We are an Innovation Think Tank & Training Company.
We help organizations innovate by
filling their pipeline
with exciting ideas
improving their process
to go faster and ship more
training their people
to think innovatively
Thank you, Goering Center, for your recognition of our work in innovation, resilience, tenacity and compassion. Read more…
Doug Hall
Founder
Maggie Nichols
CEO
Our History.
Eureka! Ranch was founded more than 35 years ago by Doug Hall. Doug was at P&G and got a record number of innovations shipped in a short period of time with a tiny staff and budget (9 products in 12 months with a team of 3). He did this by using a systems approach because of his knowledge of the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the inspiration for Lean, Total Quality and Six Sigma.
Doug left P&G and founded Eureka! Ranch and started helping large companies like Nike, American Express, and Disney create big, disruptive ideas, which it continues to do today.
By the early 2000s, it became clear that some companies did not have the systems in place to commercialize the disruptive ideas Eureka! Ranch helped create. They would either compromise the ideas (to pass Stage-Gate milestones) or even kill them due to fear of change.
That experience inspired a sabbatical at the University of Maine and the creation of a new field of study, Innovation Engineering®. It includes 48 skills or competencies for creating, communicating, and commercializing meaningfully unique ideas and system driven leadership skills that help innovation leaders implement the system company-wide. It teaches people to create disruptive ideas like we do (not guru, it’s a system), but also teaches them what to do next – all the way to market/implementation.
We found that the preacher teacher approach (lecture then test) did not work, and results varied professor to professor. That’s when we developed the patent-pending Cycles to Mastery® teaching method. In our certification programs, these are submitted to a human grader who provides feedback. Students adjust and submit till approved. No test needed. That’s what we mean by Cycles to Mastery.
On campus the courses are taught under the “Innovation Engineering” brand. For consumers and businesses, it’s available as professional development under the Jump Start Your Brain® (JSYB) brand. We’re making it easier for everyone across the company from the front lines to CEO to learn and apply innovation skills. We have 100s of micro-lessons, tools, badge courses, and certifications that can be customized and plugged into an LMS or accessed through our platform.
Today the Ranch is led by CEO, Maggie Nichols, and a strong cadre of innovators, engineers, educators, and programmers, with founder, Doug Hall, remaining actively engaged as CIO and on special projects. We help organizations in 3 ways: 1) building their innovation pipeline, 2) improving their innovation process, and 3) training their people to think more innovatively. We work with large multinationals, non-profits, and small and mid-size companies around the globe to help them think & act smarter, faster & more innovatively.
OUR WORK
Success Stories, Case Studies and Client Testimonials
Most of our work is of the strictest confidence. We work in innovation after all and the results of our work are not just Intellectual Property, but often filed as provisional patents. So while it means we can’t brag about everything we get to do, it does mean we get to work on some pretty incredible “super top secret” things.
Eureka! Inventing Success Story
Samsung’s Innovation Success Story
Case Studies
Read Our Case Studies
Client Testimonials
Hear from our past and current clients about their experience working with the Eureka Team.
Recent Innovation R&D Accomplishments
We believe that any good innovation firm should be able to answer the question, “What innovations have you shipped in your own industry? How are you different than you were 3 years ago?” Below are a list of innovations, breakthroughs and original R&D we’ve pioneered in the field of innovation.
NUMBER 1 IN THE WORLD
The demand for a smarter and faster innovation system is so great that Innovation Engineering has taken off. Here are the numbers:
- Innovations worth $19 billion in net marketplace value in active development.
- Over 35,000 trained
- Over 50 Innovation Engineering Network partners – colleges, universities and consultancies.
- Thought Leading Companies that have contributed data and insights to the movement include: Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Toyota Manufacturing, Nestle, Walt Disney, Nike, American Express, Ford Motor Company, and thousands of others.
THE WORLD'S FIRST VALIDATED METRICS SYSTEM FOR INNOVATION
Modeling innovation metrics can be tricky because there are so many unknowns. Innovation Engineering metrics actually incorporate that variation to create models so predictive Jim Filliben of the National Institute of Standards and Technology presented a paper validating the approach.
INVENTED & VALIDATED A SYSTEM THAT IS 500% MORE EFFECTIVE THAN BRAINSTORMING
The Stimulus Response® method makes it easy for anyone to create innovate solutions to their daily challenges and business problems.
INVENTED & VALIDATED AN IDEA DECISION SYSTEM THAT IS 7X SMARTER THAN HUMANS
Merwyn Rapid Research® research provides data grounded principles for improving odds of success plus a quantitative assessment that tells you the true odds of success.
VALIDATED - INCREASED INNOVATION SPEED (UP TO 6X) AND DECREASED RISK (UP TO 10X SUCCESS)
Step change improvement in innovation metrics is a result of transitioning from a “guru” model for innovation to enabling innovation by everyone through applying System Driven Innovation® principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming.
THE WORLD'S FIRST 5 YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST FOR INNOVATION
Using a blend of Fourt Woodlock & Bass Diffusion models, the 5 Year Life Cycle model can predict sales over 5 years & the impact of diffusion on word-of-mouth.
THE WORLD'S FIRST APPLICATION OF "PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT" INTO INNOVATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Deming’s Plan, Do, Study, Act method for never-ending improvement goes beyond principle. The Innovation Engineering Labs Project Management tool makes “PDSA” a built in part of the work process, ensuring that learning & documentation are natural parts of every innovation project.
INVENTED & VALIDATED A TEACHING SYSTEM THAT IS 200 TO 400% MORE EFFECTIVE WITH ADULTS
Patent-pending Cycles to Mastery® enables everyone who is willing to achieve mastery.
VALIDATED AS "BREAKOUT INNOVATION SYSTEM” BY STANFORD
A team of Stanford researchers found that most “innovation methods” don’t actually result in innovative solutions. Most simply result in “innovation as usual.” They found that Innovation Engineering went beyond “Innovation-as-Usual” to true Breakout Innovation – out performing even IDEO.
TRANSFORMED INNOVATION FROM A RANDOM GAMBLE TO A RELIABLE SYSTEM
The Innovation Engineering field of study transforms innovation into a real science. It’s grounded in the world’s largest database of quantitative data on innovation – over 26,000 innovations, deep data on 15,000 teams, over $14 billion in innovations as they go from raw idea to reality.
THE FIRST COMPLETE SYSTEM THAT DRIVES A 72% INCREASE IN NET INNOVATION VALUE
Unlike others that are front end driven, Innovation Engineering goes all the way to reality. The result is ideas grow in value all through development instead of declining. (Leading organizations cite “normal” development systems make innovation values decrease 50% or more.)
publications
Newest Release
DRIVING EUREKA!
Problem-Solving with Data-Driven Methods and the Innovation Engineering System
Best-selling business author Doug Hall presents the System Driven Innovation scientific method for enabling innovation by everyone, everywhere, every day. It’s the essential resource you need to enable yourself―and your team―to innovate, succeed, and do amazing things that matter, on a daily basis.
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We understand Amazon can be fast and easy.
One-Hour Abridged Audio
Driving Eureka! Podcast
After spending years hosting Brain Brew, a national radio show on public radio for innovators and entrepreneurs, Doug Hall has returned to share news, hope and wisdom on doing and leading innovation.
Books
JUMP START YOUR BRAIN
A Proven Method For Increasing Creativity 500%
Jump Start Your Brain is a fun, inspiring and insightful how-to look at maximizing your brain’s power and putting productive creativity to work for you.
“Required reading. Hall reveals how you can retrain your brain to think of more creative ideas. The book is funny and packed with anecdotes.” – Entrepreneur Magazine
JUMP START YOUR MARKETING BRAIN
Truths, Tactics & Techniques For Measurable Success
This book is a DEEP DIVE into the complex world of sales and marketing. It’s for those with a genuine commitment to measurably improving their success rate.
It was originally published in hardcover as Meaningful Marketing. The book won critical acclaim but its “academic style” prevented it from reaching the mass audience of Jump Start Your Business Brain. A comprehensive redesign and rewrite has added caffeinated energy as well as even more meaningful advice and ideas for improving your sales and marketing success rates.
JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS BRAIN
Win More – Lose Less & Make More Money with Your Sales, Marketing & Innovation Efforts
Jump Start Your Business Brain details six principles for measurably improving your marketing and innovation success rates.These principles are the core religion that Doug and his Eureka! Team leverage when working with the big guys-companies like Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay and Bank of America.
However, the little guys and non-profits can leverage them as well. In fact, the book cites real cases of small business owners who’ve realized a 10 to 50% increase in sales as a result of applying the six principles.
MAKING THE COURAGE CONNECTION
How People Get from Fear to Freedom – and How You can Too
Making the Courage Connection is a look at courage, through an inspiring blend of essays and real-life profiles of people with the gumption to live their lives to the fullest.
“It takes courage to live in our world today. Making the Courage Connection tells, in an interesting and dramatic way, how one can make life worth living by taking control.” – Ruth Stafford Peale, widow of Norman Vincent Peale, Author The Power Of Positive Thinking
White Papers
3 Simple Principles for Thinking About Innovation Training
Over the past decade, the we have been experimenting, failing, and pouring over the academic research to find the most reliable methods for transforming an organization’s culture to one that embraces and practices innovation.
What we’ve learned is that the transformation can be achieved with three simple principles in mind: autonomy for your employees to opt in, the opportunity to apply a new skill set and mindset, and a sense of belonging to something greater than a job or silo. But, what does that mean? Download the e-book and find out!
Authored by:
Maggie Pfeifer, VP of Education, Eureka! Ranch
Why Merwyn Simulated Test Marketing Helps You Make Smarter Business Development Decisions
Merwyn is a revolutionary approach to business development decision-making. However, the elements that drive success with Merwyn and the Marketplace, are ageless. To win, managers must develop bold, customer-driven concepts and communicate them with outstanding overtness, clarity, and focus.
The purpose of this paper is to provide our rationale regarding the system’s pedigree and, more importantly, how it is that Merwyn can be more predictive of actual marketplace results than classic concept testing.
Co-Authored by:
Greg Lemmon, Statistician, Eureka! Ranch
Doug Hall, CEO/Founder, Innovation Engineering Institute
Psychological Drivers of Business Technology Innovation
This academic article outlines, with empirical evidence, what drives innovation success. Thanks to years of measurement by the Eureka! Ranch and the Innovation Engineering Institute, the robust data set gives a unique and data-grounded peek into what really makes innovation take hold.
It concludes: The most significant drivers of innovation are the system for innovation and the clarity of a proactive strategy on the part of the company. Top management must proactively develop a system that encourages widespread participation in innovation and guides the direction toward it.
Co-Authored by:
Dr. Lynn Kahle, University of Oregon
Greg Lemmon, Statistician, Eureka! Ranch
Doug Hall, CEO/Founder, Innovation Engineering Institute
While working to invent BIG IDEAS for companies, we’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to invent and ship innovation. In 2018 at our annual conference, we announced the public release of Innovation Engineering as a system for innovation at scale.
Our HEADQUARTERS
While we do work all over the world, our headquarters is in Cincinnati, Ohio USA. Often dubbed a “safe-haven for creative thinking” it’s a custom built facility that hosts inventing sessions & innovation classes.
3849 Edwards Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45244
+1 513 271 9911
Tucked away corners, like the Library, give you a spot for some quiet deep thinking.
A 1.3 mile path surrounds the lake behind the Ranch
The Eureka! Room is bathed in light and is the perfect versatile space for large groups or small teams to settle in and think big.
State of the Art Gym
Located just 40 minutes from the CVG International Airport