Bill Fischer is a Professor of Innovation Management at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he co-founded and co-directs the program on Driving Strategic Innovation in cooperation with MIT’s Sloan School of Management. An engineer by training, Bill spent ten years in China, where he became the President of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and received the Silver Magnolia award, Shanghai’s highest award for foreigners contributing to the city’s development. His research and writing addresses innovation and talent development and expression in a variety of organizational settings; his most recent books include Reinventing Giants: How Chinese Global Competitor Haier Has Changed the Way Big Companies Transform and The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make Them Happen.

Bill was recognized by InnovationExcellence.com as a top innovation blogger in 2012 for his “The Idea Business” <http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfischer/> blog on Forbes.com, and a top innovation Twitter sharer in 2013, @bill_fischer <https://twitter.com/bill_fischer> .

Bill Fischer’s visit to Innovation Navigation encouraged everyone to become what he calls an “idea hunter.” Fischer specializes in the processes – available to everyone – that lead to good ideas, and talked listeners through his IDEA framework: be Interested, get Diverse input, Exercise your brain, and stay Agile. Bill recommends that every idea hunter also focus on meaningful conversations with customers and value chain partners to stay connected with the user experience, which drives great innovation.