Volunteer Elerts – Summer 2012

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Innovation Is More than Cool Gadgets

A recent study finds that executives are more interested in product innovation than creating an innovative organization. That could help organizations achieve short-term goals, but not long-term success.

When the word “innovation is used in the business world, it conjures up images of cool products or gadgets that send shockwaves through the marketplace. The iPad, the Kindle, even the Snuggie come to mind.

But innovation within the organization isn’t nearly as tip of the tongue as executives are more focused on developing innovative products than in creating cultures of innovation where new ideas flow freely, according to a study by Olympus Corp. of the Americas, based in Center Valley, Pa.

In fact, 60% of the 304Fortune1000 executives surveyed say their companies focus more on product innovation than on enterprise innovation (defined by Olympus as the development of transformative business practices).

And nearly half (47%) say their companies do not have a team, process or system in place for finding and vetting new ideas.

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Getting to Know Us

Advanced Reporting is more than your complete background screening solution. It is also a collection of staff members with varying backgrounds and interests. We’ll be introducing you to all of them over time, but we are starting with General Manager Elaine Rosenberg.

Advanced Reporting: What’s your story?

Elaine Rosenberg: Born and raised in Salem, Oregon, I ran all the way east to Yale University for college. Those were a great four years, and they helped me realize what a wonderful place Oregon is to live. Now I enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, riding my horse, and a variety of other Pacific Northwest activities with my husband when I’m not busy at Advanced Reporting.

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But Good Management
and TransparencyAre Key

We’ve been sated these past weeks with news of Greg Mortenson author of “Three Cups of Tea and revelations of his alleged mismanagement of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which he founded. I leave it to others to validate or repudiate the accusations, but I do laud Nicholas Kristof’sNew York Timeseditorialfor focusing on many of the positive things that CAI has accomplished.

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