Just returned from the Front End of Innovation Conference in Boston!
Incredible insights. Unbelievable innovations. Wonderful people, especially being there with Ryan Baum. Here’s what really stuck with me:
1️⃣ INNOVATION ≠ TACTICS
Alex Forman nailed it: organizations often mistake a bunch of tactics (like corporate ventures and crowdsourcing) for a coherent innovation strategy. Your innovation must align with your organization’s goals. Sometimes, the best innovation is knowing when not to innovate.
2️⃣ BUILD TO FAIL, LEARN TO SUCCEED
Bradley Shimmin, with his love for Formula 1, reminded us: push your limits to understand them. In other words, design your processes to fail—so you know how to optimize and succeed.
3️⃣ DOMAIN EXPERTISE STILL MATTERS
Ala Irgashev, Donald High, and Paul Greenberg highlighted that while AI can enhance outcomes, knowing your domain (like music for AI music tools) is crucial. Expertise shapes AI's potential.
4️⃣ MAKE THE FUTURE REAL
Mike Thomas shared an incredible story about an Imagineer who got Disney’s Animal Kingdom approved after failing twice... until he brought in a live tiger. Imagine the impact today with AI tools for storyboarding and video.
5️⃣ COST OF CLOUD & AI
Kate Carruthers pointed out the ballooning costs with cloud and AI. Moving to the cloud, per-user AI costs—everything adds up. It's a reminder to evaluate the true value these technologies bring.
Special thanks to Seth Adler, Cherie Leonard, Tammy Butterworth, and Phil Sage on the board for making me feel welcome!
A few days later, sitting here, I keep hearing Dev Patnaik’s voice in my head (I know, scary!), reminding me that there's an important difference between an invention and innovation. There are a lot of cool things we can do now and a lot more to come. But why should we do any one of them?
In the rightful excitement around AI—excelling in research, testing, and speeding up processes—it's easy to confuse the possibilities with what we'll need for transformational innovation.
And, boy, do we need that now: genuinely new ideas, services, business models, products, and innovative ways of working. The demand for growth is big. Walmart aims for a 4-5% revenue increase this fiscal year, but that would mean an additional $25.2 to $31.5 billion. It's the same for PepsiCo and Nike, targeting a 6-7% ($5.4 to $6.3 billion) and 4-6% ($2.1 to $3.2 billion) rise, respectively.
This is the massive challenge for the front end of innovation. Past data reflects what's already been done. AI typically addresses the mean. Traditional customer research focuses on known questions. And we must shape the future.