Posts by Ralph Ohr
The Window of Corporate Innovation Opportunity
One issue has been on my mind for quite some time. Let me share with you a key learning from my innovation work in and with diverse companies over the years. It can be termed pretty catchy as:Â Window of Corporate Opportunity. In brief, this notion can be delineated as follows:Â Sustainable, effective and impactful corporate innovation…
Read MoreInnovation Follows Culture Follows Structure
Once in a while you run into ideas which are refreshingly thought-provoking, while at the same time seeming to be resonating with your own view. This holds for the key statements in “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”, a worthwile new book by theoretical physicist and…
Read MoreOrganizational Pathways to Business Model Innovation
For several reasons, such as disruptive threats, digitalization or blurring industry boundaries, established companies are increasingly forced to create new business opportunities, i.e. to come up with adapted or even entirely new business models. Moreover, developing a ‘business model innovation capability‘ seems particularly vital in the light of ever decreasing life cycles. Shrinking life times of established business models are tied to the fact that…
Read MoreScaling Up Startups in Corporate Settings
In recent years, an increasing intensity in collaboration between incumbent companies and startups has been observed. Meanwhile, close to 80% of corporations and startups have already been or are collaborating. The mutual – actually complementary – benefits seem pretty obvious: Benefits for startups include availability of office space, hardware, networks, support and potential funding access…
Read MoreScaling Edges vs. Transforming Core
Dual approaches are evermore finding their way into corporate strategy, development and innovation. There are several manifestations at play, such as…
Read MoreHallmarks of Organizational Ambidexterity
If you are a frequent reader of my posts, you may know we’ve been relentlessly highlighting the importance of organizational ambidexterity as vital requirement for modern dual corporate innovation approaches. Managing today’s business and creating future’s business successfully at the same time is probably the most demanding, yet indispensable challenge for future-proof organizations and their leaders. But what are hallmarks of successful organizational ambidexterity? What do…
Read MoreStartup Engagement in Corporate Innovation
Recently, Match-Maker Ventures and Arthur D. Little have released an interesting report, titled “The Age of Collaboration“. The study does a good job in synthesizing the global state of play of corporate-startup collaboration and latest findings on success requirements for its implementation. More and more corporations seek to engage with startups by pursuing corresponding activities across dedicated ecosystems and incorporating them…
Read MoreFour Models of Intrapreneurship Innovation
Research shows that growth fueled through organic innovation is more profitable than growth driven by acquisition, in part because the organizational capability required is vastly different. But the litmus test is…
Read MoreBad Innovation Systems Beat Good Innovators Every Time
Major learning here: Even the greatest people will have a hard time driving innovation successfully within corporate systems that are dysfunctional, i.e. not set up properly for their actual purpose.
Read MoreAligning Organizations for Digital Innovation
To understand the challenges and opportunities associated with digitalization, MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte surveyed more than 3,700 business executives, managers, and analysts from organizations around the world. They have recently published their findings in a report, titled Aligning the Organization for Its Digital Future.
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