Posts by Robert B. Tucker
Innovating in a Time of Uncertainty and Challenge
Editor’s note: The article below encapsulates a sponsored research project titled, Innovation for a New Era, conducted by Patrick Deren, Matthew Grant and myself, that was completed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are in charge of creating new products for your company, you already know that a confluence of forces was challenging long-held…
Read MoreThe Importance of Seeing it Coming
In my travels this year, the one comment I’m hearing is “we just didn’t see it coming.†The grocery industry didn’t see it coming when Amazon suddenly jumped into their industry and 25 billion in market cap got erased overnight. An insurance company in California didn’t see it coming when the effects of climate change…
Read MoreSeven Trends Driving The Future of Innovation
Kraft Heinz’ stock is down 50 percent over the past 12 months, turnover in the executive ranks has increased, and the company’s inability to keep pace with changing consumer tastes is largely to blame. In an earnings call with investors, Kraft   Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio observed that “we’ve been too focused on the…
Read More13 Guidelines for Navigating the New Decade Ahead
In 2009, after a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Summit (Russia’s Davos), I wandered into a panel discussion on the topic of trade wars, led by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. My thought was: “why this topic?†Trade wars were not on most people’s radar, certainly not mine. But the question is: should they have been? I’ve…
Read MoreHow to Prepare College Students to Innovate
Several years ago, when my nephew enrolled in business school at the University of Southern California, I asked him to ping me whenever the topic of innovation came up. He pinged very little. As an innovation speaker and expert, I’ve long been frustrated with the lack of innovation in the teaching of this increasingly vital topic.…
Read MoreMoroccan Adventure: 21 Days of Trying Not to Think About Innovation
On a recent adventure tour of Morocco with seven dear friends and a super country guide (pictured on my right), my goal was to disconnect and not think about innovation. Not possible! For 30 years, I’ve studied innovation and lectured on the subject and it continues to engage me. Yet on this trip, what emerged…
Read MoreUse Your Next Leadership Retreat to Manage the Future
Each year, thousands of organizational leaders head to the hills for an annual ritual: the strategic offsite leadership retreat. The purpose of such meetings, of course, is to get away from it all and strategize. To leave behind the quarterly pressures, and think big about the future. All too often, that’s not what transpires. Social events…
Read MoreHow Peloton Uses Consumer Insights To Drive Innovation
Peloton is the exercise company currently taking the fitness world by storm. The company’s sleek $2200 stationary bikes enable busy professionals to exercise at home, at any hour of the day or night. But that’s not what’s giving the $4 billion unicorn startup so much forward momentum right now. Peloton’s magic formula turns out to be…
Read MoreThese Nine Powerful Technologies Are Now Ready for Rollout
Every technology goes through a Development Phase before entering its Application Phase. The tech-advancements below are all entering the Application Phase. They are ready to be used as innovation tools — and to be used to solve your company’s and your customers real world challenges. Innovators in large multinational organizations, as well as small and mid-sized…
Read MoreSix Driving Forces of Innovation for 2019 and Beyond
Each year I interview hundreds of business leaders about innovation in their companies, and their outlook on the future. One question almost always gets asked: “what’s keeping you up nights?” What I’m hearing of late is about the sudden rise in business uncertainty. Is the decade-long economic recovery about to end? Will the U.S. and…
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