Why Operational Excellence Will Kill Your Company (and How to Survive)
Every large organization is focused on Operational Excellence—the relentless pursuit of doing things better and cheaper to improve today’s profits. As an economist and strategic advisor, I understand the value of this. Operational excellence generates your profits today. But here is the hard truth: In the long run, you cannot survive by just doing the […]
Innovative Projects: How to Master Your “Opportunity Space” and Persuade Leadership
Many leaders and managers from those starting their careers to seasoned executives aged 55 to 65 ask me the same question: “I want a new challenge, but I don’t know my options. How do I understand what is possible before I decide where to go?” As a Strategic Advisor, I see this as the search […]
How to Integrate Innovation into Your Daily Leadership Routine
Leaders often ask me: “Alan, how do I stay ahead of the curve while managing the daily fire drill?” Innovation shouldn’t be a one-off event or a “future-day” at the office. It must be a managed discipline integrated into your daily habits. Just like a daily stand-up, thinking about the future is a strategic mandate. […]
Digital Innovation Processes: Why Virtual Collaboration is the New Standard for Leadership
Every year on April 21st, the UN World Creativity and Innovation Day aims to make innovation more visible. To mark this occasion, I’ve shared concrete strategies for driving innovation within organizations—strategies that go beyond theory and focus on structured execution. Recently, I had the opportunity to lead a series of collaborative sessions focused on how […]
4 Lessons my early career taught me about Strategy and Innovation Management
My journey into the world of strategic command wasn’t born in a creative lab; it was forged through years of technical discipline and the demanding environments of international management. Balancing a rigorous technical education while working in high-pressure roles taught me that innovation is a project of precision, not luck. Looking back at my role […]
Money vs. Method: How to Innovate with a Focus on Value
Beyond “Deep Pockets”: Why Method Outperforms Budget in Innovation There is a dangerous myth in the corporate world that innovation is an exclusive privilege of those with unlimited budgets—the so-called “Deep Pockets.” If this were true, startups would never defeat giants in their own markets. The reality is that excess capital often masks a lack […]
Why Innovation Dies in the Boardroom?
Where Great Strategies Die: The Engineering of Command in the Boardroom Have you ever witnessed a brilliant idea being stifled in a board meeting? This phenomenon is common: projects with high disruptive potential die silently—not for lack of technical merit, but due to failures in the Engineering of Command. Many leaders believe that to innovate, […]
Os 10 Livros de Inovação Essenciais para Líderes Estratégicos
A inovação não é uma corrida para quem tem a melhor ideia. É uma disciplina. É uma habilidade de gestão que, no mundo de hoje, define a linha entre a sobrevivência e o esquecimento. Para líderes e executivos que sentem a pressão da mudança, o conhecimento é o maior ativo. Mas com tantas obras teóricas, […]
Os 10 melhores livros de gestão e inovação para liderar o futuro
No mundo de hoje, o conhecimento é a principal moeda de troca. Para líderes e executivos, manter-se relevante significa ter uma sede constante por aprendizado, e os livros são a fonte mais rica e atemporal de insights estratégicos. Mas com tantas opções, por onde começar? Nós compilamos duas listas que vão direto ao ponto: uma […]
Leaders 5.0: Writing Humanity’s Next Chapter Together
At Rio Innovation Week, an event with 180,000 visitors in 3 days, I walked on stage SOCIETY 5.0 with a simple message: “We are not here to fight against machines — we are here to write the next chapter of humanity.” This wasn’t just a keynote line. It’s a compass I’ve been carrying for years, […]