Many forward-thinking organizations, these days, are launching all kinds of initiatives to crank up innovation. Their intention is a good one, but their execution is often not.

Inspiration and imagination are part of what Einstein called the "sacred gift." Without it, an individual can go through life much like a robot or dro...

Psychologists agree that human beings are most creative at the age of five. After that, it's a slow and steady decline -- especially in the workplace. But wait! It doesn't have to be that way .

While there are many reasons why most people don't get their best ideas at work, there are at least as many why organizations don't get their best ideas a work -- the main one being their tendency to rely on what I like to refer to as the "creative elite."

If ideas are the seeds of innovation, idea management is the formalization of the processes involved in gathering, sharing, analyzing and executing the ideas generated within an organization and its collaborative networks.

One of the reasons why most "big ideas" go nowhere is because the idea originators do not have a team of collaborators on board to help develop and execute their ideas. Bottom line, it's easier to conceive than it is to deliver the baby.

Since 1986, I've asked more than 10,000 people where and when they get their best ideas. Less than 2% have said "the workplace." Based on my 25 years of working with a ton of innovation-seeking organizations, here's my take on why.

IBM's famous commercial showed two-dozen employees lying on mats trying to come up with good business ideas. Thanks to keyword research opportunities, today's small business can harness the same kind of power -- but without an IBM-sized payroll.

When innovation comes to mind, the first thing people may think of is creativity, spontaneity, or a momentary stroke of genius. But can innovation occur out of a structured, repeatable process? The answer, in short, is yes.

If even 1 percent of new ideas succeed, it can lead to a huge payoff. A steady stream of ideas is what fuels Innovation, so one of Robert's Rules of I...