Innovative Insights from Innovation 360 Institute

At Innovation 360, our team has helped countless organizations in many different industries meet or exceed their goals. We've led business excellence programs of all flavors, and have worked with companies to integrate innovation and creative problem-solving with their existing programs. As a result, we have a unique perspective on business sustainability and growth through innovation, business excellence and leadership development.

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The Magic Pill That Enables World Class Innovation

Google, Apple, GE, 3M, Nokia, Proctor & Gamble … some of the most recognizable innovative companies in the world. Everyone wants to know, how can they be so innovative? What’s their secret to success, and how can I become as innovative and successful as them? Well, good news! There is a magic pill that will make everyone in your organization creative geniuses, enable your leaders to see the future, and provide years of innovations that make you a market leader.

Why Smart People Sometimes Make Dumb Predictions

I recently came across an amusing list entitled “15 Failed Predictions About the Future.” It wasn’t surprising to find the much-quoted statement from Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM in 1943: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” More interesting were predictions like this one from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: “It will be years — not in my time — before a woman will become Prime Minister.”

Time to Retire Strategic Planning and Adopt Innovation Strategy

It’s almost that time of year again. Strategic planning teams all over the world will gather behind closed doors in a vain attempt to predict the future – except for the visionary ones who are saying “Enough!” They have realized that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is, well, simply crazy.

20 Phrases That Kill Ideas and Innovation

When it comes to innovation and sharing our creative ideas at work, we all know to be wary of negative bosses and co-workers who shoot down every idea. These people can be a deterrent to change and innovation, but if we’re persistent we learn how to go around them to get things done. The real people to be wary of are the ones who seem like they’re open to new ideas, but always have some reason the idea won’t work or shouldn’t be implemented yet. They are masters of “killer phrases” that masquerade as knowledge or experience, but many times are not justified and simply stand in the way of progress.

10 Reasons Why Suggestion Schemes and Idea Boxes Fail

When people ask for my advice on how to improve their innovation programs, one thing I usually suggest is to do away with their organization’s suggestion schemes and tear down the idea boxes. Why? Because it’s too tempting to substitute these methods in place of real innovation that adds customer and organizational value.

Specialized Incubators will Spur Middle East Innovation

In other parts of the world, innovators have complete access to business and societal needs and they come up with ideas to fulfill these needs with innovations. Their ideas turn into businesses with the help of incubators. In the Middle East, lack of research on business and social needs means that many entrepreneurs go into business without specific goals in mind – which results in undifferentiated businesses that don’t offer new value.

What Business Incubators in the Middle East can do to Contribute More to Innovation

Have you noticed that business incubators are popping up in the Middle East like falafel shops? It’s not a bad thing at all, as long as we keep the supply in line with the demand. What is concerning, however, is the assumption that an influx of incubators will somehow increase the region’s innovation capabilities. It won’t – unless we structure them correctly and incubate real innovation instead of just another falafel shop.

Can Borderless Innovation Solve the Challenges of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Middle East?
Many practices in the Middle East have led to a culture that relies on the innovation of others. What we need instead is a more simple and collaborative environment that learns from the rest of the world (without relying on them) to solve our own problems, improve our economies and advance our societies. What we need is borderless innovation. 

2010: The Year of Innovation and Entrepreneurs in the Middle East
2009 has truly been a year of breakthrough achievements in the Middle East. It’s also been a year of disappointments. Yet, as disastrous as the situation seems at times, it provides an unprecedented opportunity for growth in the region…the growth of innovation and entrepreneurs.

Are You Turning into Deadwood?
Imagine you had no Internet access for one year. How out of touch would you be with what is going on in the world? Would your children fail in school? Would you become “deadwood” floating around with no direction?

Enemy inside the Gate: The Number One Barrier to Innovation in the Middle East
Necessity and government initiatives are driving innovation in the Middle East. However, the number one barrier to innovation is threatening to negatively affect the execution and sustainability of current innovation initiatives. What is the barrier and how can we overcome it?

The Most Valuable Commodity on Earth
Performance management guru Peter Drucker has noted that the greatest contribution of management in the 20th century was the 50-fold increase in manual work productivity. For the current century, Drucker calls upon management to similarly increase the productivity of knowledge employees. How can we answer this call?

Business Survival 101: Devising a Transformation Strategy
As far as the business world is concerned, we’re dealing with evolution at the speed of light — and only those who know how to adapt will survive. Adapting means devising and executing a strategy for change (a business transformation strategy). What that strategy looks like will be different for every organization. But you can start the conversation with six important questions.

It's Time for Change Leaders, not Change Followers
In today’s rapidly evolving business world, what is the most valuable quality any leader can possess? It’s not vision, intelligence, charisma, or integrity, although these are all desirable and important qualities. No, the most important quality a leader can have now is the ability to lead change. Why? Because change is imminent.

Perception vs. Reality: The True Nature of Innovation
The new reality TV series, Stars of Science, gives 16 young Arab inventors a chance to design and build their dreams. From a solar-powered generator for tents, to an oxygen-infused juice drink, contestants vie to impress the judges and the audience. The show has captured the attention of many viewers, some of whom are eager to demonstrate that the Arab world can produce innovations as clever and profitable as the rest of the globe. Stars of Science is sponsored by the Qatar Foundation. While it’s an honorable undertaking that encourages individual creativity, the one problem with the show is that it promotes only the popular perception of innovation. That is, a singular genius tucked away in a laboratory, experimenting with ways to make his or her inspiration a reality.

3 Criteria for Healthcare Excellence in the GCC
Throughout the GCC, the face of healthcare is changing. Many hospitals and medical clinics are facing increasing demand, diversity and compliance issues. Saudi Arabia, for example, has increased healthcare spending and is constructing new healthcare facilities, some of which are designed to meet the needs of the country’s many expatriates. Qatar is investing in healthcare technology in the form of new medical records systems and also as an export. Kuwait just opened a state-of-the-art clinic in Fahaheel, which brings the country’s number of medical facilities to nearly 150.

A 5-step Process for Business Transformation and Organizational Stability
During the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with many business leaders in the GCC. The topic on every one’s mind is, of course, the economy and how their business can weather the storm. Many of these executives had read my previous articles on restoring an organizational immune system, and on reducing complexity in key areas to increase business stability. Most of them had the same question: where do we start? The answer is to start at the top – with those in charge of leading the business. This 5-step process begins there and provides a roadmap for mobilizing the entire organization in support of transformation.

KISS: How Simplifying Your Business Can Make It More Stable
The stock market keeps tumbling. Unemployment is on the rise. Consumer confidence is shattered, and many companies are failing. So, what’s a business executive to do? Turn to the "KISS" principle. You may have heard that "KISS" stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid.” I prefer to think it means “Keep It Simple and Stable” -- a reminder that strategic and operational simplicity leads to business stability, even during the worst of times. 

Fighting to Survive: How to Boost Your Company's Immunity to Economic Uncertainty
Like people, organizations are living entities that need a certain level of care to stay healthy. And just like the human body, an organization’s health (its culture) may coast along fine for awhile. But if its health is abused (business corruption) or neglected, with attention focused on immediate gratification (quarterly profits) instead of long-term health (strategic planning, corporate governance, continuous improvement, etc.), then the health of the organization will begin to decay. 

The Time is Now for GCC Transformation
Innovation, Growth and Transformation are more than mere words. These concepts represent a way of living and working. We innovate, we grow and along the way, we transform into better people. The same concepts apply to organizations. For the past 17 years, I have assisted businesses around the world with their transformation efforts, and I don’t just mean implementing the latest ERP system. The true essence of transformation is to replace one thing with another to affect a positive change and transform loyal followers into insightful leaders. In the Arab60ian Gulf, the time is ripe for this type of transformation.

Healthcare Quality in Dubai
In the UAE, and more specifically in Dubai, the healthcare system is made up of a wide range of service providers. With this wide range of options also comes a wide variety of quality standards. On one end of the spectrum are moderately funded, often overcrowded, government run facilities, and on the other end are the high cost and high standard, privately run alternative hospitals and centers.