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Showing posts with the label culture

AI’s Experiments with Me (Part 1 of 2)

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  This article is a role reversal of my earlier article, My Experiments with AI . Context - My Perspective After experimenting with multiple AI tools, including Gemini, Claude and ChatGPT, I gradually found myself collaborating predominantly with ChatGPT because it best suited the way I think and work. (Why that happened is a discussion for another day.) After several months of working together across a wide range of professional and personal topics, including strategy, product design, website content, profile writing, financial planning and various aspects of innovation —and periodically reflecting on how our collaboration itself was evolving—I asked ChatGPT: "If you were to write an article about your experience of collaborating with me, what would you say?" The question itself sparked an interesting discussion. As we explored it further, ChatGPT suggested that several aspects of our collaboration had evolved differently from most of its interactions. I therefor...

When "Enough" Is Not Enough

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  In my previous article, I posed a simple question:     "We already innovate!" …Enough?! The answer depends on how leaders assess innovation. Most organisations measure innovation by what they have achieved. Successful innovation leaders also measure how those achievements are strengthening their ability to innovate in the future. That subtle shift changes the conversation from measuring innovation outcomes to building innovation capability. But how do you know whether your organisation is genuinely becoming more innovative? The number of ideas generated doesn't answer that question. Neither do the number of patents filed, products launched or AI tools implemented. Innovation leaders need a way of assessing whether their innovation capability is actually improving. That's where the MijS Innovation Compass ™, one of the frameworks within the MijS Discipline of Innovation ™, comes in. The same Compass can be applied at multiple levels—individual, ...

“We already Innovate!” … Enough ?!

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  During my initial discussions with leaders, one statement comes up almost invariably: “We already innovate!” And this is typically followed by statements like: "We've implemented the latest AI tools." "We've launched new features." "We've improved our processes." "We've automated operations." The leaders who consistently deliver innovation-led disproportionate outcomes ask a very different question. Do we innovate enough?! Enough to stay ahead. Enough to create meaningful differentiation. Enough to shape tomorrow rather than simply improve today. That single shift in thinking changes everything. That's why innovation leaders are never satisfied. Not because they fail to appreciate success. But because every success has an expiry date.  Every innovation raises the bar. The next one must raise it again. Innovation leadership isn't about proving that you innovate. It's ...

Ideas: Born or Made Implementable?

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  During a recent innovation workshop, the team had generated many ideas. Yet they seemed underwhelmed. When I asked why, one participant said: "We are trying to find implementable ideas." I had heard similar statements before: "Let's focus on practical ideas." "We need something we can actually implement." My immediate response was: "The job of innovators is not to find implementable ideas. The job of innovators is to make ideas implementable." The room paused. Because that simple distinction changes the way we approach innovation. Many organisations approach innovation as a search exercise. The objective is to find ideas that fit existing technologies, current budgets, available resources and established processes. But if innovation is only about finding ideas that already fit the system, how much innovation are we likely to get? Perhaps the real challenge is not finding implementable ideas … but making valua...

The World is a Lab for Innovation

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  "The world is a lab" is a popular concept.  Here is my take on what it means for innovation . Many organisations invest in innovation labs, centres and similar facilities to support innovation. This is often a sensible investment because innovation can require specialised equipment, technologies, expertise and infrastructure. However, every innovation lab is designed around today's understanding of tomorrow. The technologies selected, the equipment installed and the expertise assembled are all based on assumptions regarding what future innovations might require. Yet truly innovative concepts often challenge those assumptions. A breakthrough idea may depend on technologies that did not exist when the lab was designed. It may require expertise that sits outside the organisation.  It may involve capabilities that have never previously been combined. It may even demand an entirely new ecosystem of partners, suppliers and technologies. As a result, the infrastructure created...

Do Innovation Labs Generate Innovations?

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  Many organisations invest in innovation labs, centres and similar facilities to support innovation. This is often a sensible investment because innovation can require specialised equipment, technologies, expertise and infrastructure. However, every innovation lab is designed around today's understanding of tomorrow. The technologies selected, the equipment installed and the expertise assembled are all based on assumptions regarding what future innovations might require. Yet truly innovative concepts often challenge those assumptions. A breakthrough idea may depend on technologies that did not exist when the lab was designed. It may require expertise that sits outside the organisation. It may involve capabilities that have never previously been combined. It may even demand an entirely new ecosystem of partners, suppliers and technologies. As a result, the infrastructure created to enable innovation can sometimes become a limitation to innovation. The challenge is not o...