Catalyst Strategies is a catalyst for business growth, a spark that ignites innovation and momentum.  We publish Sparks, our thought leadership series, to help fire-up growth ideas.  Sparks features insights from business leaders and Catalyst Strategies on a hot topic that is connected to business growth. Each Sparks post also provides links to related studies [...]

About This Series Innovation is always a hot topic. Business leaders are curious about the best ways to generate out-of-the-box ideas.  They worry about keeping great ideas alive long enough to reach commercial success.  And, they wonder if their company has what it takes to drive growth through innovation. In this series of blog posts, [...]

Introduction There isn’t much disagreement with the idea that innovation can be a great growth driver. But there are differing views on what it takes to be an innovative company.  Some believe that a revolutionary idea is all that stands between a company’s status quo and meteoric growth.  Companies with this view tend to invest [...]

Introduction Ever wondered whether being an innovative company is the product of nature or nurture?  In our experience, it’s a bit of both.  Some companies – like IBM or Apple – seem to be natural innovators.  Others aren’t born innovators or have lost the aptitude over time, but they can learn to innovate better.  In [...]

Introduction Innovators at some companies, particularly in the technology arena, believe that customers can’t drive innovation. We disagree. While customers may not be able to design the innovative products they will ultimately use, they can describe their challenges, their needs, and their likes and dislikes.  In our view, understanding customer behaviors and meeting unmet needs [...]