This week participated in Innovation Roundtable’s workshop in “Creating a Culture for Intrapreneurship & Experimentation”, hosted by Allstate in Chicago, where we facilitated two discussion workshops. The first focused on the challenges of "Company Fit" and how corporate antibodies can stifle innovation and how to use the Resources, Processes, and Priorities (RPP) Framework to proactively deal with those challenges. The second workshop focused on the challenges of the "uncertainty" inherent in all innovation and how to use "strategy modeling" to help uncertainty drive and priority innovation activities rather to stall them.

This article was featured in InnoLead's Spring Pointers series focused on difficult truths that innovation and growth focused consulting firms often face with clients. Our article discussed some of the key differences between what clients sometimes 'think' is an innovation and growth portfolio strategy, but really isn't. Of course, we also describe the key factors needed to build a 'real' portfolio strategy to manage risk and drive success.

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, strategy and innovation consultants face both challenges and opportunities as software becomes increasingly essential to their practice. With technological change accelerating product lifecycles and business model disruption, consultants must adapt by either building their own software solutions, partnering with established providers, or risking irrelevance by maintaining the status quo. The ideal approach combines high-value consulting expertise with purpose-built software tools, creating a powerful hybrid model that delivers both personalized guidance and scalable implementation. BRI's Growth Forge Affiliate Program represents such a partnership opportunity, offering consultants a platform designed by industry practitioners for active strategy building and validation, while enabling a more sustainable business model through ongoing revenue sharing and continuous innovation.

As artificial intelligence reaches new heights of capability and attention, organizations everywhere are grappling with how to effectively leverage these powerful toolswhile managing their inherent risks and limitations. This post briefly summarizes BRI's position on AI in new product or business innovation and how we will leverage AI capabilities in our Growth Forge software.

BRI Associates announces major update to it's Growth Forge Innovation Management Software. This update include several new strategy modeling tools for clearify strategic objectives and quickly exploring high level strategy options, as well as new tools and tool updates to discovery, refine, and prioritize target customer Jobs to be Done and solution requirements. There are also several updates to help new users and improve ease of use, including inital AI assist features. YouTube onboarding and overview videos and the new Discord community are now available to help support users as well. Full details in the blog post.

Trigate Strategy Coaching, PBJ, and BRI Associates have collaborated to develop the Strategy Foundations Suite of tools for the Growth Forge platform. Together, the partners bring decades of world-class experience in business leadership, strategy, and innovation. The Strategy Foundations tools are software that help clients frame their strategic aspirations in the context of the dynamic environment they operate in, quickly explore a diverse range of strategy options to achieve their aspirations, and assess how effectively their strategy is understood by critical stakeholders within the organization once enacted. Clients of each partner can use these tools in workshops, coaching engagements, and as part of a subscription to the Growth Forge suite.

There's now a Growth Forge Community forum on Discord where users can share best practices and get help fro each other and BRI Associates.

As we celebrate our seventh anniversary at BRI Associates, we reflect on the meaningful relationships we've built and the milestones we've achieved in helping businesses innovate and grow. We're grateful for the trust and collaboration from our clients and partners, which inspire us to continuously refine our offerings and look forward to many more years of shared success together!

We’re thrilled to announce that Manoj Agnihotri is joining the BRI team as our Chief AI Advisor! With his extensive experience in delivering cutting-edge AI solutions, Manoj will be instrumental in enhancing Growth Forge's AI capabilities. His proven ability to forge successful partnerships will also help us attract new partners and customers.

PBJ announces availability of their Strategy Diagnostic Survey, powered by BRI's Growth Forge software. The SDS is designed to help leadership teams pinpoint strengths and identify gaps in their strategic approach, providing actionable insights to drive innovation and growth. By making the SDS available within Growth Forge, companies can now take a holistic approach to innovation management and strategy development, ensuring alignment from the leadership team down to execution. To celebrate this milestone, PBJ are offering free access to the SDS assessment AND a detailed interpretation of the results for a limited time!