Cutter Fellow Rob Austin kicks off the discussion by asserting that firms must unlearn old principles and embrace new ones if they are to succeed in today's innovation economy. Cutter Innovation team members then contribute their views in an interactive exchange, rich in examples that range from Boeing's transformed view of "failure" to the role of "emergent features" in pharmaceutical industry innovation. They point out the value of a "no way back" strategy, the danger of being "best at what you do," the qualities essential in innovative leaders, and the creation of radical innovation through processes that are anything but "user-centered" improvements

Studies indicate that coaching can significantly improve bottom-line performance and may make the difference between business success and failure. It is not news that organizations are under intense pressure to improve and to innovate. Reliance on knowledge workers who demand a voice in shaping their work requires new managerial skills to engage employees, and organizational leaders are finding that different cultural norms and behaviors are required to harness the knowledge of their employees.

Studies indicate that coaching can significantly improve bottom-line performance and may make the difference between business success and failure. It is not news that organizations are under intense pressure to improve and to innovate. Reliance on knowledge workers who demand a voice in shaping their work requires new managerial skills to engage employees, and organizational leaders are finding that different cultural norms and behaviors are required to harness the knowledge of their employees.

"Are organizations better off building BI solutions when they need them and as quickly as they need them ... without a standardized and integrated DW?"

-- Larissa T. Moss, Guest Editor

Here we go again with another virtual solution! It didn't work for data warehousing -- what makes us think it will work for BI? We still have to address the data chaos in our organizations. BI without a DW won't get us there, but BI with a DW will.

Regardless of a company's size, if users are attempting to use transactional data to drive business decisions -- that is, if they're doing business intelligence (BI) -- they are implicitly or explicitly doing so by relying on data warehouse (DW) processes and practices. This in turn attests to the fact that any BI strategy must be tied to a DW strategy. Depending upon companies' unique conditions and circumstances, their BI strategies will utilize DW and DW tools at differing levels of sophistication.

When talking about business intelligence (BI), one thinks of a solution that transforms raw data into information that is needed by processes and people in the organization. This implies that the end user will demand some means of establishing how -- and whether -- this informational need is satisfied. In this article, we will call this means a contract.

This Executive Report by Amr Elssamadisy describes how to improve time to market by adopting different agile practices. For each agile practice, we offer a quick definition, contexts where it is applicable, a step-by-step adoption guide, and common missteps teams make in its adoption.

Knowing what an agile practice does will not ensure a team's ability to successfully use the practice to deliver better software. There are several ways a team can veer off track when trying to learn and internalize agile practices. Depending on the situation, a team may need to adapt a particular practice for its environment before it can be successfully adopted.

This Executive Update is a bit of a departure from our usual writings as it instead illustrates an important lesson by presenting a story, which is compiled from my many experiences helping leaders make meaningful changes within individuals, teams, and their organizations.

This Executive Report by Carl Pritchard uses lessons learned from three classic examples to get at the heart of risk perception and risk management.

This Executive Report by Carl Pritchard uses lessons learned from three classic examples to get at the heart of risk perception and risk management.

In almost every environment, there is a lesson tied to a century-old quote from George Santayana's The Life of Reason, first published in the early 1900s: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

In almost every environment, there is a lesson tied to a century-old quote from George Santayana's The Life of Reason, first published in the early 1900s: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

In prediction markets, such as Intrade, TradeSports, and the Iowa Electronic Markets, a broad range of people express their opinions about future events in politics, economics, or sports by backing them with small bets. The results are reliable predictions of the probabilities of these future events.

In prediction markets, such as Intrade, TradeSports, and the Iowa Electronic Markets, a broad range of people express their opinions about future events in politics, economics, or sports by backing them with small bets. The results are reliable predictions of the probabilities of these future events.

Benchmarking of outsourcing contracts has recently become a highly desired practice by client organizations, but it is often poorly executed. It can be a difficult and expensive process regardless of how services are sourced, internally or externally. In Part I of this two-part Executive Update series (Vol.

Benchmarking of outsourcing contracts has recently become a highly desired practice by client organizations, but it is often poorly executed. It can be a difficult and expensive process regardless of how services are sourced, internally or externally. In Part I of this two-part Executive Update series (Vol.

Organizational matters

There is a growing culture clash within the walls of the corporation caused by outdated and untenable rules as perceived by the Millennials, or Gen-Yers, and other techno-savvy employees.

Organizational matters

There is a growing culture clash within the walls of the corporation caused by outdated and untenable rules as perceived by the Millennials, or Gen-Yers, and other techno-savvy employees.

Virtualization has become increasingly important in data centers over the past several years, as companies have sought to contain costs, reduce physical server use, and improve efficiency. In this Executive Update, we'll examine the current issues and strategies in the virtualization realm.

Virtualization has become increasingly important in data centers over the past several years, as companies have sought to contain costs, reduce physical server use, and improve efficiency. In this Executive Update, we'll examine the current issues and strategies in the virtualization realm.

A US healthcare company CIO and his core IT team have been using an agile development approach in their projects for just about a year now. When I came across this company last year, the CIO and most of his key team members were getting ready to support the rollout of 10 large-scale systems-integration projects across the enterprise.

While teaching a class recently, I had a few minutes to chat with a corporate VP about his forays into risk management. His name is Ira Brackman, and he passed along a copy of an article he wrote almost 11 years ago for a short-lived publication called Year 2000 (focusing on the computer world's Year 2000 crisis).

At a conference recently, a group of approximately 100 people had just witnessed an impressive demo of a mature application development environment. At the end of the session, there was a question-and-answer session. At one point, a fellow at the back of the room asked, "Isn't that like a CASE tool?" I was acting as the moderator, and I wasn't sure how to respond.

At a conference recently, a group of approximately 100 people had just witnessed an impressive demo of a mature application development environment. At the end of the session, there was a question-and-answer session. At one point, a fellow at the back of the room asked, "Isn't that like a CASE tool?" I was acting as the moderator, and I wasn't sure how to respond.