Number 1 On the List of New Hires – Product Manager. “Find a product manager early on who can be the bridge between the CEO’s vision and objectives and the development of the products to reach those goals.” Read more from Entrepreneur at… http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232980

5 Examples: Attempts at Financial Valuation of New Innovations. “The problem with innovation is that some products, ideas, and concepts are well ahead of their time; so much so that sometimes Wall Street firms and investors simply don’t understand how to value a company or sector.” Read more from The Motley Fool at… http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/13/5-innovations-wall-street-and-investors-dont-under.aspx

6 Tips for Putting Innovation Into Your Business. “Whether it’s evolutionary – continuous, incremental advancements – or revolutionary – new, disruptive innovation – we’re all looking for the ideas that will help us deliver better services and products, and of course, greater returns for our businesses.” Read more from The Sydney Morning Herald at… http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/make-innovation-part-of-your-day-20140414-36nf2.html#ixzz2z1Hdbyfb

Constructive Conflict to Increase Innovation. “…leaders also often talk about igniting the ‘spark of innovation.’ But we need friction in order to ignite sparks. Without healthy and productive conflict we can’t generate friction.” Read more from Fast Company at… http://www.fastcompany.com/3028903/work-smart/the-healthiest-kind-of-conflict-for-your-organization

Inside Google X – Innovation at the Edge. “If there’s a master plan behind X, it’s that a frictional arrangement of ragtag intellects is the best hope for creating products that can solve the world’s most intractable issues. … We don’t yet know if this will prove to be genius or folly. There’s actually no historical model, no ­precedent, for what these people are doing.” Read more from Fast company at… http://www.fastcompany.com/3028156/united-states-of-innovation/the-google-x-factor

An Interview with a Fortune 100 CTO about Innovation. “What are a couple of key principles or practices that help produce an innovation-friendly company culture?” Read more from Forbes at… http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodgerdeanduncan/2014/04/15/innovation-expanding-horizons-while-shrinking-the-world/

Why and How Kraft Foods Changed Their Innovation Approach. “In 2013, the leaders of Kraft Foods Group Inc. made a surprising mea culpa that many of its new products were failures, and they laid out a new innovation strategy focused on big bets.” Read more from Chicago Tribune at http://bluesky.chicagotribune.com/originals/chi-barry-calpino-kraft-foods-bsi-20140416,0,0.story