The ultimate guide for the ambitious Innovation Manager (100+ sources)

Running innovation projects is hard. By definition you’re doing new things so you can’t rely on old habits and routines. If you and your innovation team don’t feel uncomfortable, you’re simply not innovating.

That doesn’t mean you’ll need to fly blind. At every moment in your innovation process you can use tools, references, checklists and other innovation methods. We do the same in our innovation projects. Let me give you some insights in our innovation toolkit.

Let me present my weapons of choice at every stage within an innovation process!

I. Best inspiration sources to find new ideas

image under creative commons Flickr user: Jochen

a. Set up a continuous flow of inspiration! (subscribe to feeds)

Everyday you and your innovation team should be fueled with fresh ideas. Strong innovators have a huge backpack loaded with inspiring cases. RSS feeds are still my number one resource to get my personal daily shot of inspiration.

Selection of our favorite RSS feeds (blogs) to get new ideas:

Where do you find new business ideas? How to keep track of emerging trends?

I manage my +500 feeds via Feedly but I read most of them via Reeder (iPad).

Pro tip: In Google Reader you can use the ‘Translate this feed‘ function.

Examples of non-English innovation & inspiration feeds:

My question to you: I must be missing tons of good sources. Any recommendations here?

b. Use social media as innovation news filters

Use Flipboard (iPad) and Zite (iPad) to create news channels on specific topics. With these apps I’ve made channels for “innovation”, “entrepreneurship”, “creativity” and so on. Every day I get the most popular articles related to these subjects.

Pro tip By using services as Wefollow or Klout you can find Twitter users that can be considered experts in a specific field. (e.g. business innovation, technology trends,…). Just create a Twitter list with these people and add this to Flipboard. By doing so you can keep track of all the articles and links that these “influencers” share. Very useful!

A brief selection of inspiring/innovative Twitter people:

Use a dedicated twitter client (e.g. Tweetdeck, Hootsuite) to create columns on specific topic clusters. To get you started you could track specific hashtags: #bmgen, #innochat or #creativity. On my iPad I prefer to use Osfoora HD as twitter client. Keeping track of hashtags of specific innovation, marketing or trend conferences will give you good suggestions on who to follow in the innovation field. Examples: #lift12, #Picnic12,… Here is good overview of the most important tech events in Europe by Mike Butcher.

Pro tip Don’t forget to make a search column with the twitter @usernames of your most important clients, partners or your competitors. example query to see who’s talking to us: “@nickdemey” OR “@philderidder”

Again, by using Tweetdeck. You could create very specific search queries by combining search terms. Example of a query for one Tweetdeck column: “business innovation” OR “new business model” OR “new revenue model”. Of course you can use the good old Google Alerts service to get similar kind of notifications on new articles, directly in your mailbox.

II. Free trend reports and inspiration documents

image under creative commons Flickr user: Gerlos

Many agencies and organizations share amazing PDF’s and research papers packed with tons of inspiration.

Some examples:

• MostContagious (scroll for PDF download)
• Trendwatching Monthly briefing
• Now And Next Trend map (pdf)
• Nielsen (example: social media innovation)
• David Report, trends in design, culture and commercial life/
• McKinsey Global Institute
• Interactive infographic on the future of emerging technology (pdf)
• Technology extinction timeline (pdf)

III. Videos, Presentations and Slidedecks

Nobody can beat the inspirational power of 1000+ talks in the TED talk archive.

My top picks:

More:

• Jeff Bezos on the next web innovation
• Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
• Chris Anderson of WIRED on tech’s Long Tail
• Saul Griffith on everyday inventions
• Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from
• Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity 

Depending on the topic you could go to Khanacademy, Youtube or other video sites likes Vimeo. You could search for “Documentaries”(Example: Everything is a Remix ), Concept videos (Example: MAG+ ), and so on. If you want to find very remarkable and inspiring videos on the future of technology you can start your search by looking for specific technology conferences or research labs: examples: “Siggraph”, “MIT”,… (PatchMatch: Structural Image Editing , SIGGRAPH 2010: Squidsoup’s Glowing Pathfinder Bugs,…).

We hand picked 10 concept videos just to get you started:

Pro tip Don’t forget to watch this great documentary!

Design the New Business – English subtitles from dthenewb on Vimeo.

IV. Books on innovation frameworks, models & tools

image under creative commons Flickr user: jason_coleman

• Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers
• This is Service Design Thinking: Basics, Tools, Cases
• The Lean Startup(Eric Ries)
• Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers
• Free: The Future of a Radical Price
• What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption (Rachel Botsman)
• Design Research: Methods and Perspectives
• The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage
• The Ten Faces of Innovation(Tom Kelley – IDEO)
• Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping
• Don’t Just Roll The Dice – A usefully short guide to software pricing
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
• Don’t forget: 100 Books every entrepreneur should read.
• Portugese book on Design Thinking with tons of Innovation tools and frameworks. (PDF)
• Your reading list if you’re launching a startup

Other publications to keep an eye on: Wired Magazine, The Economist, HBR innovation,…

V. Software tools/online services/apps

image under creative commons Flickr user: mindmeister

While many swear by Evernote (capturing notes) and Basecamp (project management) I must admit that I hate these tools. Every once in while somebody convinces me that I really should try both tools. Several days later I already forget that I had these in place. I can’t commit myself to explore their full potential I guess. Both tools give you a false sense of control. Getting info in these tools is easy, getting anything relevant or useful out again is another story.

Other tools that give me extra boost in productivity:

• Mindmeister.com: Online shared mind maps supported by a neat iPad app.
• Handpick.me: Send your clients or team an automatic daily mail with your hand picked news & blogarticles. You can even add comments to every item. Great tool!
• Spezify: Associative thinking tool
• Visual.ly: Create stunning infographics
• Business Model Toolbox for ipad (Business Model Generation)
• Get instant feedback on mock-ups and ideas via 5 second Test
• In depth feedback on prototypes and mock-ups via ConceptShare.com
• Many people forget that you can Share your screen via Skype to do presentations. Make use of it!
• Use Launchrock or Kickofflabs to test your business case in a real world context. If people are interested in your idea you’ll end up with a significant mailinglist that can be used with tools like Mailchimp and others.
• Capture and discuss ideas within your organisation via Spigit.com or with your clients via NapkinLabs (+ neat facebook integration options!)

VI. Non-digital tools (you know, atoms and stuff)

Order Business Model Brainstorm kit via the top menu

• Jot Pen: for iPad sketching
• Business Model Brainstorm kit: Visual tool with magnets (awesome!)
• IDEO Method Cards: 51 Ways to Inspire Design
• Print your own brainstorm cards via Moo (Printfinity) service
• Stick on White boards (example). We have a few of these at the office. Might be useful in specific sessions.
• White Board paintis nice but we’re still looking for affordable magnetic whiteboard paint. All tips are welcome!
• Print this Persona Template Poster for brainstorm sessions

VII. Presenting your idea – create an awesome pitch

image under creative commons Flickr user: jdlasica

Although I hate the word ‘elevator pitch’,once in a while you’ll have to create rocking slide decks. Keep it short and simple, try to amaze your audience but please stop talking about ‘elevator pitches’. Oh, and stop using Prezi.com, really… -thanks

1 rule: 1 slide = 1 idea = 1 image. But where do you find stunning images for your presentation?

Flickr.com has a huge selection of high res images that are available under Creative Commons license.

Pro tip Personally I’ve created a short code in my browser (Chrome) to do a direct search for CC images. Just add Flickr to your Quick Searches (manage search engines under preferences) and point your url to: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%s&l=cc&s=int As a short code I chose “flcc”. Every time you need an image under Creative Commons license you can just type something like “flcc house” in your URL bar in Chrome. Bang – Beautiful images!

Pixabay offers a great collection of pictures in the public domain.

iStockPhoto.com

If you can’t find the images you’re looking for you will find (hopefully) exactly what you need on these stock photo sites. But please, don’t pick these cheesy overacted no-minority-has-been-left-out team photo’s. If you want to show people, just take pictures of your own real life brainstorms. It’s cheaper and more convincing!

Nounproject.com

Vector images and illustrations can be found on the nounproject. No more fooling around with blurry pixelated images!

High quality logos of companies

First stop, go to their official website and look for a button Brand identity. Many times there is a vector file (pdf, ai, eps,..) that you can download with some guidelines on how to use them properly.

Next stop: Go to brandsoftheworld.com where they have a huge collection of logos available for you to download.

Pro tip Search google for PDF files on the domain of the your company. (e.g. press releases). Most of the time you can open the PDF in a program like Adobe Illustrator. Just copy the logo and export to a format of your choice. Google example: “site:nike.com file:.pdf press” of try “file:.pdf press release”.

Tips to create beautiful slide decks.

Keynote on Mac still rocks but even when you’re limited to Powerpoint you can create rocking slides. Don’t blame your tools for creating a mediocre presentation. Just Learn from the masters and level up! Browsing on NoteAndPoint.com, Dribbble.com or Behance will definitely give you the necessary inspiration boost!

Slideshare:

Slideshare.net is more or less the Youtube of presentation sites but that doesn’t mean that this is the only option to showcase your presentations. Other start-ups are working hard to offer competitive alternatives. Keep an eye on Speakerdeck.com and Projeqt.com, 2 projects that might disrupt this field anytime soon. Even Scribd might be a good solution for you. Just go out and play!

Create slides that rock!

More via:

• Watch every pitch of Dragons Den! (I’m serious about this.) See how other inventors succeed or failat pitching their idea to investors.
• Death by Powerpoint(slideshare)
• 7 Design Principles in Creating a PPT
• You Suck at PowerpointGreat tips on how to build your story: Nancy Duarte uncovers common structure of greatest communicators
• The Elevator Pitch Guide: 45 presentation tips for startups
• Seamless transition from Keynote to a Browser
• Pitchenvy showcases the best startup pitch decks

VIII. Other references & innovation tools elsewhere

image under creative commons Flickr user: doubletrack

• Go Gamestorm: Linked to the book mentioned above. Packed with exercises and examples on how to brainstorm and other creativity techniques.
• Proven Models: One of the most extensive lists with all possible frameworks used in innovation (and management).
• Service Design Tools: A visual overview with tons of tools & templates. Great resource!
• Innowiz: Great collection of innovation & creativity tools
• Pen & Paper Tools for getting from Research to Design
• Uxbooth: Complete Beginner’s Guide to Design Research
• AngelList:A community of start-ups
• Startups: This is how design works
• The 101 Most Useful WebsitesGreat list of productivity tools!
• Design Survival Guide
• Elements of a viral launch page
• List of Persona on Flickr
• Keynotopia: Create wireframes and prototypes via Powerpoint and Keynote
• Overview of interactive innovation tools

Or just contact us to tackle your innovation challenge!

Mail via info@boardofinnovation.com or ping us on twitter (@nickdemey & @philderidder). Here are some teasers to get you started:

Nick De Mey

Co-founder @ Board of Innovation

Nick is co-founder of Board of Innovation. He mainly writes about innovation tools, new revenue models and inspiring cases.