Musts

Recommended innovation resources

I’m often asked which innovation congresses, books, blogs I like. It’s impossible to appropriately cover all kinds of innovation in a few media outlets: open innovation, lean innovation, reverse innovation, disruptive innovation, … And like innovation itself, media change constantly. Following are sources I really valued, based on my role as corporate innovation leader. I selected 2 for each category. I have no financial benefit in any of these.

Books

• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton Christensen. This is the classic everyone working on innovation must read. Inspirational, clear examples of good companies in different industries that failed when disruptive technologies emerged. Discusses why and how these failures happened and what to do about it.
• Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth, by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu and Simone Ahuja. Inspirational examples and principles on how to successfully innovate within an environment of scarcity and complexity. Sounds familiar?

Organizations

• InnovationLeader. Membership is highly recommended for any Innovation Leader inside a large corporation. This organization shares practical tools and templates from corporate innovation leaders, organizes events and webcasts with peers and issues special reports on our key innovation challenges. Need to pay for membership, but free subscription for regular emails announcing new tools, interviews and events – free access to many. Very easy to connect with the expert cofounders Scott & Scott if you need help! www.InnovationLeader.com
• Innov8er. “Glocal” Community for Corporate Innovators. Arrange events, online programs, blogs and tools with best practices from peers. Free subscription newsletter email with bi-weekly links to “8” new blogs from across the innovation world. www.innov8rs.co

Congresses

• FEI: Front End of Innovation. Large, 3-day annual congress with parallel sessions. Excellent, world class speakers. One in the US (Boston, May) and one in Europe (different locations, June). Google: FEI USA or FEI Europe.
• CINO: Chief Innovation Officer. More intimate, 2-day annual congress. Highly recommended for new innovation leaders. In multiple locations in the US, Europe and Asia.

As William Pollard said:

”Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.”

So, as Innovation Leader, I made sure to regularly connect with innovation leaders from other organizations. Besides personal interactions with peers and vendors, I mainly read blogs, books and attended congresses – ideally also as speaker, as this created many networking opportunities.

More: Top 10 Podcasts for Corporate Innovators and Intrapreneurs

Do you have other valuable resources for corporate innovation leaders? Please share below!

More of my blogs on innovation: Wim Vandenhouweele