Innovation by The Side Door

In most organizations, and swelling the ranks at every innovation conference, are plenty of good managers, sincere, honest, straightforward, intent on innovation (they say). But too often they bump into a thick glass door -- call it organizational inertia -- and are frustrated. This article explores a number of ways to use idea management processes and tools to improve some everyday business practices. Large-scale business meetings are familiar affairs. Several times a year in any large organization, dozens to hundreds of people travel to a hotel or conference center for a few days of presentations, breakout sessions, food and drink. Here are tips for effective business meetings: 1. Get the substrate and details out in the open before the meeting. 2. Identify and select the key topics for face-to-face discussion. 3. Identify potential speakers or session leaders for the meeting. 4. Replace traditional brainstorming with a software-enabled challenge. 5. Run a review-and-prioritization process at a meeting. 6. Capture feedback immediately after presentations.