Innovation System Design: The Professional Course

You want to establish a culture of innovation in your organization?

Then this 101 course of modern innovation management might be for you:

The course stretches over two months with five days of (online) presence in total. It is a knowledge activation for advanced innovation experts and a solid foundation for those professionals at the beginning of their organization's innovation professionalization journey. Each module is carefully curated by Jan and comes with inputs and insights from recent innovation research, theory, and cases and field stories from practice.

🎓 Module 01

Why Innovation? Why Now?

Why Innovation? Why Now? — The role of organic growth for your businesses health
Disruption and Dual Transformation —  The intellectual basics of innovation strategy thinking

🎓 Module 02

The Term Innovation in Today’s Language Use

Innovation Myths and False Promises —  A little clean-up
What is “Innovation” Anyway? — An attempt to define its types to prevent confusion

🎓 Module 03 + 04

Innovation Maturity in the Industry and your Organization

Innovation Barriers and Innovation Mastery Assessment — A "decompression module"
Agile Approaches? Better Together! — Revisiting the interplay of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Scrum

🎓 Module 05

Core Business and Innovation Strategy Fundamentals

Where To Play and How To Win — How to define an innovation strategy depending on your starting position
The "Reason-to-Innovate" Stories We Tell Ourselves — What is our narrative for change and transformation?
The Critical Role of Portfolio Management — What is is, how it works
Considerations on Innovation Systems and Culture — Is culture the shadow of a system?

🎓 Module 06

Establishing Innovation as a Discipline or “Corporate Function”

Funnel, Pathways, Processes — How to address the characteristics of different innovation types by adopting a playing field logic
Innovation Units, Programs, and Vehicles — A detailed review of frequently used buildings blocks used in the innovation systems of pioneer organizations

🎓 Module 07

Zoom-in on Teams, Projects, and Products

Project "Types" and their Nature
Innovation and Product Team "Types"
Enablement/Sherpa Team "Types"

🎓 Module 08

Measuring Innovation

Tell Me How You’ll Measure Me and I’ll Tell You How I’ll Behave— An introduction to innovation accounting

🎓 Module 09

Managing the Change and Transformation Journey for Innovation

Organising the Change — A dip dive into change management for innovation
The Role of Leadership in Innovation —  Why transformational innovation is quite presuppositional
Mindset and Culture Shift?— Concluding observations on frequently (ab)used terms

🎓 Module 10

Outro and Outlook

Final Peer-Learning and Reflection Session
Finalisation of Participants’ Personal Action Plans

Each Module is Packed With Knowledge and Insights

Many contents are also applicable in practice right away

Learn from Theory and Case Study Inputs

Jan made the theory and case study parts of each module as visual and engaging as possible. You will learn about the most crucial building blocks needed for establishing an innovation culture system in bigger organizations via live inputs, guest speakers, some pre-class self-learning videos, and lively discussions with the other participants.

Discuss and Share with Peers

A course cohort will consist of a maximum of 15 people (min. eight). Participants will perform their knowledge transfer work and the more detailed exchange of experiences in break-out groups of max. five people. You will learn firsthand the tips, tricks, and pains of your cross-industry colleagues.

Transfer Concepts to Your Own Practice

Each module's theory part is complemented with practical Miro exercises in which we try out helpful frameworks. Participants will also share the ones they use in their work practice. This exchange enables you to document self-knowledge and insights regarding your own organization, which will emerge during the course for later use.

Prepare and Reflect

You will receive a workbook for optional take-home assignments, in which you can reflect upon and document your organization's innovation mastery. Your notes will provide a good base for strategic conversations on progressing your innovation system with important stakeholders later.