The Innovators Studio with Phil McKinney

AI has become very popular in the world today. With its transition from a dream to reality, one must wonder what future outcomes will come of it. Is human creativity at the core of AI ? Some may wonder whether AI can possess the same creative abilities. Human Creativity and AI Learning and experiences lead to innovation and creation. With every new creation comes inspiration from something else. W...

Let's be honest with ourselves. Being creative is hard. Suppose a crisis within your organization happens, and you need to come up with ideas on demand. How do you respond? While this situation sounds scary, there are steps you can take to respond successfully. 3 Steps to Brainstorming Ideas on Demand I use three steps to brainstorm ideas on demand. The first step is to create a problem statement...

In life, it is essential to be content when it comes to certain things. However, when dealing with innovation , that is far from the case. When an innovator decides they are satisfied with their product or idea, they will be in for an unpleasant surprise. This contentment can be the ultimate enemy of innovation. Virtue or Enemy of Innovation? The state of contentment is a state of peace, satisfact...

A vital function of an innovation leader is to motivate, support, and point their team to good habits. Doing this should be a daily activity. Modeling leadership habits and exhibiting leadership skills inspires employees to become leaders. With this inspiration , employees will become more efficient and innovative. This effect can be created through a list of questions to ask your employees. Top Q...

Let's say your organization tasks your team to generate a new product or service idea . You gather your team together and get ready to brainstorm, thinking you can't go wrong. Contrary to common thought, when brainstorming problem statements, things can go wrong. Often, teams will jump into brainstorming sessions, forgetting a vital step of the process. This step is known as the area of focus. Whe...

Many people spend years of their lives searching for the  secrets of success . Most people believe success comes from doing what successful people do. 1986, "In Search of Excellence" came out, which sought to identify shared practices of 10 successful companies and publish them. This book was the first one in its genre. Did these companies become successful out of luck? Let's try this strategy by...

A challenger is someone who ignores old thought patterns, doesn't let others hold them back, and confronts the dominant player. In the story of David and Goliath, David defeated the giant because he approached him differently. As an organization, you need to think differently to challenge a well-accepted market leader. Challengers fight smarter, with focus and a clear purpose. Being a challenger i...

Innovating in the face of the unexpected can stretch the most decisive innovation leader. COVID taught us that flexibility and adaptability is the name of the game. This is especially true within an organization's innovation efforts. A new capability is needed to respond to these  disruptive shock  situations effectively. I call this capability "elastic innovation," or the ability to innovate in t...

In past episodes, I've discussed science fiction stories as tools to predict the future. H.G Wells wrote about atomic bombs and the fallout - thirty years before Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In 1968, John Brunner predicted the European Union, China's rise to power, and Detroit's economic downfall.   You can probably take any existing technology and find a book or article that predicted something like i...

To me, pivoting is making a significant change in direction. Many people are not aware that some of the products they use today are the result of a pivot. Today we'll look at seven companies that made  meaningful significant changes  resulting in ultimate success.  Achieving Success by Pivoting Your Innovation PayPal started as a digital "I owe you" platform. Today, it is a major payment transacti...

Let's talk about some non-obvious sources of my innovation inspiration. Recently, we spoke about seeing with fresh eyes and how important that practice is. Fresh eyes need innovation inspiration to guide them towards that next game-changing innovation . The Power of Unexpected Conversations The first source of my innovation inspiration is unexpected conversations. I like to talk with interesting p...

Regret is one of those emotions that can derail your future success. As innovators, regrets can be things like someone else launching an idea you had before you were able to execute it . Today, I am going to share three of my innovation regrets, and how to move past them to continue achieving success. My First Innovation Regret During the early days of computer viruses, I was Director of Product D...

Previously we talked about innovation adoption and the importance of getting across the innovation adoption curve . Let's shift our conversation to innovation adoption as a competitive advantage. There is a new category of innovation adoption that is on the rise. This category is known as the hyper-adoption of innovation. The category describes the propensity to adopt and adapt to innovation at a...

Once you've developed an excellent  breakthrough innovation , the next step is figuring out how to get it adopted. Innovators have created numerous helpful models over the years, but most use the innovation adoption model. The Innovation Adoption Curve The innovation adoption model is the framework that lays out the audience, such as the late adopters or early adopters. This framework assumes that...

It's hard to believe that I've been in the innovation game as long as I have. I've been creating ideas, inventing, launching services, and teaching others to do the same for many years. While this experience is good, it can sometimes be hurtful. Finding yourself doing the same thing over and over again can be tedious. We all fall into this type of rut. People often do this with morning routines. T...

Last week, I wrapped up a workshop I was teaching to innovation leaders on  the 7 laws of innovation . At the end of every workshop or session I teach, I conduct an "AMA" or ask me anything time. There seems to be a recurring question I get from leaders who have taken the Innovation Bootcamp and the 7 laws workshop. The question is, "how do I find the time to innovate?"   Creating time for Innovat...

What is Groupthink? In this show, we will discuss how groupthink kills innovation. Groupthink is thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that  discourages creativity  or individual responsibility. The problem with groupthink is that it can create blind spots that are the result of not listening to dissenting opinions. Groupthink tends to end in unintended negative consequences because eve...

Like I've discussed in a previous show, innovation mentoring and coaching are two different things. Coaching is when working on a project, while mentoring is more long-term and focuses on one person. When directing teams on innovation efforts , the secret to success is a well-thought-out innovation or creative brief. The Creative or Innovation Brief I've done a lot of coaching and mentoring over t...

Innovation isn't just about creating new products or services. While this is critical to an organization, it is also essential to look at other areas such as business model innovation, process innovation, and marketing innovation. The Framework for New Products We use the FIRE framework , which we have discussed many times on the show. The primary goal of this framework is to think about innovatio...

When I run into fellow innovators, they often want to share their ideas with me and get advice. In many cases, they have an idea that they believe is the pinnacle of ideas. They love their idea to death and hold it close to them. While they may have a great idea, it has no value in this state. Running Out of Ideas? Having a mind-blowing idea without any execution is pointless. When I question thes...

While innovation leaders have the same core behaviors all great leaders have, they carry important additional behaviors. Today's topic is the 9 leadership behaviors for innovation leaders which was inspired by an  article on  Forbes  by Jack Zenger . Applied to the topic is my own forty years of experience in the innovation space. These behaviors are foundational for innovation leadership success....

What comes to mind when you hear the term innovation burnout? Webster's dictionary says that burnout is the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive or prolonged stress. Burnout occurs when we feel overwhelmed, drained, and unable to meet that constant demand. Innovation Burnout For innovators, it's that constant demand for coming up with new ideas. Being in the innovation ga...

Co-innovation is a common term used in the innovation space. It describes two organizations of any kind that come together to innovate in an area of common interest. I am not only talking about collaboration. Co-innovation seeks to deliver a result such as a product or service. There is a 50-50 contribution with this model, whether that's money, people, labs, etc. Co-Innovation Partner: Corning Du...

Whitney Snider is the Head of Alexandria's LaunchLabs and the VP of Alexandria Venture Investments. Alexandria Real Estate Equities is a real estate investment trust that provides housing and labs for life science and tech companies. Whitney will share what ARE is doing to fuel innovation through collaborative campuses. Whitney's Background Whitney works at Alexandria Real Estate Equities and is i...

Cyril Bouquet joins us to discuss "A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path to Breakthrough Ideas." His book breaks down five keys to creating disruptive ideas called ALIEN Thinking: Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation. Cyril's Background Cyril is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy at IMD. Growing up, both of his parents were professors, but he had no desire...