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Henry Ford, Innovation, and That "Faster Horse" Quote

Harvard Business Review

We've all been in conversations on the topics of creativity and innovation when Henry Ford's most famous adage is (excuse the pun) trotted out, usually accompanied by a knowing smirk and air of self-evidence. Battle lines are quickly drawn. Having grown weary of both sides of the debate, I was curious; did Ford utter those words?

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How Separate Should a Corporate Spin-Off Be?

Harvard Business Review

The traditional advice, from Clayton Christensen’s work on disruptive innovations and Michael Tushman’s on organizational ambidexterity , is to set up the new activity as a separate unit, reporting to a manager at the corporate headquarters who can sponsor the new activity and help to integrate it with the rest of the company. Strategy'

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Prototype Your Product, Protect Your Brand

Harvard Business Review

If you’re in automotive, you might look at other highly regulated industries, like healthcare and finance, which manage to experiment considerably despite stringent regulatory environments. They have been able to release Google Glass to the public before it’s ready for mass market use. Look across adjacent industries.

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In Product Development, Let Your Customers Define Perfection

Harvard Business Review

In an era of high-stakes innovation, there is no clearer illustration of how to develop new products the right way (and the wrong way) than a tale of two car companies. In fact, the advertisement announced proudly that the company was “kicking the finance guys” out of the development process.

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Making Room for Reflection Is a Strategic Imperative

Harvard Business Review

In turn, reflection becomes the rocket fuel for experimentation, the lifeblood of high-level innovation, the spark of deeper meaning, and the wellspring of enduring purpose. If youre here to "innovate" sugar water, then thinking in terms of orthodox buyers and suppliers might do the trick. So throw Frederick W.

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Does Your Company Come Across as Too Male?

Harvard Business Review

He had no idea that the ad they’d just run to launch their latest mass-market device was so completely male-oriented. Whether it’s in recruiting materials or executive speeches, in advertising or marketing messaging, companies tend to talk in stereotypes, even if they have female-dominated marketing teams.

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Why Social Marketing Is So Hard

Harvard Business Review

Of course, the notion of a passive consumer, and a mass market was overly simplistic; consumers were never as passive as companies like to think.). Try applying the marketing funnel to your love life and see how it goes. We want innovation, but without experiencing failure. Relationships aren't rational, but emotional.