving autonomous car to... -
March 5, 2024AI is NOT a substitute for person-to-person discovery conversations or Jobs to be Done interviews. But... -
February 27, 2024Unintended consequences often catch us off guard despite their predictability. The moment they occur, we... -
February 21, 2024You want to make life better for others. This desire is reflected in the optimism... -
February 13, 2024The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and nowhere is that more true... -
January 31, 2024Most customer research efforts waste time and money because they don’t produce insights that fuel... -
January 23, 2024It’s award season, which means that, as a resident of Boston, I have the responsibility... -
January 17, 2024Fabric & Home Care Marketing That is the job title on my very first business card. ... -
January 2, 2024“You sound stupid when you use the word ‘_____________’ because you’re trying to sound smart.” Mark... -
December 10, 2023In September 2006, I moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, on a temporary assignment with BCG. As... -
December 4, 2023“I would argue that it was an innovation success!” At that moment, I started to deeply... -
November 28, 2023“Yes, and….” You know it. You love it. You may even use it. The phrase is a... -
November 15, 2023or The No-Cost, No-Hug Secret to Smarter Teams Welcome to the exciting conclusion of “Everything You... -
November 7, 2023or “Why Mandating a Return to the Office Destroys Safety” In last week’s episode, we learned... -
November 2, 2023or Why the Lack of Psychological Safety Makes You Dumber It’s been over 20 years since... -
October 22, 2023“Isn’t continuous improvement the same as incremental innovation? After all, both focus on doing what... -
October 19, 2023AI is killing Corporate Innovation. Last Friday, the brilliant minds of Scott Kirsner, Rita McGrath, and... -
October 11, 2023You know that customer insights are important. You spend time and money to collect customer insights. But... -
October 4, 2023“Lego’s Latest Effort to Avoid Oil-Based Plastic Hits Brick Wall” – WSJ “Lego axes plans to... -
September 27, 2023In the room were two single beds, each with a fluffy white comforter folded neatly... -
September 18, 2023“If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein (supposedly) This is... -
September 11, 2023Why are people so concerned about, afraid of, or resistant to new things? Innovation, by its... -
September 7, 2023Using only three words, how would you describe your company? Better yet, what three words would... -
August 30, 2023If you’re like most people, you’ve faced disappointment. Maybe the love of your life didn’t... -
August 21, 2023You are a rolling stone, and that means you gather no moss! You read the... -
August 16, 2023You are a savvy manager, so you know that you need an innovation portfolio because... -
August 9, 2023It’s that time of year. The summer sun is beating down harder than ever. The... -
August 2, 2023What if a tool had the power to delight your customers, cut your costs, increase... -
July 25, 2023Several years ago, my now-husband and I were in London. It was his first time... -
July 16, 2023Being a leader isn’t easy. You must BE accountable, compassionate, confident, curious, empathetic, focused, service-driven,... -
July 11, 2023You are a leader, an innovator, and an optimist. You see what’s possible, and you... -
July 3, 2023When my niece was 4 years old, she looked at her mom (my sister) and... -
June 27, 2023“Leader” is a word that gets thrown around A LOT. Senior Management Teams are now Senior... -
June 21, 2023As the world around you becomes more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), you know... -
June 13, 2023You are a leader. The boss. The person in charge. That means you know the answer... -
May 17, 2023A few weeks ago, a Google researcher leaked an internal document asserting that Google (and... -
May 11, 2023“We have successfully retained the opportunity for improvement.” When the CEO said this to kick off... -
May 3, 2023When asked to describe his test for determining what is and isn’t hard-core pornography, Supreme... -
April 27, 2023“Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly” It’s a meme and my new favorite euphemism for getting dumped/fired (as in,... -
April 19, 2023A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my hatred of failure while acknowledging that... -
April 11, 2023To Cede, or to Seed, that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to... -
April 2, 2023The Official Story “Innovation” is not peanut butter. You can’t smear it all over everything and... -
March 22, 2023How do people react when you say “innovation?” Lean forward, eyes glittering, eager to hear more Stare... -
March 14, 2023Last week, as news of Silicon Valley Bank’s losses and eventual collapse, took over the... -
March 1, 2023You want and need the best, most brilliant, most awesome-est people at your company. But... -
February 23, 2023Do you sometimes feel like you’re living in an alternate reality? If so, you’re not alone. ... -
February 16, 2023Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. That is one of the very few pieces... -
February 8, 2023“Everything changed since the pandemic.” At this point, my husband, a Navy veteran, is very likely... -
January 31, 2023Day 1 Oh innovation, a journey just begun A bold quest filled with challenges, risks, and dreams, A... -
January 25, 2023Whelp, the apocalypse is upon us. Again. This time the end of the world is brought... -
January 16, 2023You know that innovation is something new that creates value. (But not too new) Sometimes the value... -
January 10, 2023What happened the last time you asked your team for ideas? A. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. B.... -
January 3, 2023Everyone is an innovator on January 1. That’s the day when each of us resolves to... -
December 14, 2022Congratulations! You developed and are using a best-in-class Innovation Process. You start by talking to consumers,... -
November 30, 2022“What business are you in?” How do you answer this all-too-common question? Do you name the company... -
November 17, 2022You know ALL the innovation tools and frameworks: Design ThinkingLean StartupDisruptive Innovation But knowing and doing are... -
November 9, 2022“What had a bigger impact on the project? The process you introduced or the people... -
November 2, 2022If you heard it once, you heard it a thousand times: Big companies can’t innovateWe need... -
October 26, 2022Innovation thrives within constraints. Constraints create the need for questions, creative thinking, and experiments. But as real... -
October 11, 2022Q: How might we brainstorm new ideas to serve our customers better? A: Have a brainstorming... -
October 5, 2022Being the smart innovator (and businessperson) you are, you know it’s important to talk to... -
September 24, 2022In the Before Times, we attended conferences to learn, make connections, and promote ourselves and... -
September 18, 2022Several months ago, a colleague sent me a link to Roger Martin’s latest article, “The... -
September 14, 2022Innovation is BIG! Big ideas! Change the world! Go big or go home! Which makes sense. Giant corporations need big... -
August 30, 2022You have, no doubt, seen the design squiggle. The ubiquitous scribble is all loopy and... -
August 24, 2022It just landed on your desk. Or maybe you campaigned to get it. Or perhaps... -
August 18, 2022Most of my advice to leaders who want to use innovation to grow their businesses... -
August 10, 2022Between theory and practice is a nearly infinite chasm of superficial understanding and unearned confidence.... -
August 2, 2022You know that innovation is essential and why it is essential. But do your colleagues share... -
July 24, 2022Many years ago, Clay Christensen visited his firm where I was a partner and told... -
July 20, 2022All eyes are on you, You have the data. You heard everyone’s opinions. Now it’s time... -
July 12, 2022What are some of the things you know you should do, but you don’t? Eat five... -
July 4, 2022As a leader, you champion innovation. You recognize its importance to your organization. Its role... -
June 22, 2022“You’re right. It’s counter-intuitive but correct. Good job!” I wish I could take back those words. ... -
June 14, 2022“Can I offer you a bit of advice?” As an innovator, this question should trigger your... -
June 8, 2022“Fail Fast” It’s an innovation mantra uttered by everyone, from an entry-level programmer at a start-up... -
May 11, 2022Looking for help with Innovation? Look no further than the: 1.93 billion Google results773, 733 articles in... -
May 1, 2022We all want to be successful leaders, and if you’re reading this, you probably want... -
April 25, 2022I love engineers* Engineers are the ultimate problem-solvers. They see a problem and the need to... -
April 18, 2022“We want to build a culture of innovation.” It’s a noble goal. After all, a culture... -
April 13, 2022Do you remember the 2010s? The US economy was in its most prolonged ever period... -
April 5, 2022“That’s not how we do it here.” Very few phrases induce more eye-rolls or are more... -
March 29, 2022“We need to be more innovative.” How many times have you said or heard that? It’s... -
March 23, 2022“He’s just not that into you.” That sentence is usually uttered as tough-love advice to a... -
March 16, 2022Imagine that you decided to temporarily shut down your business. You made this decision because... -
March 8, 2022When you were a child, you knew that the best stories began with “Once Upon... -
February 28, 2022In Part 1, you learned the What, Why, and How of 5 popular Innovation Frameworks... -
February 23, 2022Forget secret handshakes, guarded rituals, and clandestine meetings. The easiest way to show that you’re... -
February 13, 2022Before setting off on a journey to strange lands, most travelers take time to learn... -
February 6, 2022You know that to deliver today’s business and achieve tomorrow’s goals, you need a portfolio... -
January 30, 2022After months of work, haggling, encouraging, and deep breathing, you finally have your innovation capability... -
January 23, 2022The Great Resignation is real. At the start of 2021, 40% of employees thought about... -
January 18, 2022It’s January, and even though the end of the year feels far away, you know... -
January 10, 2022“Why doesn’t anyone bring me ideas?” “Why doesn’t anyone ask questions during my meetings?” “How can I... -
January 4, 2022Before we go any further, I need to be clear that I absolutely, totally, and... -
December 14, 2021Have you ever said to someone, “I wish you were more like (fill in the... -
December 8, 2021Over the past 987,460 days of forced WFH, I’ve participated in several virtual ideations. A few... -
December 2, 2021On April 26, 1937, Nazi warplanes, at the request of Franco’s Spanish nationalists, bombed Guernica,... -
November 20, 2021Everyone knows about brainstorms but did you know there are three other types of storms... -
November 12, 2021“We are not lost. I know exactly where we are. Granted, it’s not where we... -
October 26, 2021A few weeks ago, I wrote that innovation happens in the gaps and offered a... -
October 7, 2021“Innovation happens in the gaps.” It’s a statement so simple yet so profound that as soon... -
September 26, 2021“Who should be on our innovation team?” Unfortunately, innovators, especially those able to succeed in a... -
September 6, 2021We are natural problem-solvers. From the moment we’re born, we’re solving problems. Hungry? We wail and cry Confused... -
August 28, 2021I do. We do. You do. My Mom taught pre-school. It wasn’t a job; it was... -
August 25, 2021Most people know that 95% of new products fail within three years of launch. It’s... -
July 15, 2021“How might we ruin a perfectly good and useful tool?” This might not be the question... -
June 17, 2021Innovation is all about embracing the AND. Creativity AND AnalysisImagination AND PracticalityEnvisioned Future AND Lived Reality Looking... -
April 27, 2021Some conversations stick with you for a long time. Some conversations take your breath away... -
April 7, 2021A few weeks ago, I wrote a post using quotes from “Moneyball” (the movie, not... -
April 1, 2021Of all the facets of innovation, innovation metrics may be the most requested, studied, and... -
March 24, 2021We all love Innovation but there are times when it isn’t the answer. In fact,... -
March 17, 2021“Fall in the love the problem, not the solution.” Although not as well-known as other innovation... -
March 9, 2021“You are a salmon.” This was not the career advice I hoped for. After months of tests,... -
March 2, 2021The Horsemen are drawing nearer On leather steeds they ride They’ve come to take your life On through... -
February 24, 2021Last week, pitchers and catchers reported to MLB Spring Training facilities in Florida and Arizona. ... -
February 15, 2021Have you heard any of these sentences recently? “We don’t have time” “Our people don’t have the... -
December 30, 2020According to a 2018 survey by NPR and The Marist Poll, the most common New... -
December 22, 2020“The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expected... -
December 15, 2020“Speed Kills” is as true in innovation as it is on the road. Although it’s a... -
December 9, 2020Innovating – doing something different that creates value – is hard. Innovating within a large organization... -
November 18, 2020Companies love to invest in idea generation – challenges, hackathons, software platforms to collect and... -
November 11, 2020“We are not good at killing innovation projects.” In the past two days, three people in... -
October 26, 2020When I was a senior in college, I took a pottery class. One of our assignments,... -
October 21, 2020Things we know we should do because they’re good for us: Eat 5 servings of fruits... -
October 13, 2020Dear Corporate Executive, Congratulations! You’ve taken action to make innovation happen. You created an innovation team,... -
October 8, 2020When a business fails to innovate it is because executives fail to lead. It is not... -
September 30, 2020“How are you doing? How are you handling all this?” It seems like 90% of conversations... -
September 24, 2020Innovation is not peanut butter. You can’t smear it all over something and enjoy the deliciousness. In... -
September 18, 2020The seasons may be changing but, for most, there is no end in sight for... -
September 2, 2020“When people hear ‘Innovation’ they think of shiny new objects. So, we don’t really use... -
August 26, 2020I love stories. When I was a kid, my parents would literally give me a... -
August 26, 2020“When you say, ‘uh-huh’ over and over like that, I can tell you’re not listening... -
August 6, 2020If you’re innovating without involving your customers, you’re wasting time and money. I believe this so... -
July 29, 2020Over the past several weeks, I’ve kicked off innovation projects with multiple clients. As usual,... -
July 23, 2020“We need more data.” How many times have you heard this? How many times have you... -
July 15, 2020“If you spend a lot of time in your own head, you’re spending time in... -
June 24, 2020Innovation doesn’t start with an idea. It starts with a problem. Sometimes those problems are... -
June 18, 2020Last week, I wrote about Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a process of using art to... -
June 10, 2020“It was quite a sight! A dozen senior executives from a big, conservative financial services... -
June 3, 2020Last week, I published a post with a very simple goal – define innovation so... -
May 27, 2020When I worked on P&G’s WalMart sales team, one of my bosses was a big... -
May 21, 2020D-Day is less than 2 weeks away. On June 1, high school seniors and recent... -
May 13, 2020I took my last flight on Friday, March 13, two days after the president’s first... -
May 6, 2020There is more to telemedicine – the exchange of medical information from one site to... -
April 28, 2020It was a large rectangular room. Chairs lined the walls. A children’s play area was... -
April 20, 2020“What happens next? You know, once all of this is over?” my friend asked. “There... -
April 16, 2020Innovation is something different that creates value. Sometimes it’s big, new to the world, world-changing... -
April 8, 2020Sunday was Read a Roadmap Day which is, naturally, one of MileZero’s favorite days. For hundreds... -
March 31, 2020It started with emails from the airlines letting us know that they’re cleaning the planes... -
March 25, 2020In middle school and high school my dad and I would have massive arguments about... -
March 19, 2020Creative and Reactive Same letters. Different order. Very different results. These are strange times. A relentless stream of news and... -
March 8, 2020I don’t know about you, but I’m rather tired of the non-stop hysteria that seems... -
February 19, 2020When I first heard about this book, a first-person account of innovating within a large... -
February 6, 2020Is it just me? I hate running experiments. I know that I’m not supposed to say that,... -
January 22, 2020Several years ago and courtesy of the TED Women Conference, I got my hands on... -
January 16, 2020According to research by Strava, the social network for athletes, most people will have given up... -
December 9, 2019As I wrote in Part 1, I learned several valuable lessons about how to make requests... -
December 9, 2019Writing weekly articles is not easy and, I’ll admit, sometimes I just mail it in.... -
December 3, 2019It’s that time of year. The time when we look back and take stock, and look... -
November 18, 2019A few weeks ago, I published a piece in Forbes with tips on how to learn from... -
November 11, 2019“They put their modems in filing cabinet drawers! Can you believe it?!?!” The crowd roared with... -
November 9, 2019Do you want a job that offers some sort of stability without the soul-sucking repetition... -
October 21, 2019It’s that time of year again. The time of year when people everywhere write up their... -
October 6, 2019On August 27, Pumpkin Spice season began. It was the earliest ever launch of Starbucks’... -
September 7, 2019It’s been 22 years since the publication of The Innovator’s Dilemma, the book that catapulted Clayton Christensen... -
June 9, 2019“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will... -
June 9, 2019“What do you plan to do on vacation?” my friend asked. “Nothing…” Long silence “…And it will be... -
March 2, 2019Like many people, I have heard the terms “growth mindset” and “fixed mindset.” And, like many... -
February 21, 2019“I don’t know how I got into the program. I’m not innovative.” For nearly two years,... -
February 1, 2019Part 1 was all about the experience of working in Corporate Innovation so, naturally, Part... -
January 29, 2019Have you ever had that eery feeling of some secret you’ve been keeping being subtly... -
July 11, 2018I am not a soccer fan but my husband is. So why, as a non-soccer... -
June 3, 2018My name is Robyn and I am a recovering Innovation Snob. I didn’t realize I was... -
May 12, 2018My Mom was a nursery-school teacher. It was more than her profession, it was her... -
May 6, 2018I’ve had more than one conversation recently in which an Intrapreneur will ask me, with... -
April 22, 201880/20 Nothing drives my husband more insane than when the “80/20 Rule” is invoked. Whenever we’re... -
April 15, 2018It’s Monday morning, you’re settling into your office. As you sip your coffee and start... -
April 8, 2018A few weeks ago, my 5-year old niece and I spent the afternoon together at... -
April 1, 2018“There is only one boss. The customer.” – Sam Walton With all the buzz around human-centered... -
March 25, 2018A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an HBR Online article that argued that...