Over the past decade, so much has been written about ‘innovation’ that it is now challenging to use the word in a meaningful way in a business setting.

If, however, we examine the process itself as practiced by major corporations, we see corporate activity that is purposeful, manageable, and essential in an age of technological revolution and globalization. While innovation unfolds in unique ways within each company, the basic stages remain the same, each with its own challenges and dynamics. These include:

These include:

1. Identifying promising ideas that align with broader corporate strategy, appear to have market potential… and yet may move the company onto a new path for growth and profits.
2. Moving from idea to prototype and pilots, where the goals are “to drive to failure, and fail early!”
3. Selecting and managing a portfolio of promising candidates for both incremental and more disruptive innovation, and finally
4. Launching an innovation that has survived all the tests, pilots, and customer trials and appears poised for marketplace acceptance.

Join us for this unique, two-part Knowledge Series and learn from leading practitioners how innovation is actually done: ‘hands-on.’

This Knowledge Series will be hosted by Jim Lichtenberg, Program Director, Council on Innovation and the Digital Strategy Council

Audience:

The series will be of value to executives responsible for organizational development, planning, operations management, corporate strategy, digital strategy, innovation, communication and brand management.

Series Host

Jim Lichtenberg Program Director, The Conference Board Council on Innovation and Digital Strategy Council Jim Lichtenberg's expertise is in e-business strategy. Lichtenberg has successfully completed business-building assignments for clients such as Prudential, Nestle, John Wiley, AT&T, and DuPont. His articles on technology and culture have appea... Full Bio

Innovation Hands On: The Four Critical Steps to Successful Implementation (Part 1)

PART 1: Moving from Idea to Prototype and Pilots

19 July, 2011 | (01 hr)

Alignment with Corporate Strategy and Ideation

Mitra Best, PwC US Innovation Leader

Moving from Idea to Prototype:

Simon Ford, Senior Vice President, Innovation and Design, InterContinental Hotels Group

Speakers

	Mitra M. Best U.S. Innovation Leader PricewaterhouseCoopers Mitra M. Best is the U.S. Innovation Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, leading the disciplined approach to inspire, evaluate and implement innovative ideas across the organization with the critical mission to support... Full Bio
	Simon Ford Senior Vice President, Innovation and Design InterContinental Hotels Group Simon Ford qualified as an Architect in the UK and has been with IHG, InterContinental Hotels Group for 12 years. He started in 1997 with Holiday Inn Worldwide based in the Brussels office and moved to the UK global headquarters in 2001. Simon has... Full Bio

Innovation Hands On: The Four Critical Steps to Successful Implementation (Part 2)

PART 2: Social Media as a Force-Multiplier for Knowledge Transfer

21 July, 2011 | (01 hr)

Portfolio Management:

John D. Evans, Vice President Business Innovation, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Launch:

Michelle Proctor, Director of Innovation, FedEx Corporation

Speakers

	John D. Evans Vice President Business Innovation Lockheed Martin Corporation Reporting directly to Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Ray O Johnson, Dr. Evans establishes context and defines initiatives that leverage new ideas to improve the financial performance of the corporation. This includes expand... Full Bio
	Michelle Proctor Director of Innovation FedEx Corporation In Michelle’s almost 17 years at FedEx, she has lead the development of marketing strategy in multiple areas including Catalog, Market Segmentation, Automated Solutions, www.fedex.com ... Full Bio