When and Why new thinking overcomes old models

I've been watching the recent gun debate in the US with a lot of interest.  Clearly we have a safety and security issue, with far too many people losing their lives to gun violence, in "unsafe' neighborhoods but also in places that should be safe, like schools. ...

Six factors that lead to greater innovation success

I've been thinking a lot about why innovation fails.  Not about why supposedly innovative new products fail, because there are multiple reasons for the failure of a new product.  It could be too early or too late in the market window, or it could simply have the...

Innovation Depth makes the Difference

I've been thinking about innovation for a while now, trying to puzzle out why some organizations seem to be able to innovate almost effortlessly while others are more sporadic or face significant innovation challenges.  At some moments in my career I've blamed this...

Will big data solve the innovation gap?

For many companies, I think there is a relatively significant gap between what they actually generate as compelling new products and what they wish they generated.  We could call this the "innovation gap".  The gap is real, and it means that many companies aren't...

Yesterday or Thinking about Tomorrow?

The Beatles (they were a pop group for those of you who cut your teeth on Eminem) wrote jangly songs about yellow submarines and walruses.  It was the 60s, so I guess you had to be there to understand.  They were all about sunny days, happy feelings, a kind of...

Don't forget the steak: What Super Bowl ads forget

There's an old marketing adage that you sell the sizzle, not the steak.  Sell the benefits, not the features.  I wonder, as I watch Super Bowl television ads, how many marketing people have forgotten the basic tenets of their craft.This isn't to say that the ads...