October, 2014

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Distinct Approaches to Business Model Innovation

Integrative Innovation

(amended, 2015-05-03). Business model innovation (BMI) is becoming ever more important as it turns out increasingly difficult for companies to differentiate based on products and services alone. New business models are difficult for competitors to copy, not only because it takes considerable time and effort to build a new business model and simultaneously change several elements of an existing one, respectively.

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Your creativity evolved around 40,000 years ago

Improvides

Take a good look at the image of this figurine. It is one of the most important clues about what makes you human. It’s called the Der Löwenmensch (The Lion Man), and was discovered in 1939 in a German cave. It is made out of Mammoth ivory and was recently dated as being at least […]. Originally published at Your creativity evolved around 40,000 years ago.

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Cities, Innovation, and the Future

InnovationLabs

Innovation is intimately linked with cities. This occurs for many reasons, many of which are entirely obvious. People congregate in cities, and through experiencing problems and sharing ideas for how to solve them, innovation comes about. There are suppliers and experts and scholars and materials and tinkerers in cities in abundance, so questions can be […].

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Three Things They Don't Teach You About Change Leadership

Bill Fischer

Somewhere between reading John Kotter's Leading Change and Michael Watkin's First Ninety Days, most change projects are tested by currents of resistance and indecision that are often quite subtle, but need to be played right if the change initiative is to gain traction and maintain its momentum. Overlooked, or played [.

Change 68
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Going Beyond Chatbots: Connecting AI to Your Tools, Systems, & Data

Speaker: Alex Salazar, CEO & Co-Founder @ Arcade | Nate Barbettini, Founding Engineer @ Arcade | Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO @ Aggregage

If AI agents are going to deliver ROI, they need to move beyond chat and actually do things. But, turning a model into a reliable, secure workflow agent isn’t as simple as plugging in an API. In this new webinar, Alex Salazar and Nate Barbettini will break down the emerging AI architecture that makes action possible, and how it differs from traditional integration approaches.

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How to Test the Viability of a Multi-sided Business Model

Leanstack

Last time, I showed you how to model a multi-sided business using a Lean Canvas. In this post, I will show you how to get more specific and test the viability of these types of business models. I’ll extend the simple back-of-the-envelope technique for ballparking direct business models I described in this post to ballparking multi-sided business models. 1.

How To 52
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Advice: Sorting Ideas to Focus on the Winners

Innovation Leader

What are the best approaches to sorting and prioritizing ideas so that you can focus resources on those with the highest potential? We’ve got input from executives at Kraft Foods, Allstate, Intuit, Brown Brothers Harriman, and more.

More Trending

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NEWS: More select articles in coming weeks

Improvides

Hi everyone, The big news coming from Improvides is that I have been taken on for a large-scale client project which will last a few months. While this is excellent news for me and the company, I wanted to let you all know that this will impact the amount of time I am available to […]. Originally published at NEWS: More select articles in coming weeks.

Project 59
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How We Used to Give Startups Very Bad Advice. 2 Minutes to See Why

Steve Blank

If you can’t see the video click here Filed under: 2 Minute Lessons , Corporate Innovation , Customer Development.

Video 33
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Three Things They Don't Teach You About Change Leadership

Bill Fischer

Somewhere between reading John Kotter's Leading Change and Michael Watkin's First Ninety Days, most change projects are tested by currents of resistance and indecision that are often quite subtle, but need to be played right if the change initiative is to gain traction and maintain its momentum. Overlooked, or played [.

Change 68
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Stop Being So Positive

Harvard Business Review

'We’ve all heard a great deal about the power of positive thinking. Organizations encourage it among their employees in an effort to boost performance and engagement, and it’s a key tenet of “managing yourself” well; affirmative messages about perseverance, resilience, and vision adorn many an office wall. In the wake of the Great Recession, some businesses even hired happiness coaches to get their workers looking on the bright side.

Study 22
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A Roadmap For Modernization: How To Break Free From Your Monolith Before July 31, 2026

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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Inside the San Francisco Ecosystem

Innovation Leader

Our October Field Study in San Francisco brought participants to the headquarters of Twitter, to Autodesk's Pier 9 Workshop, and more.

Study 40
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Help us building the largest Nordic innovation database in the history…

Innovation 360

Participate in the most advanced and deepest innovation survey made in the Nordic history. In return you will get an extensive and executive innovation report analyzing the innovation capability of the Nordic players from small disruptive and lean start ups to large corporations. The report will be sent out when we reached our Big Hairy Audacious Goal of building the largest and most comprehensive innovation databased in the Nordic history.

LEAN 40
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Teaching/Learning UX: Considerations for Academic-Industry Partnerships

Boxes and Arrows

'Higher education is poised to help produce the next generation of user experience designers, but we can’t do it alone. In the wake of Fred Beecher’s recent “ Ending the UX Designer Drought ” and studies by Onward Search , UserTesting , and the Nielsen Norman Group , it is clear that the UX market is booming and that UX designers enjoy a high level of job satisfaction.

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Why Adobe Gives Employees a Red Box with $1,000 Inside

Innovation Leader

Nearly 1,000 employees of Adobe Systems have participated in the company's Kickbox Innovation Workshop, where they learn how to develop ideas and collect feedback.

System 40
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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!

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Google Execs Share Slides on Innovation, Culture & Hiring

Innovation Leader

Slides from Google executives. Among their insights: “Most companies today are run to minimize risk, not maximize freedom and speed.

Culture 40
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Marriott Exec: How We Prototype, Crowdsource, Measure

Innovation Leader

Marriott executive Brian King discussses rapid prototyping, collecting ideas from employees and customers, and why naivete is crucial to innovation.

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Excerpt: Marriott Exec on Innovation Team & Metrics

Innovation Leader

Brian King of Marriott discusses the composition of the hotel company's innovation team, and how they measure results. Excerpt from our latest Innovation Leader live call.

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Why GE Created the FirstBuild Maker Community

Innovation Leader

GE's Lou Lenzi explains how the company's new co-creation initiative, launched this summer, allows GE to "take little bets and do things fast." Includes video and slides.

Video 40
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The Benefits of Innovation in Times of Crisis

Innovation is key to overcoming crises. This guide outlines how businesses can navigate uncertainty by adapting strategies, embracing open innovation, and strengthening resilience. Learn how to reassess business models, engage external expertise, and build a robust innovation ecosystem. Explore the three phases of crisis response—from immediate adaptation to long-term transformation—and discover how collaboration accelerates progress while reducing costs.

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Is This the Fate of Employee Idea-Sourcing Initiatives?

Innovation Leader

You launch an innovation initiative and cast a wide net for employee ideas. What happens next? This slide from Thomson Reuters' Mona Vernon predicts it with accuracy.

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How GM’s Silicon Valley Office Hunts for Relevant Innovations

Innovation Leader

Managing director Frankie James talks about how her Silicon Valley-based team identifies high-potential startups and new technologies and interacts with teams at GM headquarters.

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At Amazon, It’s All About Cash Flow

Harvard Business Review

'In a few days, Amazon will report its quarterly earnings. If recent quarters are any indication, there will be a lot of worried talk before and after the announcement about the company’s minuscule or perhaps even negative profits. If its stock price continues to slide downward, the story will probably be that investors are losing patience with Amazon’s persistently low profit margins.

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Successful Innovators Don’t Care About Innovating

Harvard Business Review

'Successful innovators care about solving interesting and important problems — innovation is merely a byproduct. If this distinction seems like hair-splitting, it isn’t. The two focuses create vastly different realities. Focusing on innovating — as a worthy goal unto itself — tends to be born from self-centered motives: We need to protect ourselves from competitive forces.

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Zero Trust Mandate: The Realities, Requirements and Roadmap

The DHS compliance audit clock is ticking on Zero Trust. Government agencies can no longer ignore or delay their Zero Trust initiatives. During this virtual panel discussion—featuring Kelly Fuller Gordon, Founder and CEO of RisX, Chris Wild, Zero Trust subject matter expert at Zermount, Inc., and Principal of Cybersecurity Practice at Eliassen Group, Trey Gannon—you’ll gain a detailed understanding of the Federal Zero Trust mandate, its requirements, milestones, and deadlines.

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Stop People from Wasting Your Time

Harvard Business Review

'We’re all too busy, spending our days in back-to-back meetings and our nights feverishly responding to emails. (Adam Grant, a famously responsive Wharton professor, told me that on an “average day” he’ll spend 3-4 hours answering messages.) That’s why people who waste our time have become the scourge of modern business life, hampering our productivity and annoying us in the process.

Meeting 22
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Before You Respond to that Email, Pause

Harvard Business Review

'Someone sends you an email message or a text, and you’re unsure how to respond. It’s about a complex negotiation, or a politically sensitive situation. Or maybe it’s just from a person who unnerves you. For a moment, you pause. But for most of us, most of the time, that pause doesn’t last long. Instead we react, feeling the need to immediately craft a response.

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Why Superstars Struggle to Bond with Their Teams

Harvard Business Review

'From the moment you start each workday, you’re subject to two basic human impulses: to excel and to conform. If people in your immediate environment are amazing performers, you might be able to do both at once: By excelling, you fit the norm of your spectacular coworkers. But that’s rare. I’m pretty sure that in most work environments, as soon as you excel, you stop conforming.

Survey 21
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Get Your Pitch Noticed by a Major Publisher

Harvard Business Review

'Today, editorial voices are outnumbered by public relations professionals by almost 5:1 – something most publishers lament. The problem with this plague of pitches is that publishers have had enough, and they’re beginning to implement strict spam filters to keep public relations pitches out of their inboxes. In an effort to raise awareness, I conducted an exclusive survey with more than 500 leading digital publishers to find out what we can do to improve the noise-to-value ratio for people who

Survey 21
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Maximizing Profit and Productivity: The New Era of AI-Powered Accounting

Speaker: Yohan Lobo and Dennis Street

In the accounting world, staying ahead means embracing the tools that allow you to work smarter, not harder. Outdated processes and disconnected systems can hold your organization back, but the right technologies can help you streamline operations, boost productivity, and improve client delivery. Dive into the strategies and innovations transforming accounting practices.

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What to Do After a Bad Performance Review

Harvard Business Review

'It can be hard to recover from a less-than-stellar performance review, especially one that you didn’t see coming. You might feel angry, embarrassed, and confused. How do you regain your professional confidence? And how do you make the best use of the critical feedback? What the Experts Say. Negative feedback often contradicts the stories that we tell about ourselves — what we’re good at, what we’re capable of — and sometimes confirms our worst fears.

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Research: More Than Half of Top Female Execs Were College Athletes

Harvard Business Review

'All managers want to hire people with discipline, determination, and drive. Women executives are no different. And according to a newly-released study , women executives who once played competitive sports, in college or elsewhere, prefer to hire other people with athletics in their background. The study by EY Women Athletes Business Network and espnW surveyed more than 400 female executives in five countries (20% were U.S. women).

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Boards Aren’t as Global as Their Businesses

Harvard Business Review

'There’s a growing consensus that companies need strong, independent boards full of qualified directors if they are to sidestep risks and seize opportunities in our complex and dynamic international economy. Being generally “impressive” is no longer enough—investors and corporate watchdogs expect a well-defined rationale for each appointment, an articulation of how the board member will provide meaningful oversight and counsel on critical issues.

Video 20
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Stop Trying to Control How Ex-Employees Use Their Knowledge

Harvard Business Review

'The free flow of workers between companies is central to economic growth and innovation. Yet employers are increasingly taking legal action to prevent former employees from using knowledge and skills learned on the job. More and more frequently, firms are asking new hires to sign post-employment agreements, which prevent former employees from working at rival firms or starting up their own companies in the industry.

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How to Achieve High-Accuracy Results When Using LLMs

Speaker: Ben Epstein, Stealth Founder & CTO | Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO, Aggregage

When tasked with building a fundamentally new product line with deeper insights than previously achievable for a high-value client, Ben Epstein and his team faced a significant challenge: how to harness LLMs to produce consistent, high-accuracy outputs at scale. In this new session, Ben will share how he and his team engineered a system (based on proven software engineering approaches) that employs reproducible test variations (via temperature 0 and fixed seeds), and enables non-LLM evaluation m