The Corporate Innovation Blog
AI Strategy & Leadership Insights for Chief Innovation Officers, Innovation and Product Leaders
The Future of Agentic Commerce. Patented in 2016.
In March 2016, I filed a patent for autonomous AI agents that negotiate purchases on behalf of humans—a year before the transformer paper. The architecture was sound, but the enabling technology didn't exist. Today, it's exactly what OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are racing to build.
Who Should Lead Corporate Innovation? Five Models and Their Hidden Risks
Most companies get innovation leadership wrong - not from lack of commitment, but from misunderstanding the trade-offs. Five models dominate: embedded CxO roles, VPs below the C-suite, the CINO, innovation councils, and embedded teams. Each carries hidden risks.
Planning a Corporate Hackathon? 50+ Ideas That Actually Work
Most hackathon idea lists are useless - "build a chatbot" helps no one. These 50+ themes are framed around real business problems, organized by innovation type, and designed to attract diverse teams - not just developers. Plus: how AI has made hackathons more inclusive than ever.
Should We Still Organize Corporate Hackathons in the AI Era?
AI can generate ideas in seconds - so are corporate hackathons still relevant? More than ever. But the old annual model is broken. Here's why innovation leaders should run hackathons more frequently, how AI tools make them radically more inclusive, and what it takes to turn hackathon concepts into real products.
Product Discovery Documentation: The Chief Innovation Officer's Guide to Turning Ideas into Products
In a world where AI can generate endless content in seconds, clarity has become the ultimate competitive advantage. This guide shows Chief Innovation Officers and innovation teams how to implement lean, just-enough documentation that captures what matters—one-page problem statements, business idea templates, and structured assessments—without bureaucratic overhead. Learn The Innovation Mode documentation stack that progresses from discovery (problem framing, idea validation) through development (PRDs, pitch decks), ensuring your best product innovation ideas survive the journey from concept to launch.
Innovation Mode 2.0: The Chief Innovation Officer's Blueprint for the Agentic AI Era
Book launch announcement: Innovation Mode 2.0 by George Krasadakis (Springer, January 2026) delivers the first comprehensive architecture for corporate innovation in the agentic AI era—where AI can generate ideas, build prototypes, and shape strategies in minutes. The book introduces a diagnostic framework of six innovation deficits, a seven-level Innovation Maturity Index, and 70+ interventions for building AI-powered innovation engines. Backed by 25 years at Microsoft, Accenture, and GSK, 20+ AI patents, and a working autonomous innovation agent (Ainna.ai), this is implementation, not theory.
2026 Technology Innovation: Trends, Opportunities, Risks.
The technologies shaping 2026 — Agentic AI, humanoid robots, quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces, AI for science, and climate tech — are no longer emerging; they're converging. For innovation leaders, this demands a fundamental shift: when AI commoditizes ideation, the scarce capabilities become opportunity discovery, rapid validation, and execution speed. Innovation is no longer a competitive advantage — it's a survival trait.
Why Corporate Innovation (very often) Fails: The Complete Picture.
Discover the six hidden deficits - from leadership to venture building - that cause corporate innovation to fail. Learn how to break through structural, cultural, and capability barriers to drive meaningful innovation.
How to Select a Chief Innovation Officer: A Strategic Hiring Guide
Choosing the right Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) is critical to driving business transformation and staying competitive in today’s fast-paced market. As an HR executive or business leader, it’s essential to identify a CINO who combines visionary leadership, technical fluency, and the ability to align innovation with your company’s strategic goals. This guide provides actionable insights on the key qualities, experience, and interview strategies needed to hire a CINO who will lead impactful innovation initiatives and foster a culture of creativity.
How to Become a Chief Innovation Officer: Career Paths, Skills, and Experiences
The role of the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) is gaining importance as businesses strive to stay competitive in a fast-changing world. But how do you become a CINO? Whether you're a student, a young professional, or an experienced manager looking to pivot, this guide provides insights into the career paths, skills, and experiences needed to achieve this role. From early education and entry-level innovation jobs to leadership skills and technical expertise, learn how to carve a path toward becoming a successful CINO and lead the future of corporate innovation.
From Unemployment to Entrepreneurship. A Platform for Service Exchange and Team Formation exclusively for unemployed people.
This article presents a proposal for an online platform that will facilitate connections among unemployed individuals, enabling them to exchange skills and services, form collaborative teams, and develop startup ventures. Shaped in collaboration with ainna - the ai innovation advisor
The Chief Innovation Officer Thought Leadership Program
Discover unique perspectives on innovation. Join a growing network of innovation, product and technology professionals. Share your thoughts or answer one of the 22 challenging questions on Innovation
A Startup Ecosystem Driven By Unemployed People
Imagine a platform where unemployed people can safely collaborate and experiment with concepts and ideas: ‘virtual startups’ powered by the workforce of unemployed people.
The Evolving Importance of the Chief Innovation Officer
In a world of Artificial Intelligence, the role of Chief Innovation Officer is becoming even more important. This link (between Artificial Intelligence and the importance of the CINO role) may not be that obvious - this article explains the thinking.
Chief Innovation Officer: Skills and Talents of a successful CINO
In this article, I am presenting the talents and skills that I consider to be essential for a great Chief Innovation Officer. I am discussing the typical background for and presenting strategies on how a company should source for a Chief Innovation Officer.
Chief Innovation Officer: Mission and Responsibilities
The Chief Innovation Officer is a critical role for the modern corporation. Yet, very often, it is not properly defined or utilized. In this article, I am responding to one of the most frequent questions I receive in the context of Corporate Innovation and attempt to define the mission and the responsibilities of the CINO.
Accelerate Innovation with these 25 Digital Tools
Leading Innovation – the essential digital tools to empower your innovators and boost innovation performance
The Challenges of Corporate Innovation
An excerpt from an interview with Jesse Nieminen from Viima – discussing innovation culture, blockers, the Innovation Mode and more.
Why Companies Fail to Foster a Culture of Innovation (And What You Can Do about it)
Why is it tough to develop a culture of innovation in a corporate environment? How shall we start? People ask me these and a lot more about the innovation culture. Read here some of my answers - What it means, why it is hard and how it can be fixed.
MVP FAQs: Feature Selection, Costs, and Best Practices for Startups
MVPs and Startups - Why should a startup follow the MVP approach? How do you prioritize features? Answering these and other frequent questions people ask me about Minimum Viable Products - MVPs