Organizations are complex social systems where people try to work together to achieve something together. Despite this, the focus often ends up on structures, processes and individual behaviors, while one of the central factors is overlooked: leadership. When mistakes are made, when conflicts arise or when projects fall apart, attention […]
444 posts
Crisis is a state that no one wants. It is associated with uncertainty, anxiety and often both stress and loss. But from an innovation perspective, there is a paradoxical quality to crises. They force us to stop accepting the current situation and stop giving us the opportunity to postpone the […]
Creating time for innovation is one of the biggest practical challenges for both individuals and organizations. Although many people talk about innovation as something important, it often ends up at the bottom of the to-do list. The urgent takes precedence over the important. Administrative tasks crowd out the creative. The […]
Systems innovation can seem difficult at first glance because the word is often associated with abstract models, complex schemes and cross-sectoral collaborations. A clearer way to understand the concept is to read it backwards. Systems innovation is simply “innovation of systems”. When you see it, you realize that the complexity […]
In innovation work, people sometimes talk about explore and exploit. These two concepts describe two fundamentally different ways of relating to development. Explore is about seeking new opportunities, experimenting and exploring unknown territory. Exploit is about refining, streamlining and scaling up what you already do well. Both are necessary and […]
Leading creative workshops is an art form that combines psychology, pedagogy and practical experience. The result depends not only on the exercises but also to a large extent on how the process is designed and implemented. In practice, it is often small details that determine whether a workshop will be […]
When people or organizations come together to create something new, a strange and often underestimated stage occurs. In the beginning, there is enthusiasm, consensus and the kind of generosity that only exists when everything is still possible. People plan, allocate resources and say that they will work together with openness […]
We live in a society where much of what happens between people happens without us ever meeting. Our actions, decisions and expressions create ripples in the water that continue long after we have moved on. This invisible structure, this web of influence, is something we all contribute to. It is […]
Modern society is characterized by control. We plan our careers, our projects, our investments and our life choices as if the future were a function of how well we can optimize the present. But beneath the surface of planning and order lies a force that influences us more than we […]
Rethinking business models is one of the most challenging forms of innovation. Many organizations have a good understanding of how their products and services work, but far fewer reflect on the logic that makes the business possible, how value is created, delivered and captured. The Business Model Canvas, developed by […]
The term Innovation Valley describes a new type of geographical and thematic innovation cluster where business, academia, society and civil society collaborate in a common vision. While Silicon Valley became the symbol of digital and technological innovation during the 20th and 21st centuries, Innovation Valleys represent the next wave. A […]
Innovation is a way of solving problems in new ways. But not all problems require the same type of thinking, and not all organizations approach them in the same way. In today’s world, where both complexity and the pace of change are increasing, the difference between algorithmic and heuristic innovation […]
Living Labs have emerged over the past decades as one of the most powerful methods for exploring and testing new solutions in real-world environments. In an era where sustainability, circularity and system innovation are in focus, arenas are needed where ideas are not just planned but lived. Living Labs are […]
It happens time and time again. A small start-up enters an established field and in a few years changes the rules of the game so drastically that previously dominant companies are suddenly in the shadows. Why does this happen? What does the journey look like from the perspective of the […]
Systems innovation is about understanding and changing complex wholes. But before you can change something, you have to be able to see it. That’s why systems mapping is one of the most powerful methods in systems thinking. Creating a map of a system doesn’t just mean visualizing how different parts […]
When we talk about system change, it is often about understanding how different levels of society interact. Some changes happen quickly and visibly, others take decades and happen almost imperceptibly in the background. Multi Level Perspective (MLP) is a method for seeing these different layers of change and understanding how […]
Creativity often arises from the meeting of the seemingly unrelated. Being able to see the connection between two seemingly completely unrelated things is one of the most powerful skills in human thinking. This ability is called bisociation, a concept coined by Arthur Koestler in the book The Act of Creation […]
We are all defined by our thinking. Our thoughts shape how we perceive the world, how we act, and what we believe is possible. Therefore, a shift in mindset is not just a change in perspective but a change in reality. It is the foundation of all true innovation. Thinking […]
It’s easy to think that creativity is about finding the right answer. We look for solutions, we analyze data, we test and improve. But behind every brilliant idea there is often something much simpler: a good question. In fact, the most crucial steps in human development often began not with […]
It started as a small idea. We wanted to document and share the experiences and models we used. The idea was simple: we write an article, maybe two, and see where it leads. But like so many other things in life, things change when you take the first steps. It’s […]
We live in a time when we are getting better at improving parts, but worse at understanding wholes. Our organizations, social systems and economic models have long been built as if the world could be understood by breaking it down into its components. But the reality we are facing; climate […]
We’ve all heard the stories. Archimedes getting his idea in the bath. Newton getting an apple on his head and suddenly understanding gravity. Or the artist saying that inspiration just “came to him”. It sounds like creativity is something mysterious, something that just happens randomly when the brain suddenly connects […]
In a world where every decision has ever-increasing consequences, it is becoming clear that we need to change our perspective. For most of the industrial era, we have thought in terms of ego systems thinking. This means that we base our decisions on our own system, our own business, our […]
Biodiversity is like a fabric. Every species, every small part of the ecosystem is a thread. When we pull on one of the threads, the entire pattern changes, sometimes in ways we never expected. Human impact on nature often creates chain reactions that at first seem insignificant, but which in […]
Photosynthesis is the engine of life. By capturing the sun’s energy and converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and biomass, plants create the foundation on which all other life rests. Without photosynthesis, there would be no food chain, no ecosystems, and no human civilization. But today we can see the opposite […]
When we talk about systems innovation, many people think of the transition to a circular economy, digitalization or new business models that are changing entire industries. But all of these pale in comparison to the system we already live in. The biological ecosystem is the largest and most complex system […]
The concept of flow, coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, describes the state in which we are completely immersed in a task, where challenge and ability are in perfect balance. In flow, we experience energy, focus and satisfaction. But what happens to this state in a world where AI is quickly becoming […]
When we talk about development in companies, the concepts of innovation and creativity are often mixed up. Innovation is basically about creating something new that is also realized and has an effect in the world. It can be a new product, a new process or a completely new way of […]
How we start a creative process has a decisive impact on the outcome. If we start cautiously, demanding “realistic” solutions, we limit ourselves early on and risk getting stuck in what we already know. However, if we start by really taking the plunge, setting a standard for imagination and inspiration, […]
We humans love convenience. When the brain finds a conceivable “highway,” a thought pattern that works, it tends to continue back and forth along that path day after day. It feels safe, secure, and requires minimal effort. But it’s also what often makes us miss alternative routes, small paths that […]