Long fuse, big bang. A great descriptor which Andrew Hargadon uses to describe the way some major innovations arrive and have impact. For a long time they exist but we hardly notice them, they are confined to limited application, there are constraints on what the technology can do and so on. But suddenly, almost as if by magic they move centre stage and seem to have impact everywhere we look.

Which is pretty much the story we now face with the wonderful world of AI. While there is plenty of debate about labels — artificial intelligence, machine learning, different models and approaches — the result is the same. Everywhere we look there is AI — and it’s already having an impact.

Not least in the area of innovation management. What impact is AI having — and what might the future hold? It’s certainly implicated in a major shift right across the innovation space in terms of its application.

But perhaps the real question is not about AI-enabled innovations but one of how it affects innovators — and the organizations employing them?

You can find a transcript here

If you'd like to explore more innovation stories, or access a wide range of resources to help work with innovation, then please visit my website here.

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We spend so much of our time thinking about important innovation but maybe we should spare a thought for what might be called ‘irrelevant innovation’? And explore round the edges of this phenomenon — is it all wacky stuff or are there circumstances where it has more to offer? Is it a matter of framing, are we missing an innovation trick or two by dismissing such ideas too early?

This podcast offers a suggested outline typology, a first shot at mapping the territory — feel free to add your own examples and categories….

You can find a transcript here

If you'd like to explore more innovation stories, or access a wide range of resources to help work with innovation, then please visit my website here.

You can find a rich variety of cases, tools, videos, activities and other resources - as well as my innovation blog.

Or subscribe to my YouTube channel here

Innovation is a multi-player game. The image of the lone hero innovator is a myth. Even celebrated soloists like Thomas Edison or James Watt had their army of assistants working behind the scenes. Alexander Bell wouldn’t have been able to bring the telephone to the world without being able to demonstrate the device by having Mr Watson on the other end of the line when he famously told him to come in from the next room….

Ask any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you about the networks they needed to bring their ideas to life; creating a valuable solution isn’t a simple lightbulb moment but a complicated journey drawing in resources, ideas, time and energy, (not to mention money), most of it coming from other people. Deconstruct any successful start-up and you soon have a cast of characters on stage, taking their bows as the audience recognise the shared creativity which has made the performance possible.

And once we get beyond the initial pilot, the hard work really begins. The journey to scale is a tough one, takes time and has to negotiate some uncertain conditions on the way. The evidence is very clear, it’s a team effort and it needs plenty of external help.

‘Complementary assets’ is the technical term for the answer to the question of ‘who else and what else do you need to scale your innovation?’. The key point about them is that they lie beyond what you can bring to the party. By their nature they represent resources you need to find and work with; the trick is in assembling suitable partnerships to deliver them.

This podcast explores the challenge of assembling and working with networks to deliver innovation value at scale

You can find a transcript here

If you'd like to explore more innovation stories, or access a wide range of resources to help work with innovation, then please visit my website here.

You can find a rich variety of cases, tools, videos, activities and other resources - as well as my innovation blog.

Or subscribe to my YouTube channel here