prof. dr. Paul Louis Iske

About Paul Louis Iske

Paul Iske is professor of Open Innovation & Business Venturing at Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics. Here he is mainly concerned with service innovation and social innovation, with a specialty in Combinatoric Innovation. It is his mission to make organisations smarter, more innovative and more enterprising.

As founder of the Institute for Brilliant Failures, he aims to foster understanding of the complexity of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Organisations are confronted with significant, sometimes disruptive changes and must demonstrate agility and resilience. Often, renewing the business model is necessary, requiring creativity, courage, and positive energy. The art lies in developing environments where innovation and entrepreneurship can thrive.

‘Many people are convinced that positive thinking increases the chance of success. Ambitions may lie in various fields such as business, health, education, sport, love, etc. Indeed, scientific research shows that under certain conditions, optimism helps in achieving objectives. This seems like a conclusion that is as logical as it is welcome. However, life is often more complicated than we would like. As Einstein said:

We should make things as simple as possible, but no simpler than that.

Paul holds a PhD in theoretical physics and worked at Shell, where he primarily connected knowledge within and outside the company.

Paul Iske is a speaker and consultant in the areas of creativity, innovation, intellectual capital, knowledge management, and entrepreneurship. He does this both within the private and (semi-)public sector at home and abroad.