INDEPENDENT NEWS

Innovation Expert To Share Ideas

Published: Mon 16 Jun 2003 12:35 AM
PRESS RELEASE: 16 JUNE 2003
INNOVATION EXPERT TO SHARE IDEAS
He's the ultimate "Ideas Man".
But innovation expert Ed Bernacki also knows how to turn ideas into action and he’s coming to share his insights with New Zealand organisations.
The keys to success he says, are making innovation an everyday activity and learning to manage ideas. They’re skills organisations don’t always have - but are crucial in order for them to thrive in the knowledge economy.
Bernacki is an international writer and consultant on the use of innovation in organisations He defines innovation as the process of generating new ideas that are viable business ideas, ones that add "value".
A dynamic speaker, Bernacki has built a reputation for demonstrating to entrepreneurs, executives and even governments around the world how to generate good ideas and make them work.
Canadian-based Bernacki developed and is a director of the Idea Factory - a management philosophy that stresses the development of ideas and innovation as the key to business growth.
The Idea Factory is an easy-to-understand metaphor to illustrate the need to focus ideas in order to achieve results.
Bernacki also wrote "Wow! That's A Great Idea!" - a guide for executives wanting to find more and bigger ideas in their organisations. He created the Conference Navigator Guide - a tool kit for conferences and workshops and is the author of more than 70 articles on innovation.
He’s currently Innovation Learning Partner for the Canadian Centre for Management Development while regularly running innovation workshops for organisations around the world. .
This month he’s in our four main centres to speak at the latest round of Baycorp Advantage SmartNet workshops titled ‘Innovate your way to New Business’. New Zealand is familiar territory for him - Bernacki lived here between 1990 and 2000 graduating from the University of Otago with an MBA.
Bernacki stresses innovation takes much more than coming up with great ideas.
“To be effective, organisations need to build a "capacity to innovate" - to make innovation a day to day activity,” he says.
That requires that people learn new skills - skills for managing ideas.
“Most people are very poor at these types of skills. Also, much of today's management focus on building a culture for innovation through the likes of team work or leadership - but that’s energy wasted if people don't have the skills to innovate.”
Ed Bernacki believes that most "good" business ideas already exist in the heads of staff, suppliers or customers. However, few businesses use a system to leverage the knowledge that exists or to enhance it further. As a result, many ideas remain buried and often stifled.
His workshops offer quick and effective ways to turn that around including looking at: Five ways to enhance innovation Turning insights into action Creating a strategy to shape an innovation organisation.
Ed Bernacki arrives in New Zealand on June 19 and will be here till early July. It would be a great idea to catch up with him while he’s around.
(ENDS)
SmartNet is one of the largest New Zealand based innovation networks spanning industry, business, education and research institutes and government. SmartNet helps organisations keep up to date with business and technology trends, opportunities and issues. SmartNet events provide opportunities for key decision-makers to learn, network and share ideas. SmartNet also works with New Zealanders and other experts to connect them with New Zealand organisations. For more information visit http://www.smartnet.co.nz.

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