The 90 percent rule

Oct 24, 2011

Innovation Insight: The Dove Spa Experience

One of a series by Ken Tencer, Spyder Works CEO

Leaving a meeting the other day in Toronto, I found myself walking past a Dove Spa – one of a growing chain of spas designed by the makers of Dove soap and beauty products. I am not the target user, but I was impressed. I was impressed by the clean, minimalist form and function of the design. But I was even more impressed by the focus with which Dove has recreated the brand’s innovation strategy in business form.

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Jul 12, 2011

Driving Innovation in Your Organization – The Four Ps of Innovation

Michael Mitchell is president of a Chicago-based Mitchell Innovation + Research. As a consultant in innovation and market research for top corporations, he has had a lot of experience determining what prevents companies from becoming more effective innovators.

In a recent white paper written for the American Management Association, Mitchell identifies four key conditions a company must put in place to achieve results from their innovation efforts. He calls them “The 4 Ps of Innovation”: Priority, Plan, People and Process.

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Jul 6, 2011

How to identify innovation opportunities

Innovation is a process that stymies many companies. They’re so eager to find their next big breakthrough that they don’t realize that innovation is a simple process that anyone can learn.

It’s not a matter of waiting and waiting till you hit a home run. Successful innovation is all about getting the basics right every day, and hitting lots of singles.

One innovative-thinking technique we use at Spyder Works is the “Rule or Guideline?” game. We ask clients to write down a list of all the rules at their businesses that they know they mustn’t break. These lists invariably include laws, safety rules and industry regulations, but also lots of conventions, rules of thumbs, best practices and bad habits. We then ask the clients to cross off all the rules that have been legislatively imposed – the rules where an authority can actually punish you for violating. You don’t want to break those rules.

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