People who sponsor collaborative innovation challenges establish a quid pro quo with the contributors and collaborators who comprise their communities. They agree to “do something” with the ideas that resonate with the community.

What might “…

“Innovate or die,” heralds the Digital Age. The wise leader, mindful of the limits of the latter, embraces the practice of collaborative innovation as a way for their organization to pursue the former. Organizations, too, have professional facilitators on staff and on call. Working as an adjunct to the human resources function, they have remained largely absent from the dialogue around the practice. Innovation happens…

The front end of innovation offers organizations engagement. Engaged people bring more of their gifts to the table. The back end of innovation offers organizations ideas that, when implemented, bring relative advantage. Each idea has its own story of relative advantage and risk. How do you tell the back end story in a valid, credible way?

In…

For two years our columnist Doug Collins has shared with us his exploration of the practice of collaborative innovation.

Today, at this anniversary, we announce the release of volume 2 of his Innovation Architecture series, an exciting and deeply thought-provoking book whose cover is depicted in the headline graphic for this…

Organizations big and small have begun to explore the practice of collaborative innovation as a way to increase engagement and to foment a culture of innovation. Let’s say you work for such an organization. What’s the quid pro quo when you find yourself part of the crowd from which wisdom is sought?

In this…

The front and back ends of innovation test us in different ways. At the front end we wrestle with, “What problem is worth solving?” At the back end we wrestle with, “How do deliver something that offers greater relative advantage than the next best alternative?”

This article explores links between the Skunk…

Gartner predicts that four of five large enterprises that pursue social innovation with their employees and the world at large will, over the next couple years, fail in their endeavors. Ouch. Meatloaf gave better odds.

In this…

When you introduce the practice of collaborative innovation to your organization, you make the case to your colleagues that the approach will benefit them more than the status quo. Why might they agree with you? Why might they change their beliefs and behaviors? Have you developed your campaign of persuasion?

In this…

I am writing this post because I am curious about the status of the early Service Design community, the pioneers of Service Design.

Tell me! How are you doing? What is the general feeling of what you’ve accomplished and where you are heading?

It has been 10 years or so since a new group, a new generation of professionals, started to develop and work within the field of what they called Service Design. These people, some just graduated, entered a field…

What elements comprise a fully formed idea? How might originators capture the evolution in their thinking about their ideas over time?

Innovation architect Doug Collins—older and, delectably, wiser—revisits his thinking on this subject in the following…

Here's a video impression of our "Think Like a Startup" sessions / game using the Startup Canvas and toolkit.

The session was held at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (dschool) Potsdam.

The aim of the session is to create a company that has a perfect conection between things like personal and company values, vision, culture, organizational model, partnerships, kpi's and incentives, mission, value proposition, touchpoints, customer needs, expectations, perceptions, values…

The New Year offers a quiet time for reflection and reappraisal over a fine, locally brewed winter lager. How will I spend my time wisely? What will I do better? What will I do differently? Do I return the juicer from Aunt Ethel?

In his first…

People who practice collaborative innovation envision a compelling future. They transform their communities, their organizations, and themselves by helping people realize their potential for leadership as they form and evolve ideas. Reality check: effective visionaries use pragmatic tactics to move from point A to B.

In this…

People hit plateaus in their work, including people who practice collaborative innovation.

Feeling as if you’ve been walking on level ground for awhile?

How might you go higher?…

The practice of collaborative innovation brings the wisdom of the crowds to bear on the unknown: unpredictable scenarios where expert intuition leads people astray. The fiscal cliff that today confronts the U.S. and world economies qualifies.

In this…

People who work in the nuclear power industry track their lifetime exposure to radiation as a function of the maximum allowed by law. If only a benign regulatory agency would set limits for exposure to PowerPoint presentations. Lamentably, many would learn that they have exceeded the lethal dose.

In this…

In September 2012 Guido Stompff successfully defended his PhD thesis at the TU Delft, named "Facilitating Teamcognition. How designers mirror what teams do". The thesis is available at teamcognition.org

This PhD research is an in depth exploration of the practice of new product development…

Designing emotions. Designing for human complexity.

"What are the motivations of a designer?, Why designers always want more?, Why designers feel…

Practicing collaborative innovation takes time, money, and attention. Organizational leaders ask practitioners to “show me the ROI.” How does the practice benefit the organization?

In this articleinnovation architect…

When I was a kid they dropped people on the moon for the first time ever, and I witnessed it all live on b&w television. I also witnessed that they dropped bombs on people living in sheds, in countries far-away, and that students, because of that, were revolting and were throwing stones at the police. Disturbing pictures, but also strong visions of a better society, with technology that would solve all problems and seem to…