How a Firm Got Smart To Fight Grime, Rivals†

Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2008 — Beset by cheap imports from overseas and facing a slowing U.S. economy in 2002, Tennant Co., a big name in the small market for industrial floor-cleaners, could have tightened its belt and sent more of its factory jobs overseas.

Instead, the Minneapolis company decided to place a big bet that it could outsmart its competitors with innovative products.

The New Focus Groups: Online Networks†

Proprietary Panels Help Consumer Companies Shape Products, Ads

Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2008 — When Del Monte Foods was considering a new breakfast treat for dogs, it sent out a note to an online community of dog owners asking them what they most wanted to feed their pets in the morning. The consensus answer was something with a bacon-and-egg taste. The result: Last summer, Del Monte introduced its Snausages Breakfast Bites.

Embrace the Edge -- or Perish

The periphery of today's global business environment is where innovation potential is the highest. Ignore it at your peril

BusinessWeek, December 12, 2007 — Most all of us are familiar with the concept of "the edge"—and not only because we're fans of U2's superb guitarist who goes by that name. Edges are the peripheries of the global business environment, the places where innovation potential is the highest. In today's fast-moving business world, playing on the edge increasingly is the best way to gain an edge.

Edges define and describe the borders of companies, markets, industries, geographies, intellectual disciplines, and generations. They are the places where unmet customer needs find unexpected solutions, where disruptive innovations and blue oceans get birthed, and where edge capabilities transform the core competencies of the corporation.

Mapping the Crowd

Software that maps who is working on common problems is shaving years off research — and honing corporate strategies

BusinessWeek, November 15, 2007 — Keeping track of the dizzying proliferation of information in the Digital Age can overwhelm managers, and sizing up potential alliances can be daunting. But getting lost can be a costly setback for those with valuable ideas they want to develop