BLOG ON INNOVATION AND TRANSFORMATION

Tools and strategies to innovate, solve complex issues, and transform businesses

How far should your innovation team reach?
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

How far should your innovation team reach?

Recently, my friend and mentor Greg Bernarda highlighted the need to involve unusual actors in innovation in order to address systemic problems.

This sparked reflections on the evolving nature of innovation teams, adapting over time to tackle even more complex challenges and generate greater business and societal value.

Join me in exploring those changes in this blog post.

Read More
What you should know about innovation’s time to impact
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

What you should know about innovation’s time to impact

When leaders turn for help on innovation, the last thing they want to hear is that transformative innovation’s time to impact is unpredictable and long. Still it is important to manage leaders’ expectations early on, if only to give transformative innovation the best chance of success.

Let me explain in this post what I believe all leaders should know about innovation’s time to impact and how to overcome the longer time to impact of transformative innovation.

Read More
Are your leaders also ready to lead innovation?
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Are your leaders also ready to lead innovation?

In my experience, almost all organisations assume that their existing leaders are ready to lead innovation. But that assumption is often wrong.

In this blogpost I explain how to help leaders be better prepared to lead innovation. It starts by creating time and space for leaders to reflect on innovation, and via a dialogue create the opportunity to:

  • raise their awareness on the radical difference between exploration and exploitation,

  • make explicit their role in supporting and challenging innovation teams,

  • make explicit their role in designing and nurturing an innovation ecosystem.

Read More
The first 18 months of leading the creation of an Innovation Ecosystem
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

The first 18 months of leading the creation of an Innovation Ecosystem

What would you do if you were asked to lead the launch of the new innovation arm within a large organisation? Nick Himowicz and I interviewed Sergey Zverev who faced this exact challenge in Feb 2020.

In this blogpost we summarise Sergey's 6 priorities in his first 18 months of leading the development of an innovation ecosystem within MSD emerging markets.

Read More
What drives leaders to invest in transformative innovation?
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

What drives leaders to invest in transformative innovation?

If you plan to introduce or increase the volume on transformative innovation in your organisation, expect pushback to say the least. Still, some leaders manage to overcome all obstacles.

In this article I want to highlight three powerful drivers behind the success of leaders who managed to create a capability for transformative innovation within their organisation.

So what drives leaders to invest in transformative innovation?

  1. Fear of disruption

  2. Hunger for growth

  3. Awareness of an unforeseeable future

Read More
Leadership support for innovation needs more than good intentions
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Leadership support for innovation needs more than good intentions

Despite their best intentions, attempts by senior leaders in large organisations to set up a thriving innovation capability can end up in bitter disappointment.

In this blogpost I outline the five acts of a CORPORATE INNOVATION drama I’ve seen unfold too many times, and what leaders can put in place to create a virtuous circle towards better outcomes from innovation.

Read More
Interview on Innovation Ecosystems
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Interview on Innovation Ecosystems

In this interview I answer all the questions from my fellow Strategyzer Advisor Christian Doll on innovation ecosystems, a critical topic to build long-term resilience in large organisations.

Read More
The 3 Elements of an Innovation Ecosystem
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

The 3 Elements of an Innovation Ecosystem

Developing an innovation capability within a large organization is a daunting prospect. It’s become clear in the last few years that it requires a more systemic approach.

In this post I explain the three core elements required to build an innovation ecosystem: explore portfolio + innovation programs + exploration culture.

Read More

Subscribe to the bi-monthly newsletter.