It’s a new year, and that means everyone’s looking forward to the exciting things they plan to accomplish in 2011. At futurethink, we’re thrilled to share some changes we have in store for this year. First on the list: launching our blended learning innovation curriculum along with our completely retooled website! We’d be bluffing if we said we weren’t excited about it. The new site unveils our online and offline training programs that help teams experience, extend, and support innovation internally.

Along with the launch, we’re integrating the futurethinktank blog into the new site. You can now access all the stimulating insights and tasty innovation tidbits you love at www.futurethink.com/blog. Please remember to update your bookmarks.

Thanks for following and contributing to futurethinktank over the years, making it a valued resource for thoughtful discussion around all things innovative. We’d like to leave you with links to a few of your favorite posts from over the years:

• The Future of Green Business Strategy
• IKEA Sets its Sights on the Sun
• The Future of Snacking
• Innovative Marketing: P&G’s Manhattan pop-up store
• Small Steps to Big Change

At futurethink, we are as dedicated to understanding the trends in corporate training as we are to being experts in innovation. This being the case, we often examine the upcoming trends and implications in the Learning & Development industry. If someone told you that in the future, a company’s #1 competitive advantage would be its ability to train and develop its human capital, how would you react?

Is your organization prepared for such a shift? How can you be sure your programs are focusing on the right skills, and delivering training in the best way? Are you getting the most out of the latest technologies? Have you tapped into the value of new strategies, such as game mechanics, to make training stick?

Our latest paper on Learning & Development (download for free HERE) answers these questions—and many more. Like so many fields, L&D is undergoing dynamic change. With a global, multi-generational workforce and new tools and technologies arising all the time, it’s essential to understand the forces driving these changes and to use them to create more effective programs. To garner insights, futurethink designed an in-depth survey and reached out to L&D leaders at some of the most innovative firms across industries.

Our findings have critical implications for organizations of all sizes. The most important is that which we referenced above: the majority of our respondents believe that learning will become the #1 competitive advantage for companies in the future. We also uncovered insights about the increased role that L&D departments are playing within organizations, how soft skills are gaining importance, what ideal learning environments look like, and much more.

In Learning & Development 2.0: Winning Strategies for Superior Programs, we examine these findings and propose recommendations for transforming training in any organization. You’ll also find best practices, words of wisdom from industry leaders, and a worksheet to jump-start your efforts. Take a moment to peruse the paper, and we’re sure you’ll see how you can start leveraging L&D as a valuable tool for your organization’s success.

The New Year is just around the corner. While we at futurethink tend to look towards the exciting opportunities that lie ahead, in December it’s always nice to stop and reflect. Now is the perfect time to look back on the past year and think about what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve learned, and what we’ll change the next time around.

It’s been a busy year at futurethink, from releasing new courses and proprietary research to earning recognition from trainingindustry.com as one of the ’2010 Leadership Training Companies to Watch’. We launched our blended learning curricula to provide top-notch innovation training with maximum flexibility and increased interactivity. The feedback has been fantastic. Many of you have experienced these engaging programs, which tackle a range of innovation topics through eLearning, webinars, and workshops. Look for more programs that address specific innovation needs next year.

We’ve had a wonderful time partnering with clients of all types to build innovation aptitudes and bolster creative problem-solving abilities. These efforts became especially important this year in light of the findings of IBM’s 2010 Global CEO Study: creativity is the #1 success factor of the leaders of tomorrow. How’s that for a game-changer? As creativity—and the ability to leverage it—become ever more important, smart organizations know that they need to evolve for a complex world where innovative problem-solving is a competitive advantage. We couldn’t be more thrilled to guide the way in building the skills and capabilities of tomorrow’s creative leaders today. The future is bright!

All of us at futurethink would like to thank you for the questions, comments, success stories, and lessons learned you’ve given us over the past year. We’re continually inspired by your achievements and your support. We wish you a very happy, restful, and safe holiday season.

Here’s to a productive and enriching New Year. We’ll see you in 2011.

It just so happens that P&G conducted a market research campaign which showed that up to a quarter of household product purchases failed to live up to expectations but that nevertheless, people were very open to trying out new and innovative products they came across. Instead of simply gearing up for another media advertising campaign, P&G decided to open up a pop-up store in a busy Manhattan intersection to give visitors a tactile experience of select merchandise in order to sway their purchasing habits. The ten day pop-up experience, located on the corner of 57^th Street and 6^th Avenue, was part of P&G’s new marketing campaign designed to showcase 18 of the company’s newer and innovative products. Dubbed “Have You Tried This Yet”, the new campaign focused on providing various customer touch points in order to form a stronger connection between buyer and product, and allow visitors to actually try out products while being helped by friendly P&G employees. Perhaps this would help me find some answers to my vexing shopping experience? 

Walking into the store, I was greeted by at least five different stations that offered interactive demonstrations of products as well as free samples. The first, a Crest 3d White station offered free consultations and allowed visitors to take pictures of their teeth and see computer generated images of what they would look like after using the whitening product. To the left of the entrance, a Clariol Nice n’ Easy station offered free hair coloring appointments to women. I’ve overheard enough conversations between my girlfriend and her friends to know that the relationship between a woman and her hair stylist is a sacred one, so I was surprised to find two visitors enjoying a relaxing hair coloring appointment courtesy of P&G’s own hair stylists. Walking to the back of the store brought me to a colorful wall featuring a myriad of products ranging from Bounty Kitchen Towels to Tide Stain Removal tablets and Duracell batteries.  Employees were on hand to offer free samples and share their insights on the superior feel of Charmin bath tissue (with vitamin A!) or the richer taste of Pringles’ new multi-grain line of chips. One aspect that struck me was that the store did not have any products for sale; I was simply asked to try out new products, enjoy a friendly conversation with the station attendant, and take a few samples home for free. 

Other touch points included stations that allowed visitors to try the new pgtryit.com site and sign up to receive P&G’s brandSAVER coupon booklet by mail. Browsing the site at the store, I came across many candid, and often quite humorous, video and written reviews by every day customers for each of the 18 products featured in the new marketing campaign.

I found it interesting that P&G chose to engage their customers and allow them to try out various products under the company’s umbrella rather than create a new TV campaign for individual items. Personally, I feel that purchasing habits of household necessities or beauty products are either influenced by familiarity or a trusted friend’s suggestion, and do not often change. By opening a pop up store and allowing customers to post candid online reviews, P&G is effectively addressing the rigid shopping tendencies their products go up against. While I remain skeptical about the wonders of vitamin A infused bath tissue, I have been able to wield my shopping list with a little more clarity these days.

As you look to develop and grow your innovation team, take a few moments to define your ideal innovator. There is no one “type” that defines an innovator. Many are creative, flexible, collaborative, entrepreneurial, analytical, strong leaders, etc… However, the specific combination of skills that will make an innovator successful differs in each organization. It’s important to identify and prioritize what it takes to be a successful innovator in your own organization. What skills does someone on your innovation team need to have? What experiences? What mindset?

Open up a blank document, and create a few different headings: Skills, Experience, Mindset, Education, Outlook, Interests, etc. Under each heading, jot down what your ideal innovator looks like. Once you’ve completed this quick exercise, you will have in front of you a wish list for your innovation team.

This list can serve as a set of goals for your existing team (what skills and mindsets do you need to build internally?), and can also act as an interview document for new candidates.

Share with us below the skill set and mindset that it takes to be a good innovator in your firm.

Innovation Cubed Conference

Have you ever wondered how to better make use of emerging social media tools to discover new internal process or product innovations? As new communication tools gain popularity, we are seeing an increasing number of internal and market driven innovations brought to life. Specifically, an important aspect of social media that is driving this change is crowdsourcing, which acts as a rich repository of ideas coming from both inside of your company as well as your customers. If you are looking to better leverage crowdsourcing tools or want to hear from today’s leading companies on the subject, consider the newest addition to World Research Group’s Open Innovation Series: INNOVATION3: Crowdsourcing, Culture, and Tools Summit.

The conference, taking place this upcoming December 8^th to 10^th in Orlando, Florida, aims to highlight how companies are using social media tools to increase their market intelligence and design more efficient and effective ways to manage new ideas. Attendees will learn how to initiate process and product innovations from the widest range of human intelligence resources, and how to better screen crowdsourced ideas.

The conference will give you the opportunity to learn insights from innovation executives from a range of companies including; how Xerox leverages 50,000 employees into an ideation resource, how Equifax creates a customer culture of innovation, and how Sprint focuses on team building in a non-traditional work environment. Other attending companies include Cisco, PepsiCo, Clorox, AT&T, and many more.

Readers of futurethinktank can receive a special discount of $300 off the ticket price with the coupon code: DJB253

Disruptive innovation is exciting. Big breakthroughs like Netflix, Zipcar, and the iPad, generate big headlines. However, it’s important to recognize that many of the most profitable innovations aren’t disruptive at all.

A classic example of non-disruptive innovation is the addition of wheels to suitcases. Many thousands of years after both the suitcase and wheels were invented, the two products were combined in 1970 to make life easier for travelers. This small, incremental change made a big difference and gave suitcase companies a way to differentiate themselves. Incremental innovation is defined as improving, reconfiguring, or building upon a form or technology that already exists. By focusing on incremental innovation, companies can align existing offerings with current trends, expand on what they already do well, and continuously create value.

Many companies practice incremental innovation. Let’s take a look at a few recent examples that demonstrate the value of this approach:

• Google Instant — Just when you thought the browsing experience couldn’t get any better, Google launches their new search feature Google Instant. This new predictive feature displays results as soon as you start typing. Google estimates that this will save users approximately 2-5 seconds per search. The feature has been so popular that it has inspired programmers to create their own versions, including YouTube instant and Yahoo’s new Rich Search Assist.
• Levi’s Curve ID — There are many offerings in the jeans market, ranging in all shapes and sizes. However, the range of different style names and sizes have not made the shopping experience easier for women. Levi’s solution to this problem is Curve ID, a global women’s denim line made to fit a woman’s shape, not a size number. The customized fit system is based on the waist-to-hip ratio and comes in three shapes: Slight Curve, Demi Curve, and Bold Curve.
• Scott Natural’s Tube-Free Toilet paper — These previous examples of incremental innovation include products that were enhanced by adding a feature. But you can also enhance incrementally by taking away unnecessary elements of a product — as Kimberly-Clark accomplished with their new tubeless toilet paper. By removing the tube, they are able to make a strong environmentally friendly product claim, as well as reduce their own materials costs. This is an incremental innovation everyone can get behind.

Are you exploring incremental additions or subtractions of functions or parts of your current products that could add enormous value? Share with us your experiences with incremental innovation below.



Look at any industry that has been disrupted over the last half-century, and you’ll discover foretelling data in the years prior to the disruption. In the early part of this millennium, the USPS saw a declining growth rate of the volume of mail it delivered despite steady revenue. The same is true for the music industry as sales of compact discs remained steady in the late ‘90s. The music and postal industry giants made the mistake of being complacent because signs of growth were still evident, even as their disruptors, digital music and communications, were gaining steam.

So ask yourself: how is your organization reviewing and analyzing data? All the metrics you track may look healthy, but remember that your metrics aren’t the only data outputs to pay attention to. Think about what’s happening outside your organization. What companies are growing faster than yours? What are these companies doing differently? What are they doing better? How could they transform your industry 5 years from now? Make it a point to sit down with your team on a regular basis to take stock of your industry, its players, and upstarts in adjacent industries as well. The wider you look, the more you stand to learn.

It’s better to push your boundaries and widen your field of vision now than it is to be sitting on the sidelines five to ten years from now.

One common characteristic of exceptional innovators is that they constantly reach outside their immediate circles to make new connections with interesting people. Fortunately, this is easier to do today than it ever has been before.

Think of an author who inspires you, or a business leader from another firm who you think might share some interesting insights with you. Look that person up (try LinkedIn if you’re having a hard time) and send them an email. People are usually more than happy to share some of their experiences and insights with you, and, like you, are often looking to connect with new people.

Make a habit of reaching out to people, and you’ll soon find yourself with a network of innovative friends through which you can toss around new ideas and broaden your perspective.

image source: csmonitor.com

Adapted from Amazon.com

Here at futurethink, we’ve been researching various smartphone applications to feature in our newest resource list on mobile tools that can help support your innovation strategy. These applications focus on features ranging from capturing ideas on the go, connecting and collaborating with various project members, to cloud storage systems, and brainstorming tools. This got us thinking; what would our ideal innovation focused smartphone application look like? While applications that try to be everything for everyone are generally doomed to mediocrity, if we had unlimited resources to design the ideal innovation application, here is where we would start.

Whenever we think about innovation, we consider the four cornerstones of our innovation framework; Strategy, Climate, Process, and Ideas. Treating innovation like any other business initiative (with an eye on results, growth, and profits), encouraging companywide participation, and creating a process to bring the best ideas to market are essential components in any successful innovation initiative.

The futurethink app would help focus an organization’s innovation efforts in a top down manner so that every employee or project member knows exactly where their focus should lie. For this purpose, we like the features the project management tool Basecamp provides including collaborative web-based documents, milestone management, time tracking, and a messaging system. Using our app to connect to a similar service would allow managers to submit proposals, set clear goals, and encourage every project member to contribute novel ideas no matter where they are.

Another component of our application would consist of an online cloud storage system that easily syncs with all other project members. Similar to Evernote, our app would not only be able to upload notes, pictures, and audio messages to the cloud, but it would also have the ability to sort through the media via text recognition software and make it easy for anyone to retrieve and use. This component would act as a great idea submission channel for people that are far apart or for concepts that are difficult to put into words.

Finally, we believe that employee participation can be further encouraged and made more fun by incorporating some principles from the gaming industry. Millions of hours are spent every week upgrading player’s abilities on massive online multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft, so surely some of the reward features the game has can be introduced to the business world. A fun application doing just that is EpicWin, which turns life’s boring tasks into quests worth points that can be used to upgrade your character. The futurethink app would feature such a reward system set up by the organization so that points can be used for something more tangible.

Mobile phones are projected to become the primary way people connect to the web, and we believe that the freedom they provide will spur many innovative ideas given the right tools. An application consisting of a collaborative platform connecting project teams to management, a cloud storage system for sharing ideas and keeping inventories of inspiration, combined with a new way of encouraging participation borrowed from video games will prove to be a helpful tool in any company’s innovation arsenal. Let us know what smartphone applications have helped your innovation efforts.