Weekly Update - Monday, April 6, 2020

Innovation Research Interchange Monday April 06, 2020 1:15pm
Jump to: Global Innovation News | IRI's Virtual Annual Conference | 2020 PILOT Projects | USG's Digital Transformation | Learn and Share | Executive Education Workshops this June | Upcoming Events
 
 

 

First, a message from IRI President, Ed Bernstein:

 

IRI Members helping in the COVID-19 response

 

The Hazmat Society's COVID-19 Resources page

 

More Innovation News

 

The Annual Conference is going virtual

Join us for a 21st century conference--without leaving your desk! May 12-May 22, we will be holding our planned 2020 Annual Conference sessions as live webinars and interactive chatrooms. Learn how to adapt your innovation efforts in a global environment, collaborate with remote teams, and how to get the best ROI out of your business strategy when your organization is placed all over the world. Each day will offer virtual sessions pertaining to an element of Global Innovation. 

Here is a sneak peak of the topics that will be covered:

Tuesday May 12: Sustainability

Wednesday, May 13: Global R&D Case Studies

Thursday, May 14: Innovation Culture

Friday, May 15: COVID-19's Effects on Innovation

Monday, May 18: Agile Methods for Global Innovation

Tuesday, May 19: International Partnerships

Wednesday, May 20: Global R&D Case Studies, Round 2

Thursday, May 21: Innovation & Place

Friday, May 22: 2020 IRI Award Winners

Registration will be open next week! 

 

In the meantime, we have lined up two more virtual sessions:

A Compendium of Tools for Leading a Successful Global Innovation Team
Presented by Paul Germeraad (view his Compendium)
April 15, 1-2 PM ET (**this has been moved from its original date)
 
A Simiplified Approach to Front-End-Innovation (FEI) to Build a Global Innovation Capability for Breakthrough Results
Presented by Marci Ruman of Kimberly-Clark Corporation
April 30, 11 AM-12 PM ET

 

 

PILOT research projects launching this spring

In the midst of chaos, innovation continues and even grows.  This spring, IRI is launching four new research projects to help keep your organization innovating. 
 
Organizing Time for Innovation – How can we best allot self-directed innovation time to maximize creative performance? 
Kick off webinar:  Tuesday, April 28, 12 - 1pm EDT; Register
 
Ideation to H2 Opportunity Portfolio – What can be done to improve the performance of the Horizon 2 Opportunity Portfolio, bridging the gap between the well-exercised processes of Horizon 3 Ideation (H3: 5+ years) portfolio and Horizon 1 Stage-Gate (H1: 1-2 years) project portfolio?
Kick off webinar:  Wednesday May 20, 1 – 2pm EDT; Register
 
Talent Management for Corporate Innovation Specialists – What are best practices associated with developing innovation talent that helps create new business platforms based on novel technologies? 
Kick off webinar: Thursday, April 9 12:00-1:00pm EDT; Register
 
Platform Strategies for Incumbent Organizations – Benchmarking opportunity:  How do legacy companies perceive the threat of digital platforms to their business models and how they are responding to it by engaging in business model innovation? 
Kick off webinar:  Tuesday, April 14, 12-1pm EDT; Register
 
 
If you are interested in a project, but aren’t able to join the webinar, please email Lee Green at green@iriweb.org for more information.

 

New Digital Transformation Case Study Now Available

IRI’s Digital Transformation Community (DXC) presents our latest case study – taking a deep dive into USG’s digital journey.  The case study examines the digital transformation journey of USG, a 118-year-old company best known for producing Sheetrock® brand gypsum wallboard panels. It covers the six factors, many of which are still ongoing, that have contributed to USG’s digital transformation successes thus far. Access the case study
 
Yesterday, RTI Innovation Advisors Jeff Cope and Tom Culver went over the case study, highlighting strategy, structure, resources, culture and change management, technology and data, and opportunities and offerings. The session also included a Q&A with Sam Immordino, Director, Futuring & Digital Innovation, USG. Click here to watch the recording. You must be logged in to view the recording.

We have another opportunity next week for you to learn more about USG’s journey and the case study during our April DXC Thought Leader Interview with Sam Immordino and Jeff White, the Vice President of Marketing, on Thursday, April 16, 12-1 PM ET.

 

Learning more about the Innovation Officer Role--IRI would like to hear from you

Innovation officers are the fastest growing C-Suite position; however, little has been done to standardize the role and understand the impact.  Join us to assess how innovation roles are impacting business results. The first step of the study includes a brief digital survey that will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. After assessing the data, we may contact you for a follow-up discussion to better understand responses.  The output will be aggregated results, to maintain anonymity across the participants. Please complete the survey by April 10th.   

Please contact Lee Green or Lee Ann Cochran with questions.

 

Shaping Innovation Leaders

May 30-June 5, 2020

Hosted by Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management

Managers in today’s competitive R&D marketplace rely on enhanced business skills to improve their company’s competitive edge. IRI, in partnership with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, specifically designed Shaping Innovation Leaders, May 30-June 5, 2020 at Northwestern's Allen Center, to meet the needs of demanding leadership roles in promising, mid-level managers in research, development and engineering. The program’s curriculum is designed by Kellogg, in cooperation with senior R&D executives of IRI Member Organizations. This course will equip you with best practices and methods to address challenges in leading innovation teams, and the skills to boost your team's performance.

For more information about discounts for IRI member companies and how to register, please email Gabriella Herzberg.

 

Building a Capability for Breakthrough Innovation throughout Your Organization

June 9-10, 2020

Hosted by Babson College

Is your company being threatened by disruption? Most companies today must develop continuous flows of innovation in order to create new product categories, find new ways to use their existing products, and stay relevant. Attend Building a Capability for Breakthrough Innovation, a two-day Babson Executive Education program for leaders, managers, teams, and innovators to develop an action plan for generating long-term revenue from breakthrough innovations. Get a 10% discount using the code BEE-IRI when you register.