Leaders who launch new, revenue-generating ideas are the ones who think differently and/or surround themselves with others who do. The key to better ideas is disrupting your current thinking. Here are 6 tactics leaders use to spark good ideas and the 3 things they avoid. 

Innovation isn’t just about coming up with a brilliant idea. It’s about implementing a carefully developed roadmap to generate measurable results. Align's 4 I’s of Strategic Innovation process provides structure for innovation with a repeatable process your team can learn.

Don't avoid a big opportunity just because you don't know where to start.  There's a 5 step process for defining the right problem - the one worth solving.  Whether you’re focused on a social mission or business growth agenda, spend time on the right challenges - ones that can create more value for customers and stakeholders.

Learn how Align is taking on the child care crisis.  A problem that matters to hundreds of thousands, including families, business leaders, educators, and everyone interested in a vibrant society.

Many people want to jump ahead to the idea stage. But ideas that aren’t rooted in solving the right challenge can be a waste of time and resources. Spending a little more time on problem analysis will lead to bigger outcomes, in less time!

The Climate Economy is growing because it’s profitable to protect the planet. An endless array of opportunities exist for businesses to develop products and services that contribute positively to environmental sustainability. Companies aren’t just reducing their carbon footprint, they’re creating products and services that are tools to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions and replace fossil fuels.  From manufacturers & food producers to tech companies & energy providers, there’s a plethora of new ventures that are winning with products and services designed for the climate economy.

There’s a process for coming up with valuable ideas. You need a little structure and a little creativity.

There’s a proven process for creating new value. The process starts with customer insights, which are used in the development of creative ideas worth pursuing. Next, you prioritize a set of best choices and move forward in increments - small, iterative steps, to test and validate your best options. Lastly, you need some traction metrics to confirm the solution will produce the intended impact. These are the four I’s of Strategic Innovation: Insights, Ideas, Increments, & Impact. Learn how to spark ideas that will lead to strategic growth.

Considering the time and resources that go into producing events, you can drastically increase the value of events for your organization AND your attendees, by getting this part right. Here are 3 tips you can easily incorporate into your next event WITHOUT adding any expenses.

You need a reliable stream of objective customer insights to guide strategic business decisions. The big guys are pouring money into tools to get inside our heads and understand exactly what we want. There are lots of opportunities to make better products or services. You just need to figure out which opportunities are right for your market. And even in a down economy, customer expectations aren’t going to retreat.

Some people cherish the last week of the year because they get left alone and finally have a chance to think strategically. Oh no! It needs to happen regularly. Here’s why and how.

You get to decide when to allocate time for strategic thinking, planning, and creative problem-solving. Here are 5 things you can do to carve out more time for creative and strategic thinking.