(Note: this article appeared first in Fast Company Design.) What do the Mona Lisa smile and the Wall Street Journal have in common? They both employ a design principle related to subtraction and minimalism. By limiting information, they engage the imagination. In the case of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci purposefully blurred smile lines around the corners of Lisa’s mouth and eyes, the two most expressive parts of the human facial anatomy. The artist called the technique sfumato, meaning “like smoke.” The Mona Lisa smile captivates us because, in the absence of a clear expression, her…
Innovation
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Most Topular Stories
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The Art of Connecting the Dots
EDIT INNOVATION | matthew e. may15 May 2013 | 6:42 pm -
Articles: IDEO’s Designs On— Packaging Launches
IDEO14 May 2013 | 12:22 pmCore77 and Fast Company cover IDEO’s Designs On— Packaging online launch. Expired and Synthetic Biology are spotlighted. -
12 Ways to Make Bad Decisions
The Heart of Innovation16 May 2013 | 9:28 pmThere are three things that astound me about most organizations: The cro-magnon way performance reviews are done; the pitiful way brainstorm sessions are run and; the voo doo way decisions are made. What follows is an elaboration of the third -- 12 common phenomena that contribute to funky decision making. As you read, think of the teams you work most closely with, which of these behaviors describes them, and what you can do to change the game. 1. Selective Search for Evidence: Gathering facts that support pre-determined conclusions, but disregard other facts that support different… -
Spontaneous Thinking and the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Jonathan Winters
Gregg Fraley, Creativity & Innovation Consultant, Speaker » Blogg15 Apr 2013 | 9:24 am“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.” Jonathan Winters Jonathan Winters Last week, a personal hero of mine, Jonathan Winters, passed away. He had a long, full, complicated, crazy, and indeed, mad, mad, mad, mad, life. If you don’t know who he is or why I’d be doing a post about him in a creativity and innovation blog, please just go to YouTube and watch this. If you really want to snort milk through your nose, try this one. Winters was a comic genius, a creative tour-de-force, and, a man who “used” his affliction with bi-polar disorder… -
Sugar? Coffee? Or something else?
Indexed17 May 2013 | 10:54 amShare and Enjoy:
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Principled Innovation Blog
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Jeff De Cagna serving as curator for ACE Symposium on July 12
28 Apr 2013 | 8:45 pmJeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, is serving as curator and provocateur for the inaugural Association Chief Executives (ACE) Symposium, to be held on Friday, July 12 at The Gannett Building in McLean, Virginia. The ACE Symposium is open exclusively to association CEOs, and CEO attendees may register their #2 executives to participate with them in the event. The ACE Symposium will feature nine CEO Thought Leaders presenting 15-minute TED style talks organized into three critical conversation themes: the future of membership, the future of new… -
Empathy, new value creation and the stakeholders of the future
8 Apr 2013 | 5:30 amIn early January, I wrote a post on six serious ideas for 2013 that included the concept of SED, which is short for serendipity, empathy and discovery. SED is a term I coined to inspire association leaders to shift their conversations about the future in a more generative direction. Here is what I wrote about SED in that post: In 2013, I want to challenge association leaders to prepare for the vast serendipity that lives all around them, experience genuine empathy and embrace new possibilities of discovery. To fully capitalize on the power of SED, however, leaders must find the courage to be… -
Overcoming the association value gap: part II
2 Apr 2013 | 5:24 amThis post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 28, 2013. You can read Part I here. In Part I of this series earlier this month, I identified the association value gap as an underlying structural problem within membership-centric business models. Put simply, associations are unable to drive profitability solely by delivering on the membership value proposition and must find alternative ways to monetize membership to maintain their existing business models. Unfortunately, since membership-centric business models wrap all value into membership, associations… -
Jeff De Cagna to deliver keynote at CESSE 2013 Annual Meeting
31 Mar 2013 | 8:58 pmJeff De Cagna, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation, has been selected as the opening keynote speaker for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) 2013 Annual Meeting. Jeff’s keynote talk, which will take place on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at the Omni Providence Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, will focus on themes and ideas shared in his provocative free e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future. “For the CESSE 2103 opening keynote, we wanted a speaker who would confront the deep-seated… -
Overcoming the association value gap: part I
25 Mar 2013 | 6:18 amThis post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 7, 2013. In a recent post, Associations Now blogger Joe Rominiecki shared what both he and I regard as a startling fact: 53 percent of associations surveyed in 2011 had raised their dues in the previous three years. To put it another way, during the most severe economic decline in most of our lifetimes, more than half of associations surveyed still moved forward with a dues increase. This data point is significant because it is the clearest evidence yet of the value gap that continues to hamper…
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EDIT INNOVATION | matthew e. may
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The Art of Connecting the Dots
15 May 2013 | 6:42 pm(Note: this article appeared first in Fast Company Design.) What do the Mona Lisa smile and the Wall Street Journal have in common? They both employ a design principle related to subtraction and minimalism. By limiting information, they engage the imagination. In the case of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci purposefully blurred smile lines around the corners of Lisa’s mouth and eyes, the two most expressive parts of the human facial anatomy. The artist called the technique sfumato, meaning “like smoke.” The Mona Lisa smile captivates us because, in the absence of a clear expression, her… -
Don’t Dismiss The Ground Game
7 May 2013 | 4:35 pmCharles Darwin was on to something. Business innovation has a lot in common with his theory of evolution, about the origin of species. Oh, but how easily we forget, neglect, and even disrespect evolutionary innovation, and how easily our attention is riveted by ever-so-sexy revolutionary innovation. Allow me to unpack the parallels between Darwin's theories and business innovation a bit. I see a few important touchpoints. First, there’s Darwin's notion that everything can be traced to a common ancestry. Business translation: every idea has elements of the past. Take Henry Ford’s famous… -
Learning Comes First
2 May 2013 | 6:43 amOne of my favorite insights comes from Harvard's David Garvin: "Learning will always remain something of an art, but even the best artists can improve their technique." I like it because it quite subtly highlights two different yet intertwined activities, learning and training. Most companies engage in training. Few engage in real learning. Most companies focus heavily on leadership. Few focus on learnership. One path to leadership is innovation. And here's the thing: learning and innovation go hand in hand, but learning comes first. The difference between learning and training is often… -
Monster Loyalty, ala Lady Gaga
29 Apr 2013 | 12:44 pmLady Gaga is one of the most well-known pop artists in the world, which is no surprise given her vocal talents and often bizarre wardrobe. She’s sold 23 million albums, won five Grammy awards, and been named by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful celebrities. But behind the public persona lies a shrewd and calculating business professional, a marketing machine which has turned music lovers into a worldwide legion of diehard fans eager to buy her music, her concert tickets, and any and all products related to her. Is this simply a classic case of loyalty marketing and customer… -
Ingenuity: Pathway To Innovation
23 Apr 2013 | 4:16 pmI read, write, and talk about creativity and innovation ALOT--what it is, why it matters, how to pursue it. So it's time to talk a bit about what innovation isn't, and introduce a concept admittedly nuanced but that may fit a better in the business world than creativity. Not Innovation Innovation is NOT sitting around dreaming up earth-shattering ideas behind closed doors, trying to be clever and creative in concocting a new secret sauce that will blow the doors off the competition. It is making best use of one’s expertise while openly exploring possibility and defining the task at hand.
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Innovation Excellence
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Los Nueve Papeles en la Innovación – Cinco Regalos Gratis
21 May 2013 | 2:04 pmMe contraigo cada vez que veo un nuevo artículo tratando de decir básicamente que algunas personas son innovadoras y otras no, o que ciertos individuos son más innovadores que otros. Simplemente no es verdad. Soy un firme creyente de que no se trata de personalidades cuando se trata de innovación, se trata de los papeles que desempeñamos al hacer que ocurra (o no) la innovación. Continue reading → -
Are You Ready for the Digital Revolution? [infographic]
21 May 2013 | 2:00 pmAs the Internet of Everything begins to infiltrate the 80% of business/industry categories that have not been disrupted yet (yes we are still coming after your sector), McKinsey frames a simplified view for CMO's/CSO's to grasp the opportunity around harnessing Big Data mining capabilities to better target, engage and retain the next-generation of multi-channel, always-on, cloud-computing consumers. Continue reading → -
Download Innovation Excellence Weekly magazine v33
21 May 2013 | 11:00 amWe know some IX community members want to get great innovation content, but don't come to the site every day. So to help them make sure they didn't miss the best innovation articles of the week, we have launched Innovation Excellence Weekly - the magazine - so that you can download the ten best articles of the week to your: Nook from Barnes & Noble, Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Samsung GalaxyTab, other trusty tablet, laptop, or desktop computer (PC or Mac). Think of it as Innovation Excellence to go. Continue reading → -
Whitney Johnson #BIF7 Summit: Strong Sequel for Real Working Girl
21 May 2013 | 8:30 amWhitney Johnson dared to disrupt herself when she began her Wall Street career as a secretary, eventually rising to become an Institutional Investor-ranked sell-side equity analyst and now Co-Founder of Clayton Christensen’s investment firm Rose Park Advisors’ Disruptive Innovation Fund. She took the #BIF7 Summit stage with one question: are you ready to disrupt yourself? Watch her story and follow the inspiration at the #BIF9 Summit. Continue reading → -
Free, a radical story turning disruptive (1/3)
21 May 2013 | 5:00 amWhat is radical and what is disruptive innovation? Following clarification on these notions, we go through the story of Free, a French alternative Telco which amazing adventure goes from radical to disruptive innovation. Continue reading →
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IDEO
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Articles: IDEO’s Designs On— Packaging Launches
14 May 2013 | 12:22 pmCore77 and Fast Company cover IDEO’s Designs On— Packaging online launch. Expired and Synthetic Biology are spotlighted. -
Articles: How to Create Great Digital Experiences
4 May 2013 | 12:08 pmIDEO’s Duane Bray sits down with Smashing Magazine to discuss agile development, digital prototyping, and why he still sketches interfaces out on paper. -
Events: Tim Brown and Yves Behar on Design Thinking at the Commonwealth Club
30 Apr 2013 | 11:56 amKALW 91.7 FM broadcasts Tim Brown and Yves Behar’s Commonwealth Club conversation on design thinking. Check out the segment here. -
Articles: To Create the Future of Brand Identity, IDEO Looks Inward
23 Apr 2013 | 4:40 pmFast Company’s Co. Design summarizes IDEO’s creative ideation exercise “Brand New IDEO” and hints at what brand identity may look like 15 years from now. Click here for the full article and check out the IDEO Tumblr site here. -
Articles: What Business Can Learn From Social Movements
19 Apr 2013 | 4:18 pmIn To Tweet Or Not to Tweet: What Business Can Learn From Social Movements, Suzanne Gibbs Howard explains how design principles gleaned from social movements can help organizations achieve influence at scale in the Spring 2013 issue of Rotman Magazine.
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Innovation Management
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新兴市场的颠覆性创新
20 May 2013 | 10:55 pm设立于发展中国家的公司目前正为数十亿的当地消费者提供创新且廉价的产品。当更多的公司跻身于更发达的市场时会发生什么呢？ -
Governing Innovation in Practice – The Role of the Board of Directors
20 May 2013 | 3:01 pmIs innovation part of the governance mission of boards of directors? At first sight, the answer seems to be “no”. In this new series of two articles professor Jean-Phillipe Deschamps delves deeper into the specific role of the board of directors and that of top management in exercising their innovation governance responsibilities. -
Improving Time to Innovation: Process is Not the Enemy
20 May 2013 | 3:13 amWhile most companies see innovation as a competitive advantage, the ability to take an idea from concept todeliveryis truly what sets one company apart from another. Achieving this level of operational efficiency is not a simple feat and without processes around resource management and capacity planning, it is unlikely to succeed. The fact is, no matter how brilliant or timely an idea, if the right resources are not available to work on it, the idea simply remains an idea. -
独家采访：理查德•李华–西方管理与东方哲学的结合
16 May 2013 | 11:59 pm当前，学术界围绕西方管理与东方哲学相结合的研讨已经取得了显著的成效，这主要归因于欧洲和中国在过去的30年都取得了举世瞩目的发展，而且双方在历史上的合作还从未如此紧密。在这此专访中，理查德·李华教授介绍了关于这个话题的一些关键因素，并指出创新管理者应该怎样从这种中西结合中获益。 -
Synthetic Biology Begins To Deliver
16 May 2013 | 10:47 pmSynthetic biology moves us from reading to writing DNA, allowing us to design biological systems from scratch for any number of applications. Its capabilities are becoming clearer, its first products and processes emerging. Synthetic biology’s reach already extends from reducing our dependence on oil to transforming how we develop medicines and food crops. It is being heralded as the next big thing; whether it fulfils that expectation remains to be seen. It will require collaboration and multi-disciplinary approaches to development, application and regulation. Interesting times ahead!
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Knowledge@Wharton
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Adobe's Shift to the Cloud: Is This the Start of a Trend?
8 May 2013 | 1:54 pmAdobe, the leading software company targeting creative professionals, is exiting the shrink-wrap software business in favor of subscription-based software and online "cloud" services. While perhaps painful at first, the business model change will be ultimately beneficial for consumers and Adobe alike, and other software companies are likely to follow, say experts at Wharton. -
Research Roundup: Foreign Diversification, Social Comparisons and Consumer Identity
8 May 2013 | 1:54 pmIs investing in foreign stocks still a good strategy for offsetting risk and boosting returns in your portfolio? How do social comparisons impact the different dimensions of trust that people can have for each other? How can companies use emotional cues to convey a particular identity to consumers? Wharton professors Karen Lewis, Maurice Schweitzer and Patti Williams, respectively, examined these issues -- and what they mean for business and consumers -- in recent research papers. -
Wharton's 2013 Business Plan Competition: Health Care, Kids, Fashion and More
8 May 2013 | 1:54 pmFinalists in this year's Wharton Business Plan Competition proposed innovations to disrupt areas including health care, used car sales, children's retail and fashion. On the day of judgment last month, eight teams described their business plan and potential market, with several thousand dollars in prize money on the line. Check out descriptions of each plan, and see if you can guess the winner. -
As Crowdfunding Grows, the Rewards Increase -- but So Do the Risks
8 May 2013 | 1:54 pmAs the recent successful campaign to fund a movie based on the television show "Veronica Mars" proves, crowdfunding is now recognized as a reliable funding avenue for both start-ups and established firms. But the growth of the sector also creates more regulatory challenges and raises questions about the risks that funders take when they put their money behind a project. -
Beth Comstock and GE: Imagining the Future
8 May 2013 | 1:54 pmBeth Comstock, a senior vice president and chief marketing officer at General Electric, thinks everyone should embrace change, accept challenges and never fear failure. It is advice that has helped her continue to grow in her career at NBC, CBS and now GE, where, among other things, she convinced the CEO to support a new slogan for the company: "imagination at work." Comstock offered her thoughts during a Wharton Leadership Lecture.
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Gregg Fraley, Creativity & Innovation Consultant, Speaker » Blogg
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KILN Continues to Innovate Innovation Services
4 May 2013 | 8:35 amA peek at the contents of an IdeaKeg Single. I’m off to the FEI show (Front End of Innovation) in Boston this week. In my view it’s the most serious innovation conference in the world, and the USA edition features speakers and participants from a who’s who of international organizations. I’m particularly interested in hearing Denise Morrison CEO of Campbell Soup about their use of culture in the innovation process, and also Nelson Farris of Nike about corporate storytelling. It will be great to catch up with Idea Management System vendors like CogniStreamer, and… -
Spontaneous Thinking and the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Jonathan Winters
15 Apr 2013 | 9:24 am“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.” Jonathan Winters Jonathan Winters Last week, a personal hero of mine, Jonathan Winters, passed away. He had a long, full, complicated, crazy, and indeed, mad, mad, mad, mad, life. If you don’t know who he is or why I’d be doing a post about him in a creativity and innovation blog, please just go to YouTube and watch this. If you really want to snort milk through your nose, try this one. Winters was a comic genius, a creative tour-de-force, and, a man who “used” his affliction with bi-polar disorder… -
TEDxStormont – creativity and community collide in Belfast
1 Apr 2013 | 9:12 amJim Eastwood, talking about potential at TEDxStormont So, I’m talking to five beaming young people after TEDxStormont last Thursday. They’re all 20 something, glowing with energy, smiling like mad, and we’re blue streak style sharing ideas, theories, making connections –it’s a fast-paced, highly generative conversation. It occurs to me, all at once, that moments like this — are how communities are formed. And how prosperous futures are created. For Northern Ireland, I think the lasting value of the event is not the content delivered, the fun experienced,… -
Zombies, Dreamers, Managers and Leaders
18 Mar 2013 | 10:59 amImagination Segmentation (Gregg Fraley, 2013) I’ve been preparing a new keynote speech on Imagination and it’s been a real challenge to get my thoughts together on such a big and creatively important concept. My focus is usually on Creativity. To be honest I’m enthralled with the concept of imagination, and yet have avoided talking about it directly because it’s so individual and amorphous. That’s why I’m so excited about one aspect of my new talk I wanted to share it with my readers right away, so here it is, my “Johari Window” of Imagination… -
Imagination, So What?
28 Feb 2013 | 8:09 amI don’t mean to be cynical with that headline. Still, what’s imagination got to do with it? Imagination is a revered idea isn’t it? Everybody seems to want it. And yet… Who actually sets aside time to imagine? Is it focused or completely not, or both? Who tolerates the imagination of others when it’s expressed? Who and how often do people actually take action on some dream? John Lennon practically has trademarked the word, but I find his song quite challenging. “Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only…
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Bulldog Drummond - Uncommon Sense
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How to Infuse Oxygen into Your Business: Lessons Learned from the Snowboarding Industry by Andrea Kates
20 May 2013 | 9:03 amYou can’t say “no” when someone asks you to help them and the Virgin Mary is looking over your shoulder. That’s exactly how I ended up saying “yes” to an invitation to work with leaders from the active sports industry on how to breathe oxygen into their beloved sport. I was sitting at a café that’s home to the Surf Madonna mural in Encinitas, California. The surfing shrine is a legend in its own right—a semi-sacrilegious, tongue-in-cheek tribute that inspired tons of grassroots support that led to its permanent home right in the heart of surf country. However, on this… -
The Global Language Project
15 May 2013 | 9:03 am -
Grandma’s Doorway by Matthew Emerzian
13 May 2013 | 9:03 amI remember every year that I stood in the doorway at my grandma’s house so she could place a ruler on top of my head and draw a line on the wall with my name and the date next to it. I loved seeing it go up every year. I loved the day my line went above my older brother’s line, and the day I surpassed my father’s. Growing was easy. It was like an accomplishment that I did absolutely nothing to achieve, yet still completely owned it and felt great about it. But, growth is a funny thing. When we were young, it was fun and it just happened on its own. And, we loved it. We were just… -
Grow or Die by John Foster
8 May 2013 | 9:03 amThis is the irrefutable lesson of open systems, and an important key to understanding trends in your life. First let me establish the basic parts of an open system so I can easily refer to them throughout this post. An open system is any complex thing like a plant, animal, or organization. In each of these systems, there are sub-systems that interact among themselves—like breathing and blood flow, the sub-systems have components that do stuff (like lungs pulling oxygen from air), inputs to the system (like air), and outputs of the system (like bad breath). Inputs frequently have an impact… -
Urban Seating
7 May 2013 | 9:03 amPrevNext PrevNext PrevNext PrevNext Urban Seating From tree trunks to architectural sculptures and bike racks, designer Oliver Show has created a unique collection of urban seating that can be easily wrapped and zip-tied to create resting places just about anywhere.
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Endless Innovation | Big Think
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Buzz Aldrin's Out of This World Martian Technologies
20 May 2013 | 12:40 pmNobody said putting a man or woman on the surface of Mars was going to be easy. As NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin explains in his new book, Mission to Mars, it's going to require an extraordinary number of out-of-this-world technologies to make it happen -- everything from advanced robotic surface ...Read More -
DNA Street Art or the Future of Genetic Surveillance?
14 May 2013 | 8:42 amIf you thought that random samples of your DNA collected in public spaces could never be used as part of a futuristic genetic surveillance program, think again. In what has to be one of the most mind-blowing art exhibits of the year, Heather Dewey-Hagborg’s “Stranger Visions" project uses DNA ...Read More -
Cicadas and the Mathematical Brilliance of Nature
8 May 2013 | 9:46 amEven as the U.S. East Coast braces for the arrival of the bizarre infestation of cicadas that happens with clockwork precision every 17 years, we’re already seeing an infestation of cicada stories, everything from how to grill a cicada to how to make a refreshing cicada cocktail. And that’s even ...Read More -
Liked Iron Man? You'll Love Super-Sensory Augmentation
7 May 2013 | 6:15 amThe world of Iron Man may be closer to being a reality than we originally thought. A group of design students at the Royal College of Art in London recently created two different "Iron Man masks" that give their wearers sensory superpowers. One mask is worn over the ears, mouth and nose, giving ...Read More -
Social Networks or Anti-Social Surveillance Networks?
2 May 2013 | 10:06 amWe typically focus on the positive aspects of online social networks - but what about their negative aspects? As we’re seeing in the investigation into the Boston Bombers, online social networks can rapidly transform into participatory surveillance networks, in which everyone participates, at least ...Read More
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The Heart of Innovation
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Making the World's Smallest Movie
21 May 2013 | 9:40 pmIdea Champions -
"We're Moving in Another Direction"
21 May 2013 | 12:24 pmIf you work for an organization that issues RFPs to consulting companies, I have one humble request for you: Please cease and desist from using the phrase "we're moving in another direction" when it comes time to letting consultants know you've decided NOT to engage their services. It may seem like a small thing, but it's not. "We're moving in another direction" is a totally bogus phrase. It's meaningless -- a euphemism with no soul that delivers no useful information or feedback to the person to whom you are supposedly communicating. If you've asked a consultant to take the time to engage… -
An Alternative to Launching Yet Another Innovation Initiative
19 May 2013 | 1:01 pmMany organizations who want to raise the bar for innovation, end up launching some kind of internally branded "innovation initiative". Logically speaking, this makes sense, but logic is not the most effective driver of innovation. Most employees cringe at the thought of yet another "initiative" being foisted on them. So... instead of launching an initiative, help people take initiative by becoming more committed to fostering innovation in every conversation they have on the job -- something you can learn more about, in then next three minutes, by watching this newly produced 3-minute video of… -
12 Ways to Make Bad Decisions
16 May 2013 | 9:28 pmThere are three things that astound me about most organizations: The cro-magnon way performance reviews are done; the pitiful way brainstorm sessions are run and; the voo doo way decisions are made. What follows is an elaboration of the third -- 12 common phenomena that contribute to funky decision making. As you read, think of the teams you work most closely with, which of these behaviors describes them, and what you can do to change the game. 1. Selective Search for Evidence: Gathering facts that support pre-determined conclusions, but disregard other facts that support different… -
Everything You Wanted to Know About Innovation But Forgot to Ask
12 May 2013 | 6:29 pmThanks to my son, Jesse, for the timely heads up -- the first online resource he shared with me upon his return from his first year of college (Hampshire). Let's hear it for higher education! Idea Champions
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Innovate on Purpose
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The logical limits of product innovation
17 May 2013 | 7:00 amI wrote a blog piece recently entitled Breaking out of the m(old) for innovation, which attempted to point out that many innovation detractors have it all wrong. Innovation isn't stalled because we've run out of ideas or out of steam. There's a deeper issue at stake. Innovation appears stalled in many industries because the product or service has reached its point of diminishing marginal returns for innovation. In other words, for many products and services, the next big innovation will be a significant disruption. You can tell when this is true by watching… -
Creating and Sustaining Innovation Energy
15 May 2013 | 7:43 amI want to talk today about the energy required to do innovation well - where and when energy is created, why it dissipates and what you can do to sustain it. Creating Innovation EnergyThink about the times your organization has the most innovation energy. Talking about innovation, especially riffing on the "what ifs" is fun. What if we could introduce a product that made our competition obsolete? Which of us hasn't had this conversation? What if we could create a product that allowed me to drop 15 pounds and not expend any energy exercising? The… -
Winning hearts and minds for innovation
10 May 2013 | 7:15 amOne of our clients attended the recent Front End of Innovation conference. She came away very enthusiastic about innovation. For her it was enlightening to see how much fun, how much engagement was possible. She wanted to bring that engagement and infect her culture with it.This reaction serves as a reminder to me, and to many innovators, that winning innovation is about changing minds as well as hearts. This "hearts and minds" philosophy traces back to US and British special forces in distant places like Malaysia and Viet Nam, when the military realized that it needed… -
Innovation Voices: Attackers and Defenders
7 May 2013 | 6:50 amIf you missed reading the interview with Steve Case on Sunday in the New York Times, you should take a minute and read it. Go ahead, I'll wait. Pay special attention to the last question and his response about attackers and defenders.I initially skipped over the article, because I held Case in high esteem for many years when he was running AOL, and lost a lot of respect for his leadership during the merger with Time Warner. But the concept of attackers and defenders caught my eye. Case is absolutely right about this point:And I realized the world of business really… -
Breaking out of the m (old) for disruptive innovation
2 May 2013 | 6:39 amOne of the recent mantras for politicians and hand wringers around the political and social scene is the constant refrain that we've reached the end of innovation in specific fields. After all, when you evaluate, for instance, the automotive market innovation seems stalled. Cars today are a bit nicer, a bit safer, and a bit more energy efficient than they were in the 1970s, for example, but few drivers from the 1970s would find a car from 2010 strange or unusual, or frankly, very different. In many areas and many industries it appears that innovation is slowing if not…
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Scott Berkun
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Saving Your Creative Soul
15 May 2013 | 9:34 amI spoke at TEDXDepaul last month, on the invitation of Daniel Gurevich. He gave me free reign to decide what to talk about, a liberty I enjoy, so if you like this talk you can thank him too. At the event I met Alexis Finch, who was sketchnoting the event at the same time I liveblogged my notes. We made an impromptu press row right up front. Here is her sketchnote of my talk. -
Why hats and iPads are speaking mistakes
6 May 2013 | 9:48 amI spoke at TEDXDepaul last month and it was a fantastic event. The organizers Daniel Gurevich and Matt Helbig did a fine job from a speaker’s perspective. They chose a great venue, sold every ticket, paid for good A/V, the stage was well lit, and they had a great roster of other speakers (you can read my notes on all of the talks from the day here). But there’s only so much organizers can do: speakers have to do the heavy lifting of good material and delivery. Tactical mistakes are annoyances. If the material and delivery are good, people will overlook these problems. But a good… -
Why I’m not a fan of teams or religions
29 Apr 2013 | 10:50 amI don’t root for sports teams for the same reason I’m not religious. The divisions between one group and another are too arbitrary to hold my attention. If you ask a fan why they root for their particular team, it takes them some time to answer. Being a fan is not a logical choice, it’s emotional and tribal. It’s often an inherited decision, a choice not made but absorbed. Most people are fans of the nearest team, the team of their home. It’s likely their parents, grandparents and childhood friends all rooted for the same team, and the bond they feel for that… -
Truths, myths and lies
18 Apr 2013 | 11:21 pmThere are two different uses of the word myth: A falsehood, as in “the weight loss myth” A story with metaphorical truth even if not factually accurate I spend time on this blog debunking factual myths, even for things as boring as mythical numbers in schedule estimates, because I have expertise and believe people who read my blog want to know the truth. While complete ignorance is neutral, faith in a lie is dangerous. I don’t want the suspension bridge I drive across to be built on a pet theory. People with knowledge should be compelled to use what they know to… -
Why it’s ok to buy books and not read them
18 Apr 2013 | 9:16 amI used to feel guilty about books I own but haven’t read. They’d sit in piles making me feel unworthy as a writer, and reader. And no matter how many books I’d read in a year, I’d always find myself buying more. I couldn’t win. It was a destructive cycle and it drove me mad. One day I realized there was another way to frame my behavior. The goal should not be efficiency because efficiency makes you conservative. As a writer I need an ambitious curiosity, not a safe one. It’s good to take bets on books at the limits of my comfort zone. That willingness to…
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BQF Innovation Blog
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Sustainability is a driver of Innovation
20 May 2013 | 5:19 amSustainability is now accepted as good corporate practice. It has taken a while but we have all come to understand that the planet is a valuable resource that should be treated with care. It is now recognised that we need to design sustainability into our products from the start, not just add it on as an afterthought. So how can we do this? Here are some fine recent examples of product and service innovations that incorporate sustainability. Replenish. Most household cleaners consist of a disposable plastic bottle, a detergent and a lot of water. Shipping a product which is 90%… -
Innovate your process by rearranging the blocks
18 May 2013 | 12:06 amIf you want to innovate with a process or a service then try focusing on this word – rearrange. Describe your current process as a series of steps. Draw them out as a block diagram. Now try moving the blocks around and see where this leads. Ray Kroc delivered a major innovation with the concept of fast food at MacDonald’s. The process steps for a conventional restaurant are something like this: Customer selects choice from menu Waiter takes order from customer to kitchen Kitchen prepares food. Waiter delivers food to customer Customer consumes food Waiter presents bill Customer… -
When Innovation Threatens your Business transfer your expertise.
30 Apr 2013 | 10:54 amWhat do you do if you find yourself in a position like Kodak when an external innovation threatens to put you out of business? List your core skills then adapt or die. Daniel Peter, who was born in 1836, was a Swiss candle-stick maker whose business started to suffer because of the new invention of oil lamps. He had a factory that could pour liquid candle wax into molds. How could he adapt these skills? He decided to make chocolate bars but he wanted to do some to differentiate his product from the competition. At that time chocolate was dark and bitter. Daniel Peter tried to… -
What is the Ideal Length of Time for a CEO to be in Office?
26 Mar 2013 | 11:11 amIs there an ideal length of time for a CEO to hold office? It appears that in general there is and it is around 5 years. This is the conclusion of a study carried out on 356 US companies from 2000 to 2010 by Xueming Luo, Vamsi Kanuri and Michelle Andrews of the University of Texas as reported in a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review. They measured the strengths of the firm-employee relationship and the firm-customer relationship. They found that both measures improved in the early part of a new CEO’s career. Although the employee relationship then continued to… -
Everything can be redesigned. Everything can be better.
22 Mar 2013 | 8:06 amEvery man-made thing you use or see can be redesigned. Every design can be improved upon. The force and benefits of innovation can be applied to every thing, process, method or product that you can imagine. Take the humble egg carton that we are all familiar with. It was designed 100 years ago by Joseph Coyle and it is such a good and practical design that we take it for granted. The BBC Futures section tells of a new design from Hungarian art student Eva Valicsek. She designed her egg box with an open top so that you can see the eggs. And her box comes as a flat pack for…
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Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen Shapiro
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My SUCCESS Magazine Audio Interview
13 May 2013 | 3:00 amBusiness Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroToday’s Monday Morning Movie is actually an audio file… In the October 2012 issue of SUCCESS Magazine, there was a four page article by yours truly. You’ve been able to read the article online since it was published. (It is the cover article; “Innovate of Die!”) However, unless you subscribe to the magazine, you will not have heard my 22 minute interview with SUCCESS Magazine’s publisher, Darren Hardy. It was on the CD included with the magazine, but not available anywhere else. Darren was kind… -
Facts About Happiness That May Surprise You
11 May 2013 | 11:06 amBusiness Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroToday’s Friday Fun Fact… At the end of this month, I will be speaking in Copenhagen at a Happiness at Work Conference. This got me thinking about what it is that makes people truly joyous. Business Insider gathered some research on this topic and amassed 36 Scientific Facts about happiness, some that may come as a surprise. Here are a few of my favorites: You have to earn 2.5x as much money to be as happy working for someone else as you would be working for yourself: Perhaps that is why Forbes reported that… -
A Toast to Creativity
26 Apr 2013 | 8:00 amBusiness Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroToday’s Friday Fun Fact… In previous posts, I have shared a variety of activities that I engage in to still my mind and foster more creative thinking. These include activities like walking on the beach, meditating or sitting in the hot tub. Andrew Jarosz for the University of Illinois shares another way… drinking alcohol. In his recent study, Jarosz found that a moderate level of alcohol “loosens a person’s focus of attention, making it easier to find connections among remotely related ideas.” The study… -
Be Alive; Be Creative
17 Apr 2013 | 3:00 amBusiness Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroHere’s the transcription of my Monday Morning Movie… The other day I attended a small group session on creativity. Less than a dozen people were in the room, from all walks of life. Most of them weren’t from the world of business. The facilitator asked the question, “What is creativity?” I decided to sit back and see what others would say. I heard the types of responses that I would typically hear if I asked that question in a corporation. For example, it’s about new ideas. It’s about novelty. -
Meeting George
16 Apr 2013 | 8:28 amBusiness Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroBack in 2006, my Goal-Free Living book was published by Wiley, and I was feeling quite proud. Later that same year, after giving a speech in Los Angeles, I drove up to Santa Barbara to attend a conference, arriving just in time for lunch. While standing in the line for the buffet, I turned around and said hi to the guy next to me. He told me his name was George. He then asked me what I did. Given my new book and the success of my speech earlier that day, I said with a bit of swagger, “I’m an author and professional speaker.” I…
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Working Knowledge ®
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World’s Biggest Challenges are its Biggest Market Opportunities
29 Apr 2013 | 12:07 amPoint: While many wring their hands over seemingly insurmountable problems, entrepreneurs roll up their sleeves and work on solutions. Story: Peter Diamondis, founder of the X PRIZE Foundation and Zero Gravity Corp, is particularly optimistic. Seeing what small teams can accomplish with today’s technologies, he sees limitless opportunities. “A Maasai tribesman in Kenya today has better mobile communications than President Reagan had 25 years ago. If they’re on a smartphone, they have access to more information than President Clinton did 15 years ago,” he says. These… -
Quick-Win Innovations
1 Apr 2013 | 11:15 pmPoint: Get quick wins by encouraging small experiments throughout the organization. They’re fast, inexpensive, and reduce the fear of failure. Story: One of the biggest obstacles to innovation is fear of failure. Rarely do people want to bet their careers or companies on what might — or might not — be the next big thing. But fear of failure becomes a self-imposed obstacle to success. As Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos says, “Innovation is part and parcel with going down blind alleys. You can’t have one without the other. But every once in a while, you go down an… -
Innovation: Harnessing 3.8 Billion Years of R&D
6 Mar 2013 | 6:16 amPoint: If you’re stuck on how to solve a problem, see if nature has already solved that problem. Story: Nature has already solved many challenges; the best solutions have survived and improved through evolution. Consider this example: termite mounds such as those of the Macrotermes michaelseni exist in African environments where the external temperature varies from 35°F at night to 104°F during the day. The living areas inside the termite mounds, however, maintain a constant internal temperature within one degree of 87 °F, day and night. Millions of years of evolution perfected the… -
Pixar: Space as an Instrument for Collaboration
7 Feb 2013 | 9:19 amPoint: Design physical spaces for unplanned collaborations that spark creativity. Story: One place to look for advice on designing physical spaces for creativity and collaboration is Stanford’s design school, the birthplace of design thinking as we know it today. (The term dates back to Herbert Simon’s 1969 book, The Sciences of the Artificial and was further explained by Robert McKim’s book, Experiences in Visual Thinking, but it was Stanford’s Rolf Faste and David Kelley who popularized the term and applied it to business.) Now, Scott Doorley and Scott Witthoft,… -
GameChanger: Open Innovation through Angel Investing
12 Jan 2013 | 8:02 amPoint: Create an internal venture fund to incubate revolutionary ideas. Story: This week’s Innovation Summit at the Shell Technology Center Houston (STCH) highlighted the need for innovation and collaboration to solve society’s most pressing challenges. As the world’s problems become more complex, the best way to tackle them is with a cross-disciplinary approach. What are some ways that companies can foster this multidisciplinary collaboration to achieve breakthrough innovation? One way is to create an open mechanism inside the company that solicits promising ideas…
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Creativity and Innovation in Business
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What's going on in Los Angeles Now?
20 May 2013 | 11:25 amWhat's going on in Los Angeles Now? Latest Events, News and Tweets about Los Angeles What's going on in Los Angeles now? Connect with Los Angeles oGoing on Twitter Do you need help with social media marketing on Twitter in Los Angeles? Check out oGoing's affordable social media services for $99 monthly, oGoing Max. Learn more -
Why Small Business Needs Social Media?
8 May 2013 | 12:27 pmAre you a small business owner, entrepreneur, service provider, executive or professional? How are you marketing your small business on one or more of these key social media networks? The Key Benefits of Social Mediaaccording to Social Media Examiner, include: Gaining more Exposure (for your business on the web) Increasing Traffic (to your website and your services) Providing Marketplace Insight (to your customers) Generating Warm Leads (for your sales) Developing Loyal Fans (and growing your brand) Improving Search Engine Ranking or SEO rank Establishing & Growing New Business… -
Is Samsung Galaxy S4 the Most Innovative Smartphone?
5 May 2013 | 10:03 pmSamsung boldly claims: The Next Big Thing Is Here taking a page out of Apple's marketing book! What are the killer, innovative features of the new Galaxy S4 according to Samsung? It Takes a Lot of Thingsto be The Next Big Thing Erase a photo's background distractions with just a touch. Skip channel surfing and change the TV channel right from your phone. Preview photos and files or read a news article without ever touching the screen. Use one screen to check Facebook® as you catch up on email. The Galaxy S 4 does things the way they should be done-your way. Amazing in a Whole New Way… -
Promote your Business to 300,000 Small Business Owners in Southern California
5 May 2013 | 2:54 pmoGoing Small Business Social Network has a Special Offer for our Business Owners in Southern California The Offer oGoing will promote your specific product or service in front of over 300,000 small business owners in Southern California through Facebook (from Los Angeles to San Diego, Santa Ana to Riverside.) Who is our target audience? 1. Small Business Owner Category on Facebook 2. Age 25 or higher (i.e. more matured business owners) 3. Own and operate a business in Southern California Your specific product or service announcement will be promoted through oGoing's Facebook page that gets… -
5 Social Media Marketing Tips To Attract New Customers
22 Apr 2013 | 8:29 pmFive tips to attract new customers using social media marketing and branding 1. Create Beautiful Profile. Edit your Social Network Profile, update your correct company information, and add your beautiful company logo (go to Settings after you login). If you are also on LinkedIn, FacebookTwitter, Google+ and YouTube, connect these to your profiles. The more complete a profile, the better visibility it gets on Google, Yahoo and Bing and other search engines, resulting in higher SEO ranking. Don't forget to confirm your account email to get full access, receive notifications, and greater…
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InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs
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iPad Exam App Takes Testing Offline
21 May 2013 | 1:40 pmExamSoft app not only makes the Web off limits, it creates new possibilities, such as med school tests in the morgue. -
Sprint Increases Offer For Clearwire
21 May 2013 | 1:11 pmSprint proposed $2 billion for Clearwire last year, but had to increase the offer to $2.5 billion, or $3.40 per share. -
Flickr Can Store Any Data, Not Just Photos
21 May 2013 | 1:08 pmFlickr offers a terabyte of free data, but, thanks to an outside developer, photographers may not be the only ones who find a way to use that space. -
VMware Reveals Hybrid Cloud Details
21 May 2013 | 12:30 pmVMware says its hybrid cloud service will offer a "seamless extension" of customers' virtualized on-premises data centers. In a surprise, VMware undercuts Google on price. -
Public Transit Users Demand Digital Services
21 May 2013 | 11:27 amPublic transportation providers would be smart to heed riders' expectations for smartphone-based e-tickets and social media communications, finds Accenture study.
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ITIF Publication, Events and News Articles
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ITIF Debate: Is Technology Responsible for American Job Loss?
27 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amEnable Registration Since the Great Recession, a long list of books, studies, and news articles have attempted to assign the blame for America’s sustained high levels of unemployment to technology. These academics and journalists argue that factory automation, robots and faster and smarter computers are letting organizations replace workers at an unprecedented pace, leading to joblessness. As MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee assert in their book Race Against the Machine, workers are “losing the race against the machine, a fact reflected in today’s employment… -
Confronting Global Anti-Competitive Market Distortions
25 Jun 2013 | 6:00 amEnable Registration The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in the extent of anti-competitive market distortions (ACMDs) being introduced throughout the world, particularly in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, and India. These countries have introduced a wide and growing range of “innovation mercantilist” practices such as forced intellectual property (IP) and technology transfer or local production as a condition of market access; IP theft; compulsory licensing of IP; restrictions on cross-border data flows; currency and standards manipulation; and many others, all which… -
Masters of Nothing U.S. Book Release Event
28 May 2013 | 6:00 amEnable Registration In their book Masters of Nothing: Human Nature, Big Finance, and the Fight for the Soul of Capitalism, UK Conservative Party MP’s Matthew Hancock and Nadhim Zahawi argue that a collective failure to understand human nature was the underlying cause of the Great Recession—one of the largest crises in the history of modern capitalism. The MPs argue similar crises will happen again unless policymakers radically rethink their assumptions about human rationality and design systems to accommodate the inevitable flaws and irrationality of individuals, banks, and the economy as… -
Surveillance Cameras: Helpful or Harmful?
22 May 2013 | 9:00 amEnable Registration State and local governments have invested millions of dollars in surveillance video technology to improve public safety. Privacy and civil libertarian groups have criticized these technologies as ineffective and inefficient, as well as an unjust intrusion on the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Supporters of these technologies argue that these technologies can support law enforcement activities and help make our cities safer. At this event, supporters and opponents of this technology will debate the pros and cons of surveillance video cameras and related technologies. Rel… -
The Impact of Budget Sequestration on DOD Energy Innovation
20 May 2013 | 9:00 pmDespite recent investments in energy innovation, budget sequestration could potentially cut Department of Defense energy research and procurement programs by 25 percent compared to FY2012 funding levels.
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New on MIT Technology Review
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How Apple Avoids Taxes Through R&D Spending
21 May 2013 | 5:42 pmIn Washington, CEO Tim Cook defended Apple’s R&D cost sharing arrangements.Apple CEO Tim Cook came under fire in Washington today at a U.S. Senate hearing focused on the elaborate strategies Apple used to avoid paying tens of billions of dollars in corporate taxes. -
What Will Hackers Do With the New Kinect?
21 May 2013 | 3:17 pmUpgraded robot vision will be just one of the uses for the new version of Microsoft’s gesture control camera.Microsoft announced a new version of its Xbox games console today, the Xbox One, and with it an improved and essentially reinvented version of Kinect, the company’s body- and gesture-control sensor. That bodes well for Xbox gamers, but also for the community of hackers that have found so many original uses for the first Kinect, from robot vision to 3-D doodling (see “Hackers Take the Kinect to New Levels”). It seems likely that a new wave of Kinect hacking activity will begin… -
Playing The Odds on Tornado Warnings
21 May 2013 | 12:24 pmPinpoint predictions are a long way off, but taking into account daily odds might help make the public more alert.The devastation in Moore, Oklahoma, shows the limits of sensing, modeling and warning technologies. While some technologies promise somewhat more-accurate hurricane tracks and thus sharper evacuation orders (see “A Model for Hurricane Evacuation”), tornado warnings are another story altogether (see “The Limits of Tornado Predictions -
How The Great Firewall of China Shapes Chinese Surfing Habits
20 May 2013 | 11:34 pmCan cultural factors be more important than censorship in shaping Chinese surfing habits? Two researchers argue that a new study of the way global websites cluster together supports this idea -
Home Tweet Home: A House with Its Own Voice on Twitter
20 May 2013 | 9:00 pmA techie’s San Francisco home has its own Twitter feed. Will yours be next?At first glance, you’d never guess there’s anything unusual about Tom Coates’s San Francisco home. Nestled at the end of a narrow passageway on a side street, it’s a peaceful, sunny house decorated with modern furniture and bright posters that say things like “Machines help us work” and “Make your own path.”
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Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Energy technology innovation policy
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Belfer Center Newsletter Summer 2013
14 May 2013 | 5:20 amThe Summer 2013 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s expanding work on complex cybersecurity issues and Middle East challenges, offers reflections on the role of the U.S. in Iraq, and spotlights work being done by the Center and its affiliates on environment and energy issues. -
Progress in Energy Innovation, Development, and Deployment
14 May 2013 | 5:13 am"As the financial and environmental costs of current-generation energy sources continue to mount, development and implementation of innovative new energy sources have become increasingly important. Belfer Center experts are putting their research to work to foster changes in government and industry alike to push forward these energy technologies." -
Spotlight: Laura Diaz Anadon
14 May 2013 | 5:11 am"Laura Diaz Anadon is Associate Director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, Director of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, and a member of the Belfer Center Board of Directors. In May, she was named Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School." -
Expert Judgments about RD&D and the Future of Nuclear Energy
5 Dec 2012 | 2:48 pmProbabilistic estimates of the cost and performance of future nuclear energy systems under different scenarios of government research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) spending were obtained from 30 U.S. and 30 European nuclear technology experts. The majority expected that such RD&D would have only a modest effect on cost, but would improve performance in other areas, such as safety, waste management, and uranium resource utilization. The U.S. and E.U. experts were in relative agreement regarding how government RD&D funds should be allocated, placing particular focus on very… -
Missions-oriented RD&D Institutions in Energy Between 2000 and 2010: A Comparative Analysis of China, the United Kingdom, and the United States
27 Nov 2012 | 2:51 pmBy analyzing the institutions that have been created to stimulate energy technology innovation in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China—three countries with very different sizes, political systems and cultures, natural resources, and histories of involvement in the energy sector—this article highlights how variations in national objectives and industrial and political environments have translated into variations in policy.
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Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog
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Marketing to Boomers - Financial Services Forum presentation
19 May 2013 | 4:47 amThis is a podcast of a presentation that I gave last week to the Financial Services Forum during a conference about marketing to Baby Boomers. read more -
Marketing to Boomers - Financial Services Forum presentation
19 May 2013 | 4:42 amread more -
Social Media Marketing Advice, According To Doctor Who
17 May 2013 | 9:25 amFans who ordered DVDs of this season’s BBC series Doctor Who have started receiving them, only there’s a catch: The disc contains the season’s final episode, which has yet to air on TV! The show’s producers have made a big deal about that finale, including promises of plot twists and revelations that will be huge for Whovians. read more -
The Power of Brands to Change the World
17 May 2013 | 9:18 amWhile many of us live out our sheltered lives, the rest of our country and world remains trapped in destructive cycles: poverty, climate change, poor health, declining education, habitat destruction, toxic waste… the list goes on. Companies play a huge role in both the problems and the solutions; they’ve been making progress in CSR and sustainability, but it’s been largely through behind-the-scenes efforts to mitigate risk or reduce costs. read more -
Customer Experience Lessons from Mom
11 May 2013 | 12:38 amIn honor of Mother's Day this weekend, I thought this was a fitting time to share some customer experience lessons from Mom. It's been a while since I've done a "Customer Experience Lessons from..." post. I enjoy writing them, so I'll be doing more of them real soon. As I'm writing my blog, I often weave in stories about my kids - lessons I've taught them or conversations we've had that seem to apply equally to this world of customer experience. Time to put them all together in one place. So here goes... read more
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SLINGSHOT: Re-Imagine Your Business, Re-Imagine Your Life
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Rewarding light flyers
21 May 2013 | 1:19 amThere’s no such thing as a perfectly and continuously satisfied consumer. No matter how much you are able to infatuate your customers at first, there will come a time when it will wear off. Which is why you always have innovate, try new things and try to delight all over again.Ah, the airline industry, awash in red oceans, has infinite ‘leg room’ for innovation and customer infatuation. It’s an industry and theme I enjoy posting about, for example in Pay by weight, not per seat and Cuddle your way across vast blue oceans. In fact, in my book Slingshot I discuss an idea of how airline… -
Fast Track to re-engaging your childhood creativity
17 May 2013 | 3:48 am“To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.”—Stephen Covey, author and leadership expert This week I have shared two examples highlighting the power of re-imagining and defying conventional wisdom, first with an article on the Invisible Helmet followed by the article entitled “Do you know too much for your own good?” It is this very ability to think in a counterintuitive manner that can enable businesses to be market driving, to deliver lifestyle enrichment and to repeatedly infatuate its customers. What are the key takeaways? 1.) We all had a wide… -
Do you know too much for your own good?
14 May 2013 | 11:00 pmWhen we re-ignite our sense of exploration, imagination, and curiosity that we had as children we suddenly find ourselves able to overcome even the most challenging of limitations. It’s the premise for my book, Slingshot: Re-Imagine Your Business, Re-Imagine Your Life, and the topic of a thoughtful article by Mark McNeilly over at Fast Company entitled “How Your Own Expertise Is Holding You Back” that advocates challenging assumptions, getting an outside perspective and taking a Blue Ocean Strategy-like approach. ….the expert faces the challenge of knowing too much. She knows what… -
Re-imagining bicycle safety: the invisible helmet
13 May 2013 | 10:59 amToday I share with you the inspiring story of two women who are re-imagining bicycle safety by creating an “Invisible Helmet.” Their work touches on three primary innovation principles that I write about in my book, Slingshot. Let’s take a closer look how.1) Stretching the definition of your business to its broadest extent in order to discover new market spaces of expanded relevance. The Invisible Helmet expands the relevance of the traditional helmet from an oftentimes cumbersome instrument for safety into a fashionable accessory with increased utility and safety for the wearer.2.)… -
How much are your customers willing to take?
10 May 2013 | 5:08 amOver time, customers acquire certain perceptions which influence their emotional response to new offerings. By recognizing such perceptions, you can position your offering so as to have the best likelihood of infatuating customers. In my weekly series of short, comic anecdotes in partnership with WOBI (World of Business Ideas), I look at the world of strategy and innovation through humorous inquisitiveness. After all, having such a perspective is fuel for our creativity and imagination.In this next installment “How Much Are Your Customers Willing to Take?” I talk about consumer perception…
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Creativity Central
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The Creativity of Argument
12 May 2013 | 5:27 pmJust for the sake of argument, let’s say that on both the public stage and in private rooms, we haven’t raised the level of oral argument and rhetoric in general. While often used in the pejorative, rhetoric is rightfully defined as the “art of influence, friendship, and eloquence – and “it harnesses the most powerful of social forces, argument.” In 2007, Jay Heinrichs wrote a funny and provocative book, “Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion. The book deftly introduces rhetoric… -
How to nudge your creative default.
22 Apr 2013 | 9:57 amWhen the idea first appeared on my radar, it had me at hello. The term was “choice architecture.” Admittedly, the phrase may not leap off the page; it has at its core, a compelling insight about human behavior. I discovered the idea in Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s excellent book, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Their stripped down definition: “A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions.” A great example of the effect of choice architecture was… -
Improve your decision making: The project premortem.
13 Apr 2013 | 2:56 pmIn Brief: There is often a business process de jour – an idea or method that is adopted and then often discarded as other ideas fill the “newest” gap. Gary Klein’s Premortem concept is one of those ideas that deserves a second and third look. Instead of the post-mortem or 360 review, it’s imaging the project is done before it begins. The Article: Dan and Chip Heath talked with Dan Pink recently about their new book, Decisive: How to make better choices in life and work. They mentioned an idea that research psychologist, Gary Klein, described in his… -
Forget the Tipping Point; Find the Trigger Point.
13 Mar 2013 | 8:05 pmOne of great revelations of behavioral economics is the study of how people actually behave rather than how we think they should behave. A classic example is shrouded in a term that might make your eyes glaze over -- the theory of relative positioning. What makes people happiest is increasing their income and wealth relative to other people. We have the same income of $70,000 per year. If my income increases by $10,000 and yours increases by $8,000, this will make me happier than if both our incomes increased by $10,000. We don’t just want to keep up… -
A business lesson from a Supreme Court Justice
10 Feb 2013 | 5:46 amCopyright Time, Inc.Recently, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor talked with Charlie Rose to discuss her new memoir, "My Beloved World." There was moment in the interview about 12 minutes into the interview that resonated with me. It was an answer to Rose's question "Have you had great mentors?" She answered simply and confidently: "Tremendous mentors. And each one of them taught me something very important. Every one of them has hired people who they thought were smarter than they. I understand you do the same thing. I have been told that…I’m told by…
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DON! The Idea Guy
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Five Buck Brainstorms
1 May 2013 | 7:42 amI am happy to announce the relaunch of a newly revamped and reinvented twist on an idea I had a few years back to sell custom brainstorms for just $5 each. The new www.FiveBuckBrainstorms.com offers original Don The Idea Guy brainstorms on a variety of topics that I choose — and that you can submit [...] -
KickStart Your Week : Whitney Bishop
29 Apr 2013 | 8:19 amOn this episode of KickStart Your Week, Tomas Lydahl and I had a lot of fun speaking with (and learning from) another fellow Gitomer Certified Speaker, Whitney Bishop. Whitney Bishop is a Change Agent, Non Profit Leader, Trainer and Facilitator who guides individuals, teams and organizations through change and transition. Whitney uses one-on-one and group sessions [...] -
KickStart Your Week : Laurie Brown
22 Apr 2013 | 8:43 pmThis week Tomas Lydahl and I had a great experience interviewing fellow Gitomer Certified Speaker Laurie Brown. Laurie is the owner of The Difference, a Customer Service and Presentation Skills training company. Laurie has over twenty-five years experience as a speaker and trainer. A key asset that Laurie brings to her work is her range [...] -
KickStart Your Week : Joey Reiman
15 Apr 2013 | 8:47 amIn this week’s featured episode of KickStart Your Week, I was pretty thrilled to be able to speak to a guy who helped form the basis of my “ideas for sale” business model. Joey Reiman’s earlier book, “Thinking For A Living” made a big impact on the way I valued ideas, and the way I [...] -
Lead-Foot Advertising
9 Apr 2013 | 8:45 amIn rush to show results from social media advertising, many companies are using tools that have been newly made available to them by those same social media companies who are in a rush to show revenue increases from advertising sources (I’m talking to you Facebook and Twitter) that ultimately annoy — not engage — the [...]
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Idea Sandbox
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Do all Marketing Activities need a Strong Call to Action?
16 May 2013 | 6:05 amPOINT: Paul Williams Call now! Click now to sign-up! Subscribe today! Each of these is a call to action. We marketers put ‘em everywhere. The call to action is the punctuation at the end of our advertising message sentence. Dear Customer, now that we have conveyed to you how great and valuable this product or service is… Here’s what to do to get it. The quick answer to our topic is No. Not all marketing activities need a call to action. The marketing we do related to sales? Yes. Make it as easy as possible for customers. Show them the way. If you’re so lucky that they… -
How do you get Employees to “Live the Brand”?
10 May 2013 | 8:15 amPOINT: John Moore Give employees a mantra to follow and not a manual to read. Every retailer gives training sessions to employees on how to deliver customer service, which is another way to say, “living the brand” at the store level. Trainers for these sessions walk employees through a manual about the do’s and don’ts of living the brand through delivering “legendary customer service.” However, manuals don’t inspire action. They are too long and too pedantic for employees to follow. Mantras, on the other hand, are quick to read, simple to understand, and easy to follow. The true… -
How Can Business Operations Support the Brand Promise?
11 Apr 2013 | 5:46 amPOINT: John Moore To me, a “brand promise” is what customers expect to experience with a business. Anytime a business delivers something different, it breaks its “brand promise” with customers. Whole Foods, for example, promises its customers the grocery store will not sell foods with artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, and preservatives. Suppose a Whole Foods store decides to sell Coca-Cola. That action would break the “brand promise” of Whole Foods and would create a DISCONNECT between what a customer expects and what a company delivers. Business operations can best… -
Does a Company’s Mission Statement Play a Role in Marketing the Brand?
3 Apr 2013 | 2:59 pmPOINT: John Moore The true purpose of a mission statement is to help a company make appropriate business decisions. It’s a decision-making compass for a business and not a marketing blueprint. For example, the old Starbucks Coffee mission statement included six guiding principles to help the company make appropriate decisions. One principle stated: “Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.” That helped guide Starbucks to make better business decisions about internal company culture matters and H.R. stuff. Another principle in the old… -
Does the Personality of a Brand Need to Be Reflective in All Marketing Activities?
27 Mar 2013 | 7:57 amPOINT: Paul Williams A brand, doing its job well, shows personality in all it does, not just marketing. The way they greet customers. The wording on their packaging. The way they answer the phone. All should show that personality. Problems arise when brands do things that are not congruent with their perceived personality. For example, when you say one thing (“We put service first!”), but act different (10-minute phone delays in customer service phone number), you’re not delivering on the promise you’ve made to your customers. A better label for a brand’s…
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InnoBlog
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What a Good Moonshot Is Really For
14 May 2013 | 9:07 amMore than 50 years ago, U.S. President John F. Kennedy captured the world’s imagination when he said, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” And thus, the term moonshot entered the lexicon as shorthand for “a difficult or expensive task, the outcome of which is expected to have great significance.” The term has experienced a recent resurgence in the corporate world. Google’s moonshots include expansive projects like its driverless car and Google… -
Looking to Join the Lean Start-up Movement?
30 Apr 2013 | 6:35 amI love Lean. In my eyes, the work Steve Blank, Eric Ries, and others have done to provide a cogent, accessible frame around the academic concepts of emergent strategy is one of the most important contributions to the innovation movement over the past few years. I have repeatedly stated that the next wave of innovation will come from companies that harness the transformational power that too often lies latent inside their organizations. There is a growing sense that so-called lean start-up techniques — developing a minimal viable product, learning in the marketplace, and pivoting based on… -
Addressing Whole-Patient Care
16 Apr 2013 | 10:41 amAt the heart of the healthcare debate in the US is a profound quandary: how can we as a country spend more per capita but not have at least the same level of health as comparable nations spending 5%, 10%, 20% less? Emerging research indicates that how physicians treat patients, the “care model,” is a far more profound indicator of health outcomes than gross level of spending or utilization of technology. Life expectancy at birth and health spending per capita Source: OECD Health Data 2011; World Bank and national sources for non-OECD countries. This week, as part of the TEDMED… -
Inventing Wellness Programs
16 Apr 2013 | 10:39 amThe math is clear. Healthy employees cost less. Employers have a strong economic incentive to lower their healthcare costs by motivating their employees to improve their health and develop healthy habits. Unhealthy workers cost employers an average of $11,176 per active employee per year. A survey done by Aon Hewitt with 800 large and midsize employers in the U.S. found that 83% use some kind of carrot or stick to try to nudge employees to improve their health. Of those, 79% offer rewards, 5% imposed penalties, and 16% used a mix of both. This is a very functional way of looking at employee… -
Achieving Medical Innovation, More Affordably
16 Apr 2013 | 10:38 amThe US leads the world in advancing medical innovation through ground-breaking research that leads to new medical tests, technologies, treatments and devices. Each new advance has the potential to change or save lives – often in ways that are absolutely priceless to patients and their families. Yet, unfortunately, new medical innovations aren’t without their costs and due in part to the continuous flow of innovations we “purchase,” the US now spends over $8,000 per person on healthcare each year – around twice as much as most other developed countries (see figure). Total Healthcare…
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Big Think Expert Ideas
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Further Thoughts on the Afterlife
21 May 2013 | 1:27 pmWhile in Joshua Tree this weekend for another event, my friend and I swung by Shaktifest, the sister festival of the more popular Bhaktifest, which takes place every September. Both fetes are entirely devoted to the music of kirtan (mantra chanting) and bhakti (devotional) yoga. By midday Sunday ...Read More -
Two Reasons the Fear of Death is Universal
21 May 2013 | 12:24 pmWhat explains the seemingly universal human fear of dying? It’s a mixture of two things, which could be separated. One is we know that other people die. And when other people die, particularly people who have a close role in our lives, we experience it as a potentially final loss. And from that ...Read More -
Therapy's About To Get Virtual
21 May 2013 | 12:00 pmWhat's the Latest Development? "Ellie" is the name scientists at USC have given to a combination of hardware and software that together presents patients with a highly realistic virtual therapist. While her rendered image appears on the screen, three devices track and record the patient's words ...Read More -
Where I Stand on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
21 May 2013 | 11:45 amThe Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a tragic conflict in the sense that there is not a solution that deals with the aspiration of both people. I belong in the context of Israeli politics. I have a particular point of view I think, so I have always thought that the settlements are a disaster and ...Read More -
A Brief History of Outsider Science
21 May 2013 | 10:41 amIf you look at the history of science you can ask have there been people who were outsiders in the past who are now accepted today. That raises an issue about what it means to be an insider or an outsider. Until relatively recently - and it only dates back to the really the middle of the 19th ...Read More
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Innovationedge
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She’s HAHA team brings joy to women and girls
15 May 2013 | 2:19 pmA SHE advocacy awareness session.Photo Credit: Perttu Saralampi One of my favorite partners is an organization called Sustainable Health Enterprises, or SHE. I am excited to help share the news from SHE’s “HAHA team” (Health and Hygiene Advocacy), working to ensure long-term access to menstrual hygiene education and products (including the SHE LaunchPad). Recently the team invited 15 students from the Duha Complex School in Rwamagana to perform a skit on menstrual hygiene education. The workshop trained senior level students and their teachers about menstrual hygiene. -
Cycling fans, industry find ways to boost “green”
12 Apr 2013 | 12:50 pmThis past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Wheel and Sprocket’s Bike Expo at the Wisconsin Exposition Center in Milwaukee. The annual expo, billed as the world’s largest bike exhibit, has been held for many years and is truly a celebration of cycling in our community. The enthusiasm of the biking community was tangible. You could just look around the Exposition Center and see a range of bike owners and riders from hardcore racers to those that just ride bikes for fun on the weekend. Showcased were thousands of bikes, bicycle accessories and related clothing items on display and for… -
App based on smart algorithms stocks your fridge
4 Apr 2013 | 11:11 amA new app has Italian shoppers using the cloud to help keep their refrigerators and pantries stocked. The app is called Rosie, and it learns users’ purchase routines to deliver items when they run out. After entering details about their household, such as number of residents, their age and regular buying habits, shoppers can then head to their grocer’s online store to start shopping. Then they simply head to the real store of their choice and pick up their items, already bagged and waiting for them. But Rosie doesn’t stop there. The service automatically finds the cheapest price… -
Billboard turns humidity into drinking water
2 Apr 2013 | 11:01 amIn many places around the world, fresh and safe drinking water is hard to come by. But some engineering students in Peru have teamed up with an advertising agency to create a billboard that turns the nation’s humid climate into water that is so desperately needed. The University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) teamed up with Mayo Publicity to capture moisture from the air and convert it into filtered drinking water. Check out this video showing how it’s done: Lima receives almost no rainfall, but humidity is around 98 percent. This single billboard is capable of capturing… -
10 Gadgets That Never Took Off
28 Mar 2013 | 3:46 pmWe work with a lot of inventors to get their products in front of the right people who can help deliver success if there is a fit with their business needs. We create a unique Roadmap to Market process that builds on years of experience in product development and on extensive connections with industry leaders in multiple segments. If you are an innovator, check out what we have to offer. And as a cautionary tale, I share this humorous top ten gallery from Mashable.com on the unique gadgets and inventions that probably could have used a roadmap. Everything from metal detecting sandals to a USB…
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innovation playground Idris Mootee
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Media Disruption Is Not Slowing Down. Mobile Is Now The Center Of A New Ecosystem.
28 Apr 2013 | 6:32 pmThe media business is not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet. When people asked me about my magazine and the economics of that, they were saying why am I in publishing business. Well that is not my core business, just a hobby. It has been almost three years since the first publication of MISC and readership... -
With Our Increasingly Reliance On Smart Devices And Gadgets, And We Are Becoming More And More Vulnerable.
24 Apr 2013 | 5:48 pmYou’ve seen all the time in movies when the bad guys hacked into public surveillance cameras and could see what’s going on out there. It is actually not difficult to hack into most security surveillance systems for commercial or residential buildings and particularly those wireless ones. Theses cameras that are used by retailers, hotels, and elevators, are often configured insecurely.... -
Idea Couture Is Ready To Take Innovation And Design Thinking To The Next Level.
21 Apr 2013 | 12:39 pmThis has been a very tough two months for me in terms of time and I have not been spending much time writing my blog as much as I used to. It is getting a bit difficult to find the time as we were going through a reorganization, adding new offices, putting new management system in place and at the... -
Apple's Magic Is Not Repeatable. Innovation Means Reinvention. Not Taking A Page From Someone's Playbook. Here's The Proof.
18 Apr 2013 | 7:26 pmApple magic is not repeatable. And even if you think by poaching senior talents from them. The same can be applied to many great companies large and small. It is too simplistic to think that stealing talent from great companies larger or small can help a company to repeat the magic. Here is a good example when Ron Johnson, former... -
Will The Facebook Phone works? And For Microsoft and Samsung, The Future Of Smartphones Is Dual-Screen.
7 Apr 2013 | 3:50 pmThe Facebook phone is here.The Facebook phone rumor has been around for a while and it is a matter of time it becomes real. I think they should have done it earlier and should have larger ambition other than just trying to design a ‘home’ for Android. Home sounds like a PaaS personalization tool and not sure how many FB...
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Creativity & Innovation
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Burt Bacharach’s Creativity Technique
21 May 2013 | 1:09 pmBurt Bacharach said this in an interview with Spencer Bailey in the New York Times: When I’m stuck with musicians in the studio and don’t know what’s wrong, I will break and go into a stall in the men’s room. I will sit on the toilet seat. Nobody talks to me there, and I get no advice from any musician. I work it through in my head, and four out of four times, I come out a winner. I give very similar advice in my book Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity. I call this technique “Incubate” and in addition to the toilet seat, here are some common… -
Surprising Leadership Lessons From Jazz
16 May 2013 | 3:22 pmI just finished reading a delightful book called Yes to the Mess by Frank J. Barrett. In the face of complexity and constant change, Barrett observes that the world’s best leaders and teams improvise: They invent novel responses, and take calculated risks, without a scripted plan and without a safety net. They say “yes to the mess”–similar to Chicago improv theater actors, who are taught to say “Yes, and…” to accept and embrace what their partners suggest, and to build on it and drive the scene forward, even while no one knows where it’s going… -
What Americans Think About Creativity
15 May 2013 | 10:05 amI just read the results of a fascinating new survey of 2,040 adult U.S. consumers, conducted online in April for TIME Magazine, Microsoft, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). #strangebedfellows First of all, Americans value creativity in others more than just about any other characteristic: And although 83% of people say creativity is important in their job, a whopping 91% say it’s important in their personal life. Fifty percent of people think creatively in pictures, only 34% in words. And 4% think creatively in sound…probably the musicians! For you students and… -
The Torrance Center for Creativity
19 Apr 2013 | 7:17 amThis week, I’m visiting the legendary Torrance Center at the University of Georgia. I’m honored to be delivering the 2013 annual Torrance Lecture, invited by center directory Bonnie Cramond. My topic was “Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration.” Paul Torrance was one of the first-wave creativity researchers, who helped to found the field back in the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1950s, he developed the first version of his creativity test, which soon became known as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, or TTCT. This test continues to be the most widely… -
Creativity: The Importance of Listening and Collaborating
8 Apr 2013 | 2:11 pmThere’s a fascinating interview in yesterday’s New York Times* with Francesca Zambello, artistic director of the Washington National Opera. Her personal experience aligns exactly with my research on collaboration and creativity: Creativity cannot explode if you do not have the ability to step back, take in what everybody else says and then fuse it with your own ideas. Theater is one of the most collaborative art forms, and you have to be able to absorb everything that people tell you….When I go into meetings with successful business people, I’m always amazed at how…
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Phil McKinney
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Great Innovations From Asking the Right Questions
14 May 2013 | 7:44 amInnovation is not about solving just any problem but about knowing which problems to solve. We discovery the right problem by asking the right questions. There are a number of inflection points in history in which a brilliant person took a popularly held assumption – even one that is totally counter-intuitive – and changed it by asking a different question. Two of the most famous examples. Newton and the Laws of Motion It is tempting to think of the fundamental problems of physics to be about answering the question “what causes objects to move?” Isaac Newton’s Principia,… -
Better ideas can completely change the face of your business and that’s not a bad thing!
6 May 2013 | 7:11 amBetter ideas can make or break a business plan. After all, success is based on the ability to come up with better ideas. At the same time, bad ideas can take a successful business model and drag it down into the ground faster than you can blink. Trust me. I have the scars to prove it. Be careful what you wish for since a better idea can change your business to the point where it’s unrecognizable from what it is today. Take Nintendo as an example. Nearly everyone knows who the video game giant is. There are few twenty-somethings who haven’t played a Nintendo game of… -
Igniting Personal Creativity
24 Apr 2013 | 7:48 amIn my book Beyond the Obvious, I discuss the power of questions to spark innovation in a business or industry. If you’ve read the the book, you know what some of those questions are. They begin, “What are . . . ?” “What if . . . ?” “What will be . . . ?” “Who are . . . ?” These questions are lock breakers for getting past the obvious to discover breakthrough innovative ideas. They are best used to elicit responses in a group where ideas can be played off each other. That way, one person’s musing may spark an idea from someone else that is so far off the beaten… -
Students looking for innovation experience? Then be a summer intern – CableLabs style.
18 Mar 2013 | 8:31 amIts that time of year where I start to get the emails asking about possible intern opportunities for those interesting in learning all they can about innovation. Here is your opportunity. This summer, we will be selecting 10 interns to work across the CableLabs organization (R&D, Strategy, Operations, etc). Since CableLabs is all about innovation, you will have an opportunity to learn and contribute to the innovations that CableLabs is working on. These are paid internship positions. Since I don’t have a house in Colorado (in progress), I’m not able to recreate the… -
Beyond The Obvious is named Top 10 Business Book …. in Austria!
18 Dec 2012 | 6:21 amYesterday I got an email from my publisher (Hyperion) with an attachment When I opened the attachment, I saw that Beyond The Obvious had been named #8 on the Top 10 English Business Books in Austria! (Click to Enlarge) Thanks to all the readers in Austria! Note: Through Dec 31st, 100% of the author royalties from my book will be donated to charity. For more information, visit the Pay It Forward Project page.
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Outside Innovation
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Why Don't Customers (and Voters) Count in Healthcare?
11 May 2013 | 12:44 pmThe votes are in: In Southport, Maine, 95% of voters want to keep St. Andrews Hospital's Critical Access Status (24x7 ER + up to 25 beds); In Boothbay Harbor, 83% of voters said Yes to the same vote. In Boothbay, 86% of voters said Yes. Even in Edgecomb, the town furthest away from St. Andrews Hospital and closest to the closest competitor, Miles Memorial in Damariscotta, the vote to retain St. Andrews’ critical access status was still 81%! According to the Selectmen in all 4 towns, voter turnout was double that of last year. Saving St. Andrews brought out the vote, big time! This is… -
Who Should Buy the Boston Globe?
6 May 2013 | 8:21 pmI find it rather ironic that the Boston Globe, which is an amazing asset, with an incredibly well-oiled and hard-working team, is still on the block, being offered for sale again by the NY Times, the current owner. And my message is, whoever buys the Globe should move quickly to snatch up this media innovator with a team of people who know how to pull together in a crisis, are capable of extraordinary performance, and that have the experience of being masters in the difficult world of social and digital media. I believe that whoever buys the Globe—whether an individual or an… -
What We Can Learn from How the Boston Globe Covered the Marathon Bombings
5 May 2013 | 8:23 pmLast week we published an article about the Boston Globe's coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and aftermath. I commended the Boston Globe for doing an exceptional job of keeping the public informed with real-time, and accurate, information as the Marathon bombings and aftermath unfolded. Here are the highlights of what the Boston Globe not only did right, but did outstandingly, and should be a model for other media outlets, whether print, broadcast, or digital. Provide a real-time stream of updated info—most news sources already do that for paying or registered customers. The… -
Students Co-Design African Rural University
13 Apr 2013 | 8:24 amI have been a part of the gestation, birth, and early childhood of this fledgling university as a member of the University Council (its governing body) since its inception. This truly is a unique undertaking—an all women’s university, designed to train the women who will help transform the African bush, bringing impoverished and illiterate people into the 21st century in a manner that preserves the best in their cultural traditions and in their natural environment, but lets them create prosperous livelihoods in their own rural communities. The story I chose to tell in this case study… -
Bitcoin Hacked Again and Again
12 Apr 2013 | 7:56 amLast week we joined the media frenzy that seemed to suddenly swirl around the odd digital currency known as Bitcoin. That same day, one of the top Bitcoin exchanges, Mt. Gox, suffered a denial of service attack, sending the value of Bitcoins down as investors began panic selling. Value of one bitcoin in U.S. dollars one-minute intervals chart Last night, Mt. Gox was out of commission again. Another denial of service attack? Not at first. Mt. Gox posted a different explanation on its Facebook page: “First of all we would like to reassure you but no, we were not, last night victim of a DDoS…
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15inno
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Embrace Failure to Build a Stronger Innovation Culture
21 May 2013 | 1:18 amThe fast pace of change, business and thus innovation requires several changes in the innovation processes as well as in the innovation culture in today’s organizations. One key element is that they must embrace and foster a culture of experimentation in which failure is acceptable as long as the intentions were relevant and if the learning of the failure was captured so that you don’t go on repeating the same failures over and over again. This is the topic for the presentation I gave at TrendForum in Berlin earlier this year. The video is now ready and thus I have updated this blog post… -
FREE Workshop or Consulting Session! (Only in the U.S.)
18 May 2013 | 2:39 pmWould your company like to get some external perspectives on these topics? • Be Competitively Unpredictable: Make It Happen Through Innovation • Innovation Culture: The Big Elephant in the Room • Making Open Innovation Work • Social Media for Innovation Efforts I can offer you a free workshop (3 hours) or consulting session on the above topics if we can make this happen on June 10-14 or July 11-19. This only applies in the U.S. You do not have to pay a fee for this, but I will ask you to help cover my travel costs (about USD 2,000). Let me know if you would like to discuss this. -
6 Drivers for Intrapreneurs and Innovation
15 May 2013 | 10:26 amI am giving a workshop on intrapreneurship next week and as I am doing some research, I decided to update this post and ask for more input on the drivers for intrapreneurs – and innovation in general. If you wonder what the term, intrapreneur, means the American Heritage Dictionary in 1992 acknowledged this as “a person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation. Entrepreneurs are driven by passion, an urge to execute on their ideas and the chance to strike gold. -
Top 5 Companies for Open Innovation – May 2013
14 May 2013 | 5:59 amHere you get my current top 5 list of strong open innovation initiatives and efforts. Your comments and suggestions for other companies are appreciated! 1. Google Glass – for taking an open approach for a disruptive offering I take it as a clear sign of the changing game of innovation that Google early on recognized that they needed to be open on their efforts with the Glass. Now, they are building an ecosystem that can help develop the apps that will make people buy and use the Glass. Read more in this blog post: Google Glass versus Apple: Different Takes on Open Innovation 2. Microsoft… -
Business Opportunity: Innovation Workshops in Your Region
13 May 2013 | 2:50 amDo you want to host an innovation workshop in your city? Do you want to make some money on this? Well, then we should talk. I am currently putting the finishing touches on a range of innovation exercises that are important elements in some interesting half-day workshops on topics such as: • Be Competitively Unpredictable: Make It Happen Through Innovation • Innovation Culture: The Big Elephant in the Room • Making Open Innovation Work • Social Media for Innovation Efforts I am looking for partners, who want to help organize and market the workshops. I will deliver the workshop…
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Innovation in Practice
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Marketing Innovation: The Subtraction Tool in Saint Gobain Commercials
20 May 2013 | 7:31 amThe Subtraction tool works by removing elements generally considered essential to the situation. The tool can be used in any marketing communications medium (television, print, and so on). The tool works by drwawing your attention to the missing component. As a result, the ad is more memorable. Subtraction is one of eight patterns embedded in most innovative commercials. Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe these simple, well-defined design structures in their book, "Cracking the Ad Code," and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are:1. Unification2. -
The Stereotypy Trap
14 May 2013 | 3:23 amStruggling retailer JC Penny hired former Apple executive Ron Johnson as the CEO to save the company. Seventeen months later, he was ousted in what many consider a colossal failure. Why? Not because he failed to take action, but rather because he tried taking the same actions that worked for him at Apple. He was guilty of a managerial bias called stereotypy – the tendency to believe that what worked for you in the past will work for you in the future. From Time: Johnson pictured coffee bars and rows of boutiques inside JC Penney stores. He wanted a bazaar-like feel to the shopping… -
Innovation Sighting: Attribute Dependency in Signage
6 May 2013 | 12:00 amSigns are perhaps the most ancient yet still relevant tools of marketing. According to the International Sign Association, signage is the least expensive but most effective form of advertising and can account for half of your customers. Can sign makers use systematic methods of creativity? Absolutely. Here is a classic example of Attribute Dependency in signage. Attribute Dependency is one of five techniques of the corporate innovation method called SIT (Systematic Inventive Thinking). It differs from the other techniques in that it uses attributes (variables) of the situation rather… -
Innovating in Human Resources
29 Apr 2013 | 12:00 amSystematic Inventive Thinking is not only for inventing new products and services. You can apply it to a variety of functions and processes. SIT is based on the idea that mankind has used distinct patterns when creating new solutions or innovations. These patterns are embedded into the products and services you see around you. The SIT method structures your thinking and channels your ideation to take advantage of these patterns by re-applying them to something else. Consider the human resources function of an organization. Here are suggestions of which SIT technique to apply in a… -
New Ideas Light Up the Brain
22 Apr 2013 | 1:02 pmCanadian researchers found that areas in the reward center of the brain become active when people hear a song for the first time. The more the listener enjoys what they hear, the stronger the connections are in the region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The study is published in Science. From the BBC report: To carry out the study, which took place at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University, the scientists played 19 volunteers 60 excerpts of new music, based on their musical preferences. As they were listening to the 30-second-long tracks, they had to the…
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INDIA INVENTS
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Suport H4 Cause
19 May 2013 | 10:03 amLately immigration is among the top debates in America. Lost in the noise are “Invisible People” and they are the H4 Visa Holders (“The H4″). The H4 are the spouses of the H1B visa holders, majority are young women from India with a degree in STEM yet not allowed to contribute to US economy where they live. Shah Peerally Law Group PC and many others have decided that to create awareness about the problem, started a petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/give-more-rights-to-h4-visa-holders. A movie, work of fiction (The H4 Curse) depicting the suffering of the H4 and H1B visa… -
Trillion dollars investment needed to add substance to India Innovation decade declaration
11 May 2013 | 1:45 pmInnovation is on the agenda of the nation. Government declared innovation Decade, set up National Innovation Council, increased plan outlay of scientific departments, working on Rs 5000 crore Inclusive Innovation fund and private sector scene is more exciting with over 50 incubators/ accelerators and stream of announcement of startups getting seed capital, risk capital . Amidst all the noise, the data on IP generation, acquisition, leveraging is lost. As per BCG developing economies and their leading companies move through five common phases of IP development: driving growth… -
Understanding the Creative Economy in India: Richard Florida
10 May 2013 | 4:18 pmCreative Capital theory and the 3Ts of economic development, which include Tolerance, Technology and Talent, provide an in- novative framework for measuring a region’s Creative Economy potential. In this paper, the core characteristics of the 3Ts are reworked to apply to the Indian context. The report presents both the component sub-indices of the Creativity Index and other, related measures for regional technology, talent, and tolerance.Tolerance, the first “T” of economic development is a quality recognized as essential to objective thinking since the 19th century. In the… -
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) laboratory for the testing of Hazardous Substances established at C-MET, Hyderabad
28 Apr 2013 | 6:45 amRoHS Regulation (Directive 2002/95/EC) enforced w.e.f. July 1, 2006, restricts the manufactures or importers of electrical and electronic equipment to use six banned substances: lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE), exceeding certain permissible concentrations. An "ISO 17025 accredited Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) laboratory for the testing of Hazardous Substances", has been established at C-MET, Hyderabad with the financial support of Department of Information… -
Jugaad Innovation: A reference point or Indigenous solution.
28 Apr 2013 | 6:30 amFor many decades a pipeline bursting with research projects represented innovation potential of an commercial organisation. All research did not result in commercial gains, technology push model was replaced by Stage Gate model , evaluating technology potency & market attractiveness at every stage and killing lurking disasters at early stage gained acceptance. Now, with Open Innovation, enterprises look beyond universities and competitors for supply of ideas/ talent. In catching up economy like India , innovations initially flowed from Joint ventures , technology…
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Come to Know
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Innovation with customer co-creation – the rules of thumb
21 May 2013 | 8:10 amA recent eye-opening study made by Professor Anders Gustafsson at BI Norwegian Business School has analyzed the value of customer co-creation in innovation. The findings show a huge difference between results from customer co-creation in incremental innovation and radical innovation respectively. Read on to learn more Customer co-creation is a hot buzzword right now. It has become increasingly popular among companies, and intensive communication with customers in the product development is generally seen as a determinant of the success of a new service or product. With good reason: A lot of… -
Idea management involving 315 million people
23 Apr 2013 | 8:12 amIn September 2011, the Obama-Biden Administration launched ‘We the People’. This online service allows citizens to bring issues and ideas to the attention of the White House and its website-visitors – in other words, one giant idea box. As a company which takes idea management seriously, Nosco are always excited to see this discipline taken into the grander scale. Furthermore, it’s interesting to see how the administration of the campaign have handled the different types of ideas to generate interest, engage hard-to-reach voters and get fresh ideas for policy and… -
Awareness for Hearing Loss – powered by Nosco
12 Mar 2013 | 7:43 amMore than 250 million people in the world are hearing impaired – 80 percent of them untreated. In a joint effort, the IDA Institute and Nosco have created awarenessforhearingloss.com which links thousands of users and hundreds of ideas all sharing the goal of raising awareness of hearing loss and empower those challenged by it. Now, the top ten ideas have been selected and supported by sound development and implementation plans. We think you should have a look at them here. Next, the three winners selected by an expert panel of judges will be celebrated at the American Academy of… -
Announcement
21 Feb 2013 | 3:21 amWe are proud to announce that Volvo Car Corporation have chosen Nosco App as their idea management platform, when involving more than 28,000 employees in companywide innovation in the years to come. For us, Volvo stands as an iconic, truly global company with a proud Scandinavian heritage. Its history inspires us and its future excites us. We look forward to Nosco App taking part in the next step of Volvo Car Company’s journey. -
Nosco at the Front End of Innovation ‘13, 4th-6th march.
20 Feb 2013 | 1:36 amNosco will be well-represented at this year’s Front End of Innovation EMEA at the Scandic Hotel in Copenhagen. As part of the Future Trends Summit, Nosco’s Jesper Müller-Krogstrup will take the podium with Frank Hatzack of Novozymes. The two will go into detail on the do’s and dont’s of online ideation and provide you with the insights needed to make your organisation embrace the concept. Furthermore, Frank Hatzack will delve into the secrets behind Novozymes’ successful adaptation of collaborative online ideation and share his first-hand experiences with a large-scale…
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Lateral Action
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How to Succeed as a Self-Published Writer – a Conversation with David Gaughran
13 May 2013 | 7:01 amWhen I decided to publish my first book, I read a whole stack of books about self-publishing. The one that made the biggest impression was Let’s Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should, by novelist David Gaughran. David’s book stood out because he not only delivered plenty of useful advice, he also did a superb job of describing the seismic upheavals in the publishing industry, and made a compelling case for the creative and financial benefits of self-publishing. And he also provided real-life inspiration, in the form of 33 success stories of writers earning a steady… -
How WordPress Helps You Take Creative Control of Your Website
29 Apr 2013 | 8:24 amIf you’re an independent artist or small creative business, a website is essential for showcasing your work and finding customers. But building and maintaining it is challenging for several reasons: You don’t have a big budget. Even if you did, you’re averse to spending a lot of money on a website until you’re sure it will bring in customers. (Spot the catch-22.) You’re a creative, not a web developer. Your eyes glaze hover when you hear expressions such as CMS, CSS, HTML and DNS. When different ‘experts’ recommend different solutions, it’s hard… -
Google Plus 101 for Creative People
11 Apr 2013 | 5:06 amSince I published 4 compelling reasons for creative people to start using Google Plus, lots of you have responded: “OK I’m sold! I’ve signed up for an account. But what do I DO with it?” So this article will walk you through the process of getting started on Google+ and using it to build a network that brings you inspiration, connection, conversation, camaraderie, customers and/or career opportunities. 1. Don’t abandon your website or blog! Every time a new social network comes along, we hear the familiar refrains: “Blogging is dead!” “You… -
4 Compelling Reasons for Creative People to Start Using Google Plus
2 Apr 2013 | 10:31 amIf you want the internet to bring you an audience for your creative work, opportunities for your creative career, and/or customers for your creative business, I recommend you get a Google+ account and start using it right away. I know you’re busy, and it probably feels like another social network is the last thing you need. But this isn’t just another social network. It’s bigger than that, and it can have multiple benefits for your creative career or business. Here are four compelling reasons why you should start using Google+ now. 1. Everyone’s on Facebook I hear this… -
How to Start Licensing Your Art (and Why You Should)
21 Mar 2013 | 8:14 amPainting by Natasha Wescoat licensed to Murals Your Way When I began as an artist, I was really enjoying the experience of selling my work directly to people. It was so much more exciting than hanging it on a wall in a gallery. I had more control over my work, when it was available and where I could place it for sale. There was no middle man involved and I preferred it that way. But something was missing. I wanted to find other avenues of making money from my work, but I wasn’t sure how. I saw artists launching clothing lines, doing book signings and licensing their art on collectables…
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neuronspark
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Computing – {the human experience} Beta
8 May 2013 | 8:24 amGrady Booch showed us some out-takes and gave us some insights from Computing – {the human experience} at IBM Impact 2013 -
The Changing Role of the Developer
7 May 2013 | 8:45 amTim O’Reilly, James Govenor and Grady Booch talk about Mobile First to kick-off the developer Unconference at IBM Impact 2013 -
Mobile Superpowers to Unicorns
6 May 2013 | 11:38 amAt IBM Impact Tim O’Reilly spoke with James Governor about Google Glass and Mobile first. -
Werner Vogels AWS Summit 2013
23 Apr 2013 | 12:04 pmFrom New York City and a full house for the AWS Summit 2013 -
Woz on Innovation and Motivation
11 Apr 2013 | 8:10 amSteve Wozniak at Avaya Evolutions in NYC talking about innovation, motivation and that fruit company
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Fast Company
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Experimental Lighting That Balances Like a See-Saw
21 May 2013 | 2:30 pmFort Standard’s debut lighting series put some experiments with physics to good use. It’s either the most grown up hanging mobile, or the most secretly playful piece of high end design. The Counterweight Mobile light mixes polished white oak with brass, tone, and kiln-formed glass diffusers--all of which simply hang from a thread-like cord and sway in midair, once in place. Just think of a see-saw, Gregory Buntain, one half of the Fort Standard design duo, tells Co.Design. “If the hanging point--or ‘fulcrum’--was even half of an inch in either direction, the… -
We May All Be Driving Electric Cars In The Future, But That Future Is Really Far Away
21 May 2013 | 2:00 pmTesla’s success might be in the news, but it’s just a drop in the bucket of EV adoption. There is a long way to go, and many hurdles, before EVs are the preferred method of getting around. Electrified transport is key to a lower carbon future. According to the International Energy Agency, three-quarters of new cars need to be EVs by 2050, if we’re to stay within "safe" global warming limits (generally said to be 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels). To give you an idea of how many sedans that is--it’s a lot. The IEA’s goal is 5.9 million new EVs a year… -
Prepare Yourself For A Revolution In Cured Meats
21 May 2013 | 12:00 pmThe U.S. government is loosening restrictions that have kept various Italian delectables out of our country for decades. How long will it take for them to reach our shores? While the rest of Washington has been brought to a standstill by scandals and partisan gridlock, there’s one issue our nations leaders are making real progress on: cured meats. NPR reports that at the end of May, the USDA will lift its 40-year ban on the import of Italian salumi from areas that were once restricted due to the presence of swine vesicular disease, including some of the country’s most famous… -
A Photog Unearths The Differences Among Like Objects
21 May 2013 | 12:00 pmOrdinary objects take on a new language in Diana Zlatanovski’s Typology series of photographs. You may have collected coins, stamps, or baseball cards as a kid. If you’re Jay Leno, you’re fortunate enough to collect cars. If you’re Angelina Jolie, you hanker after Renaissance knives (at least during the Billy Bob era). Part of the thrill of tracking down trinkets are the stories behind them. Those stories are the focus of anthropologist and photographer Diana Zlatanovski’s body of work. “Objects are wrapped in stories and meaning,” she tells… -
This Pouch Ensures You Pay Attention To Your Date, Not Your Phone
21 May 2013 | 12:00 pmBlokket blocks cell signals and keeps your phone screen hidden from view. Forget body language--the most effective, ultra-modern way to show someone that you’re into them, you respect them, or you genuinely enjoy their company is to keep your darn hands off your darn phone when you’re hanging out. Period. There’s always a little sinking feeling when you’re sitting across from someone who, mid-sentence, feels the need to fidget: To fact-check how tall Channing Tatum is in real life (Google sez 6’1”); to see if your buddy wants to get ice cream and a beer…
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The EstiMate Software Blog
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What we learned from the licensing server debacle
24 Apr 2013 | 6:36 amThose of you who have been following these posts know that our licensing server died last Wednesday because the host had the wrong voltage power cord plugged into the hard drive. This just goes to show you never know when Murphy will visit. The “licensing server” is actually a windows service running on a dedicated Windows server, that interacts with our customer database and generates license files for you. The process we had to go through to get it running was: Rebuild IIS and the secure server Reinstall our customer database software (an in house written project) and… -
Licensing server woes continue
19 Apr 2013 | 11:00 amUnfortunately we are still in limbo with the licensing server. Apparently when the host reinstalled the OS on the server, it is a different version of Windows and our server binaries won’t run on it. In order to rebuild the binaries I have to upgrade to the newest version of the database components it uses, and I am waiting for the software to be delivered (the component developer is in Russia). So hopefully I will get that delivery over the weekend and can get the servers back up. In the meantime please email customerservice@estimatesoftware.com if you need help (we have the… -
Licensing server issues affecting “manage your plan”
18 Apr 2013 | 9:28 amMany apologies to anyone affected by this, our licensing server is down right now. The host apparently had the wrong voltage power cord plugged into it’s hard drive and the drive had to be replaced. I am rebuilding the server now from the ground up and hopefully I will have the licensing server live again within a few hours. I’ll report back here when it’s up. Our internal personal emails are also down as a result, but the support@ and customerservice@ emails are hosted elsewhere and are functional. -
New 5x Faster Reporting Engine Coming In This Month’s Update
5 Feb 2013 | 11:48 amI’m excited to announce a new update for EstiMate coming this month. Right now I’m in the process of rewriting all the reports in EstiMate to use a much faster reporting engine than the one currently in use; it’s about 5x the speed. I’ve never liked the old one we used, but the new one from FastReports seems to be a much better choice. This is a screen shot of the new report preview screen. Note that now reports can be viewed 2-pages up. Also note that this “Open Estimates” report using our sample data is 35 pages long – and the preview was… -
New EstiMate Build Available: 3.1.0.2
27 Feb 2012 | 5:28 amA new EstiMate build has been prepared that addresses several issues and adds quite a few small but helpful new features. The complete list of changes: EstiMate 3.1.0.2 New Features: 33651: File attachments are now limited to 5MB in size. 33652: The option to exclude file attachments when making a backup has been added. This allows smaller backups to be sent to the tech support desk. 33550: The ability to print the material waste calculations for Wide Format and Flatbed Digital printing has been added. 33661: The QuickBooks link now persists the form settings (checkboxes checked, grid column…
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Indexed
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A simple recipe.
21 May 2013 | 11:23 amShare and Enjoy: -
Listen to fewer voices.
20 May 2013 | 11:21 amShare and Enjoy: -
Sugar? Coffee? Or something else?
17 May 2013 | 10:54 amShare and Enjoy: -
Both gluttony and hunger get old quickly.
16 May 2013 | 9:29 amShare and Enjoy: -
Maybe hugs are drugs.
15 May 2013 | 8:59 amShare and Enjoy:
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Adaptive Path
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Experience Mapping Workshops Coming to SF & Austin
7 May 2013 | 11:16 amWhen I started sharing insights about the what, why, and how of using experience maps to make sense of cross-channel journeys a year and a half ago, I was completely (and pleasantly) surprised by the positive response. Since then, we've worked on many projects that made use of experience maps, I've talked about them at conferences, and my colleague Patrick Quattlebaum and I have taught hundreds of people around the world about the value and process of experience mapping (including last year at UX Week). All of this has helped further evolve what we know and share about using… -
SF Public Design Jam: Make a Difference in 48 Hours
6 May 2013 | 4:10 pmWe are excited to be hosting the first annual SF Public Design Jam on June 5th and 6th. The SF Public Design Jam is part of a 48-hour global initiative called Global GovJam that aims to bring together people from government, non-profit organizations, designers, students, and local citizens to 'jam' on real solutions to public sector problems. For those not familiar with the concept of Jamming, the organizers of the Global GovJam put it this way: Imagine a Jam session in music. You come together, bringing your instruments, your… -
UX Week 2013 Speaker Preview
29 Apr 2013 | 3:30 pm[UX Week 2012 attendees enjoying lunch outside on one of the workshop days] We're still putting the finishing touches on the program for UX Week 2013, but here's a taste of what you'll see in San Francisco this August. First up, some of our keynote speakers: Steven Johnson is the author of eight bestselling books on science, technology, and culture. His latest are Where Good Ideas Come From, on the creative processes that drive innovation; and Future Perfect, on how networked systems can drive social change. Brenda Laurel is one of the pioneers in the field of user experience… -
on Service Design
25 Apr 2013 | 2:34 pmWhile in Berlin for our (awesome) workshop series, UX Intensive I accepted an invitation to speak at a local meet up with only the promise that I would speak “about service design.” The resulting talk, on Service Design, is a mixed tape of sorts. It’s a compilation of my work married with some of the great thinking on service design coming out of Adaptive Path from people like Jamin Hegeman, Brandon Schauer, and Chris Risdon. And it reflects the practice work we’re delivering week in and week out as we tackle systemic problems in organizations looking to provide better… -
Three Trends Driving Healthcare Experiences
22 Apr 2013 | 12:44 pmI'm a cyclist. I recently crashed on my bike. I wish I could say I went down while contesting a sprint in a race, but the truth of the matter is more mundane. I hit a pothole. It's the cycling equivalent of tripping while walking down the sidewalk. I went down pretty hard. Hard enough to crack my helmet and almost total my bike. As I was sitting on the curb waiting for my wife to pick me up, I realized three things—I knew I had to apologize to my wife for crashing, I knew I had to go to the ER, and I knew that dealing with my insurance was going to be a tough experience. As my…
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The Phoenix Principle
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Economically, is Obama America's Greatest Modern President?
17 May 2013 | 8:30 amWith the stock market hitting new highs, some people have already forgotten about the Great Recession. If you recall 2009, things looked pretty bleak economically. But the outlook has changed dramatically in just 4 years. And it has been a boon for investors, as even the safest indices have yielded a 250% return (>25% annualized compound return:) Source: Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box at Facebook.com Meanwhile, trends have reversed direction with unemployment falling, and consumer confidence rising: Source: Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box at Facebook.com Since this coincides with… -
The Ugly Leadership Horsefly in the Record DJIA Economic Ointment
3 May 2013 | 2:07 pmThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped to record levels - over 15,000 - today after a favorable U.S. jobs report showed 165K new jobs and a drop in unemployment to 7.5%. Politicians, economists, business leaders and investors were buoyed by economic improvements and the hope for further growth. A higher stock market is considered a great ointment for what has hurt America the last several years. But there's a big, ugly fly in this ointment. While the indices are rising, revenues at many very large, key component companies are actually declining. And possibly worse, the revenue… -
2 Wrongs Don't Fix JC Penney
22 Apr 2013 | 4:21 pmJCPenney's board fired the company CEO 18 months ago. Frustrated with weak performance, they replaced him with the most famous person in retail at the time. Ron Johnson was running Apple's stores, which had the highest profit per square foot of any retail chain in America. Sure he would bring the Midas touch to JC Penney they gave him a $50M sign-on bonus and complete latitude to do as he wished. Things didn't work out so well. Sales fell some 25%. The stock dropped 50%. So about 2 weeks ago the Board fired Ron Johnson. The first mistake: Ron Johnson didn't try solving the real… -
Interesting Apple Infographic
19 Apr 2013 | 11:38 amhttp://www.moneychoice.org/the-fall-of-apple/ -
United - this is NOT "any way to run an airline"
11 Apr 2013 | 8:44 amThe good folks at Wichita State (a final four contender as U.S. basketball fans know) and Purdue released their 2013 Airline Quality Rating. United Airlines came in dead last. To which United responded that they simply did not care. Oh my. Interestingly, this study is based wholly on statistical performance, rather than customer input. The academics utilize on-time flight performance, denied passenger boardings, mishandled bags and complaints filed with the Department of Transportation. It does not even begin to explore surveying customers about their satisfaction. Anyone who…
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ZenStorming
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New Directions in Innovation and Design – Insights from IIT’s Design Strategy Conference
18 May 2013 | 12:30 amFrom crops to crafts to time machines - the IIT Institute of Design's, Design Strategy Conference, was full of provocative insights. -
The Many Dimensions of Beauty
11 May 2013 | 1:26 pmSustainable innovation occurs when the mind dwells in the many dimensions of beauty, where like breeds like… A friend shared the following video on Facebook. It’s simple and profound. One could say: It’s beautiful. -
When Success is Bad – The Math Behind Why Failure Is Essential
29 Apr 2013 | 11:29 pmWe don't know what we don't know in the product development process. There is a way to get past this to create more robust products. -
Sound, Remembering, and Sleeping – An Innovative way to Design Memorable Experiences
22 Apr 2013 | 12:30 amResearch shows sounds heard while sleeping can help in the recall of experiences. -
Sonic and Multi-Sensorial Branding
16 Apr 2013 | 9:14 pmReflections on insights from Kaiser Permanente on sonic branding
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XPLANE xBlog
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XPLANE’s Value Proposition “XPLANEd”
24 Apr 2013 | 7:55 pmOne of the great ironies at XPLANE is that while we are well known for simplifying and clarifying our client’s value proposition, commonly referred to as “the elevator pitch,” our own elevator pitch is surprisingly difficult to succinctly articulate. But as with our clients, we’ve used visuals to help. And as we’ve evolved our services and value for clients, we’ve needed to evolve our graphical depiction of our core value. For years, we used this graphic to talk to clients about what we did: As we’ve evolved however, this graphic has become less accurate in depicting the value… -
Association of Change Management Professionals Conference
24 Apr 2013 | 7:52 pmXPLANE recently sponsored and participated as a conference exhibitor at the 2013 Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) Global Conference, one of the largest gatherings of professionals focused on revolutionizing results and igniting changes within their organizations. This year, conference presenters included Erik Wahl, internationally recognized author, entrepreneur, graffiti artist and featured TED presenter, and David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of “Your Brain at Work.” The theme of the 2013 conference reflects the importance of change… -
XPLANE Transforms Visual Thinking into a Sweet Song
24 Apr 2013 | 7:48 pmMore than 30 professionals gathered at XPLANE’s Portland office to participate in April’s Visual Thinking School (VTS): Music, Ethnography & Design. The April session was designed and run by Dave King, vice president of client services, and Roel Uleners, senior consultant, and required participants to create a poster visualizing a product or service idea for a distinct American subculture. To create their posters, teams were given the lyrics to five popular songs representative of a particular subculture. Musical genres explored were country, rap, R&B/hip hop and heavy… -
XPLANE Amsterdam Office Expands
24 Apr 2013 | 7:46 pmThree years ago, XPLANE opened its office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The office represented XPLANE’s strong growth in Northern Europe and desire to have a closer presence with key customers. Today, we are proud to tell you that the office is expanding as a result of continued client growth and the need for additional staff. XPLANE is bringing on new local talent and relocating two members of our U.S.-based team to Amsterdam. Shawn Wright and Charyl Looper are relocating to Amsterdam from Portland, bringing the number of current full-time staff to four. We recently had the opportunity to… -
Creative Minds Gather in Moscow for Visual Thinking Live!
24 Apr 2013 | 7:43 pmIn late March, President of XPLANE, Parker Lee, was invited by the Moscow business Wonderfull project lab to present XPLANE’s thoughts on visual thinking at a Visual Thinking Live! event. This was the first event of its kind in Moscow, bringing together illustrators, designers, creatives and entrepreneurs. Visual Thinking Live! was designed to share new tools and techniques to help ignite creative thinking and visualization. XPLANE was invited to participate and offer some context on how visual thinking impacts behavior. Parker’s presentation helped guide listeners through techniques that…
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Holiday Matinee
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Manage Your Day-To-Day [review]
21 May 2013 | 5:30 amWith each passing day I’m more convinced that the new genius has little to do with ideas. Fine, ideas have their place, but what’s really become rarified air is the focus needed to bring these ideas to fruition. I’m someone who once considered focus to be one of my best strengths. In recent years though, I’ve been very prone to distractions, maybe not any more than most people, but enough for me to realize I knew better. I’m constantly seeking out advice on the subject and have made some improvements. But what I find is that I need constant reminders of just how… -
The fashionable stay young forever.
20 May 2013 | 1:17 pmYou have to check out Zoe Spawton’s Tumblr What Ali Wore Today. It’s such a treat to follow and will quickly put a smile on your face. Long story short, Zoe (an Australian photographer) has been chronicling the daily outfits of trendy Berlin-based tailor Ali ever since she saw him walk past her work. And how couldn’t she? Dude’s got style: perfect attention to detail and a pose that screams confidence. Not to mention he’s 83. I love to see someone take their fashion that serious into older age. Definitely an inspiration to us all. The post The fashionable stay… -
Lunch with Friends
19 May 2013 | 2:55 pmWe’re excited to team up with our friends Delta Air Lines to host Lunch With Friends. It’s a simple concept, if you’re a hard-working hustler in the social media, digital or tech industry, come have lunch on us. It’s going to be a great way to unplug and meet compadres who are at the forefront of all things awesome. This all goes down Monday, May 20th at T4X, Delta’s impressive pop-up space in SoHo that celebrates the opening of T4, their much anticipated terminal at JFK. Hope you can make it. The post Lunch with Friends appeared first on Holiday Matinee. -
The Golden Age of Poster Art
17 May 2013 | 11:50 pmAnderson Design Group has created perhaps the best city posters I’ve ever seen. They’re hand rendered to pay homage to the masters of the golden age of poster art and irresistible once you lay eyes on them. Even if you don’t happen to from the big city there’s plenty of prints to honor regions and national parks. Below you’ll see a print from each of the cities we have writers, but one question remains. How do you settle on just one of these? I want like eight of them! You can find them at Scoutmob Shoppe. The post The Golden Age of Poster Art appeared first on… -
This is water.
13 May 2013 | 2:15 pmDavid Foster Wallace, author of many great works — including but not limited to Infinite Jest, which I have unfortunately not been able to finish despite multiple attempts — gave a commencement address to graduating seniors at Kenyon College back in 2005. But that was before the Internet gave birth to stuff that went viral (actually, believe it or not, YouTube was founded in 2005). Luckily for us, The Glossary made an awesome video inspired by Wallace’s speech that has now been seen by more than 3 million people. Which is great, because then maybe everyone will be a…
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Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us
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German Industrial Robots Turned Aussie GPS Testers
21 May 2013 | 2:45 pmIt looks like robots, that were designed to do heavy work in factories in Germany, are going to be going on a new adventure. They are going to be used to help test the relability of the GPS systems down under in the outback.The systems data will be used to refine the system and help tectonic plate research in the future. -
Xbox One Revealed
21 May 2013 | 12:17 pmToday Microsoft introduced the Xbox One, its next generation gaming console, and the company aims to make it an all-in-one device for the living room with online and social features for the whole family. -
The Real Story Behind the Failed Sale of the Sega Pluto
21 May 2013 | 8:00 amSome time ago, a fellow on Destructoid who goes by the handle "kidvid666" made a very exciting revelation. Apparently, he owns one of the only two Sega Pluto units in existence. He decided to see what he could sell it for, and opted to put it up for auction. Unfortunately, things didn't exactly go as planned. -
The Boil Buoy Lets You Know When The Heat Is On
21 May 2013 | 7:02 amFor busy people it is easy to get distracted while having something on the stove. To make sure you know when your water is boiling Quirky.com is bringing out the Boil Buoy. This dandy little gadget rings when your pot is boiling so that you won't miss your tea or burn your soup. -
Will Robots Social Network When They Eclipse Man's Intelligence? [Videos]
21 May 2013 | 6:37 am'Singularity' for those mere mortals who are unaware is the theoretical emergence of a super-intelligence through technological means. First proposed by mathematician John von Neumann, it is the time when "ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue."
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Creativity_Unbound
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Five career tips for recent graduates
14 May 2013 | 3:53 pmI know this is just four, but they fit better. The fifth is “Control your own career.” As in don’t leave it up to someone else, least of all your boss. I get it. You’re anxious. A bit stressed. One life stage comes crashing to an end and a new, unfamiliar one is about to begin. Your parents are tired of footing the bill. College loan payments loom just over the horizon. The job market remains iffy. And yes, your portfolio, resume and cover letter all need work. You want a job, a paycheck and something that validates the last four years of life and the $200,000 you just… -
A short film reminding us to create for ourselves
13 May 2013 | 11:42 amBEHIND THE EYE: The Making of EYE On The 60′s from Chris Szwedo on Vimeo. “You make a film to learn a little bit about life and to have an adventure of your own. But little do you ever realize what’s actually in store for you.” That’s but one of many sentiments and insights shared by my good friend and cycling partner Chris Szwedo in the above film, The Making of Eye on the Sixties, about the documentary he recently wrote and directed examining the work and career of photographer Roland Scherman. This short captures Chris talking about the experience of crafting the full-length… -
The blur between creative and strategy, and why I’ll be at Planningness
24 Apr 2013 | 5:34 amYesterday, in a class at BU, I gave a lecture and led a discussion about “advertising” creative ideas. We explored “big” ideas: Let’s build a smarter planet; Giving wings to people and ideas; Day One. We dissected “campaign” ideas: A long day of childhood calls for America’s favorite pasta sauce. We thought about “advertising” ideas. While some are clearly the creation of a traditional advertising creative team, the higher up the idea food chain you get, the more you can see the contribution of the strategist, or at the very least the strategic side of the creative team. -
Finally, Springpad has embeddable notebooks
27 Mar 2013 | 7:36 amView the “Books You Should Read” notebook on Springpad I’ve been a fan of Springpad since they first launched. Enough so to join its board and also to fill in as interim CMO for six months in 2012. I can’t say I was a very good CMO – not a master of growth hacking, which is what startups really need in their marketing mix – but I did push for one feature. Embeddable notebooks. Everything that Springpad is about – filtering the web, acting on your “springs,” saving, preserving and presenting content in a form that keeps it persistent rather than lost in the… -
Five important soundbites from SxSW
13 Mar 2013 | 6:14 amEventually there will be some very impressive data visualizations of SxSW. How many people, how many sessions, how many beers consumed, how many hangovers. Until then you can check out Mashable’s SxSW by the numbers. Or poke around SxSWs’s press room. But to be honest, I’m less interested in how much there is to pore through and more in the few things that might actually be useful, transferable, and worth remembering. Which is why I go every year. To find insights and perspectives that might serve a purpose the other 360 days. Out of consideration for the fact that you are either: A.
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The Complete Innovator
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The Myth of the Millennial Social Movement
7 May 2013 | 11:36 amHardly a day goes by without me hearing a senior executive at some major company cite the growing influence of the upcoming “Millennial Generation” as the reason for their foray into the enterprise social world. But I wonder if they’re missing a trick here – look at almost any study of who actually uses Social Media in the modern world – and you’ll see that the major users are not those born in 2000+ (who are yet to get into the workforce) – but rather you see an almost even split between those in the 25-34 age and those in the 35-44 range. Compare that then with the average… -
Are you listening? The return of Employee Engagement
23 Jan 2013 | 9:17 am“Employee Engagement” used to be a term reserved for the hollow halls of HR departments across the land. You’d hear a client say that was their main goal, and you knew a program was doomed to fail – usually because it was code word for “I haven’t got a clue what to do with this type of social application”. My eyes would roll, my sleeves would get rolled up, and I’d get down to work teaching them the need to rethink the requirement for innovation goals that would drive focused value and strategic change through their organization. But that was 10 years ago – and today, as I… -
Gamification in Innovation
23 May 2012 | 3:02 pmA few months ago I wrote a post on the promise of Gamification in the Enterprise. You can read the whole piece but as a recap, here are some of the more salient points: 1) Gamification in the enterprise is not about trivializing business processes or activities, but rather about embracing a design methodology that taps into an inherent “addiction” inside all of us to the engagement mechanics and format of “good games” 2) Games surround us everywhere, if we choose to see them as such. Just because we don’t envision the business (and other) systems around us as games; just because… -
Should we be starting single sex Innovation Labs?
10 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amStephen Dubner of “Freaknomics” fame recently tackled an interesting aspect of innovation on the NPR show “Marketplace” . In the show he pointed to a patent gap – namely the gender gap in patent applications. Apparently women are only responsible for 7.5% of all patents filed and Jenny Hunt, an economist at Rutgers University reckoned that closing that male to female patent gap in science and engineering could have a dramatic effect on the economy – raising it by up to 2.7% – a pretty sizeable gain. There are multiple reasons for this gap existing… -
Getting Inside the Game – The promise of Gamification in the Enterprise
15 Mar 2012 | 10:24 amYou’ve probably started hearing the terms “Gamification” or “Game Mechanics” in increasing frequency in your corporate hallways of late. This is especially so if I’ve been working with you, as Gamification theory and practice (not to be confused with the Economics based “Game Theory”) is quickly becoming a cornerstone of the next generation of highly engaging collaborative Innovation programs. I probably get asked about Gamification (aka the application of Game Mechanics/Game Design to a particular system, process, or program) at least once a day now – Spigit has quite the…
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SERVICE INNOVATION
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What to do after college?
21 May 2013 | 1:02 amHere is my new article: What to do after college?Young people should stop looking for jobs and, instead, be innovators! -
The tax office: huge opportunity for service innovation
13 May 2013 | 6:57 amAs most of our public institutions (education, police, community hall etc.) provide services, they can benefit hugely from service innovation. However, in order to reap those benefits, they need to be open to the fact that their users (‘the public’) are really their customers. That in itself will require a huge shift in attitude!Let me give you an example. I am helping my mother with her income tax. She has signed an authorization to automatically pay for her 2013 taxes. So far, so good. But, after 4 months, she did receive 2 mails on the same day. These mails were… -
Giving compliments: easy and difficult
24 Apr 2013 | 2:46 amMore and more research (positive psychology; happiness) indicates that giving a compliment is very important for the wellbeing, as well as the performance of employees. A compliment makes you feel good (yes, that is true for everyone!) and that will help you to more easily solve problems, be nicer to customers and/or come up with new ideas.So, why are we not giving that many compliments then? The reason might be our culture , in which we are trained to focus on the weaknesses, mistakes and faults, rather than focusing on the strengths. We are afraid that people will become lazy… -
A real, smile sells.
9 Apr 2013 | 4:59 amOn a daily basis, we are bombarded with 1000’s of commercial messages. They are all fighting to be top of mind, your mind! Well, that is hardly working, as we become immune to this information overflow. Only when a campaign is very funny or controversial, it will draw our attention.A very simple, yet profound way to attract customers is to have employees who are really smiling. These employees (either fact to face or online) are a real magnet for your business. So, this is easy, you might say. But it is not. I am talking about a real, a genuine smile here. And many employees are not happy… -
The numbers or the needs?
2 Apr 2013 | 3:05 amWell, this looks like the chicken or the egg problem. Isn’t it? Many supermarkets are checking the numbers, whether they should keep a product in their assortment. If a product doesn’t meet a certain threshold (minimum numbers sold), then they will remove it from their assortment.This means, that as a customer, you can no longer buy the product. This product might even be your favorite. So, what do you do as a customer? Will you buy a replacement, will you skip the product or…. will you go to another supermarket, which does have your product on sale?If the customer leaves, then…
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The Brainzooming Group
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Talking Strategy, Creativity & Social Media with Brainzooming
21 May 2013 | 2:50 amIt’s always very rewarding when people appreciate Brainzooming blog content and find value from applying our strategy, creativity, and innovation ideas in their careers. It’s especially fun when there’s an opportunity to extend the Brainzooming message into new venues in collaboration with others. Today, we’re highlighting two people who’ve been particularly kind in their appreciation for our content and in featuring Brainzooming content through their own social media presences. Join Us and Let’s Talk Live on the WiseTalk Teleconference, May 30 Sue Bethanis, Founder and CEO of… -
5 Reasons Strategy and Creative Work Must Be Integrated
20 May 2013 | 2:50 amWe’re big believers in strong connections between strategy and creative work. It’s been a topic on the blog, and it’s a key component of the strategic thinking workshops I conduct. Strategy and Creative Work Passing in the Daylight I was talking recently with someone involved on a team creating a response for a customer inquiry. For various reasons, team members building the strategy for the response worked separately from those addressing the creative elements. Since the strategy people and the creative people were working one after the other, instead of together, a variety of late in… -
A Strategic Lesson – What are you “in” and “of” in business?
17 May 2013 | 2:50 amHang on with me as we slam together a couple of apparently random experiences this week. Trust me; we’ll wind up with a strategic lesson here. Instigating a Strategic Lesson A reading at morning mass this week from the Gospel of John involved Jesus talking about the apostles being “in the world” but not “of” the world. The point is since His followers should focus on the importance of a heavenly reward, time in this world needs to be marked by a sense of detachment. While human functioning, making a living, and being of service to others are important, the expectation is to… -
Strategic Thinking Exercises – More than 200 Strategic Planning Questions
16 May 2013 | 2:50 amProductive strategic thinking exercises are at the heart of The Brainzooming Group methodology. Great brainstorming and strategic planning questions encourage and allow people to talk about what they know including factual information, personal perspectives, and their views of the future. The Value of Strategic Thinking Exercises I tell people who ask about how we developed The Brainzooming Group methodology that a big motivator was business people I worked with who didn’t know how to fill out strategic planning templates and worksheets. They did, however, know a lot about the businesses,… -
Social Media Strategy – The Tweetable Lunch with Alex Knapp of Forbes
15 May 2013 | 2:50 amIf you follow the @Brainzooming account on Twitter when I’m live tweeting a luncheon with someone incredibly tweetable, don’t be surprised to be inundated with forty or fifty tweets (sorry!). That’s exactly what happened when Alex Knapp, Social Media Editor and staff writer at Forbes, headlined this month’s Social Media Club of Kansas City lunch talking about the intersection of publishing and social media strategy. For those who don’t follow @Brainzooming on Twitter, here via reformatted tweets and paraquotes, are just a few of the social media strategy insights Alex Knapp…
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Christa in New York
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Beautiful: Computer Programming Teaches Us How to Solve Every Problem
21 May 2013 | 12:00 am“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.” ~ Rene Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher Problems trip us up because they typically have many layers. We get so caught up in their tangled webs that we can’t see our way clear of them. We try to solve the whole thing at once. If we can break a problem down into pieces and then address each piece individually, we gain confidence by removing each roadblock and eventually the light at the end of the tunnel begins to shine through. Learning to program has taught me this lesson… -
Beautiful: One Fine Yogi, My Latest Creation, Is Starting Up to Support Compass Yoga
19 May 2013 | 10:00 pm“Yoga is skill in action.” ~ Bhagavad Gita As a way to build a sustainable revenue source for Compass Yoga, I’m creating a line of yoga-inspired fashions for you and your home as well as personal care products under the brand One Fine Yogi. Proceeds from this line of products will support Compass’s work to get more yoga to more people in more places. If you want to be notified about the launch this summer, please visit http://onefineyogi.com and add your name to the mailing list. Right now I am in the midst of the design / test phase. The launch timeline is as follows: Late… -
Beautiful: The One Reason Why You Need to Quit a Job You Hate
19 May 2013 | 12:00 am“Put your good where it will do the most.” ~ Wavy Gravy There are all kinds of reasons we stay at a job we hate – benefits, paycheck, commitment, loyalty, guilt, fear. Every job has its ups and downs. But there is one big, fat reason why you just can’t maintain staying at a job that isn’t going to get better – you are wasting your time. You have to put your goodness in the place where it will do the most good for the world. When you look at it this way, staying at a job you hate is not only damaging to you, but to everyone. We’ve got piles of… -
Beautiful: My First Article on igokids.com is Live and Features the Museum of Mathematics
18 May 2013 | 12:00 amAbout a month ago I started writing for igokids.com, a site with the mission to be the go-to resource for parents, families, and caregivers about everything kid-related in New York City and beyond. I’ll be covering all kinds of activities from museum exhibitions to theater shows to family-friendly restaurants and events for the young and young-at-heart. My first post is now live and highlights the Museum of Mathematics, a one-of-a-kind place where kids and adults alike can play with numbers. Check it out by clicking here. If you have ideas of places and events in NYC that you think I… -
Beautiful: Get Back to What You Love
16 May 2013 | 10:00 pmMaybe the best piece of career advice you could get… “Forgetting about what you love to do can be a form of self-sabotage – get back to what you love.” ~ Madisyn Taylor for DailyOm In yoga, the principle of ahimsa (do no harm) is a cornerstone of the practice on and off the mat. Many forms of harm are obvious. Some forms of harm are much more subtle, and I’ve found that those forms are the ones we really need to consciously keep in check. Moving away from what we love is one of those. I completely understand that we may need to take a job that we don’t…
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Wisepreneur: Creativity & Innovation for Entrepreneurs
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Understanding Strategic Innovation
20 May 2013 | 7:00 amSo what is strategic innovation? For your company to succeed you need to stay competitive and ahead of all the other companies that are working to gain the same market share that you are. You need strategic innovation to understand the marketplace and produce new products and services to meet the needs of your consumers. Read More »Related Posts:Core Innovation StrategyExperiencing The Benefits Of An Innovative StrategyWhat does “Marketing” Really Mean?Crafting Innovation Strategy As A Business LeaderInnovation Strategy Insights: Top Tips to Promote Innovation -
We Desperately Need Non-Conformists! 5 Reasons You Should Be an Entrepreneur
17 May 2013 | 7:00 amNational wealth is based on private enterprise. It is an incontrovertible fact. The basic building blocks of wealth and prosperity for all nations has been private enterprise. Without private enterprise there would be no money for governments to fund infrastructure, health or education, and without private enterprise unemployment throughout the world would be at sky Read More »Related Posts:What Are 4 Differences Between Being Unemployed and Being anExpertise Is a Handicap! 5 Tips to Move From Expert to…Will Innovations Create the 4-Hour Work Week? And Do We…Why a Small… -
Who Can Motivate Your Employees for Innovation?
15 May 2013 | 7:00 amWe very often require some new ideas or innovative approaches from our employees. We try to create a corporate culture targeted on the search and implementation of innovations or on improvements of something. The question of motivation comes again and again. Let’s try to look at how much this question is important during the search Read More »Related Posts:The Key Features of Innovative Business TeamsInnovation and the Necessity to InspireInnovation and the Necessity to InspireCreating an Innovative Culture: Top 4 Ideas to Drive…Why Results Require Rewards – Encouraging… -
Reconnecting With Your Starting Point
13 May 2013 | 7:00 amTo effectively plan for the growth of a business an entrepreneur has to zero in on the origination of the business. This is important is because you need to orient yourself to the preliminary stages of your business prior to putting yourself on a continued path of success. Think of it a retrospective look with Read More »Related Posts:Synching the Conceptual With RealityCreating a Targeted Market OpportunityUnlocking the Keys to the Entrepreneur WithinThree Traits of a Successful CompanyThe Power of an Idea -
What is Value-Based Strategy?
10 May 2013 | 8:00 amWhat does "strategy" in business mean to you? Whatever definition you provide is bound to be at odds with almost anyone else you ask because there's no agreement about who makes it, how to make it, or even if it works.Related Posts:Why Your First Act in Any Leadership Role (or Any Role)…The Significance of the Innovation Strategy KPI in Any…Why Your First Act in Any Leadership Role (or Any Role)…Core Innovation StrategyRoadmapping for Product Innovation Transformation
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Game-Changer
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Tunnel vision: The enemy of strategic thinking
21 May 2013 | 7:48 amTwo weekends ago, I went to Disneyland with my brother. We had a good time and got a on a lot rides. Including some I’ve never gotten on before. Astro Blasters is one such ride. If you’ve never experienced it, think of it as a shooting gallery on wheels. Basically, you ride a two person pod that has two laser guns attached to it along with a screen that shows you how many points you have. Your task is to hit targets with the letter “Z” on them. Different targets are worth different points. And, as you’ve probably guessed, you have to accumulate as many points as… -
Stop guessing. Business is done outside the office!
20 May 2013 | 7:37 amHow do you do real business development? “Stop guessing. Business is done outside the office!” That is the core message from Stu Heilsberg’s book. A true Business Development Executive, Stu shares his experience in The Answers Are Outside The Building. Business development is customer/client development. Being Startup Weekend Organizer and entrepreneur, I’m well aware of the “customer development” concept advocated by Eric Ries and Steve Blank. You may get this, and may even do it. And, I know what you are thinking, get out and talk to customers. Right? -
Innovation must reads of the week: To truly innovate, create pleasant surprises
19 May 2013 | 7:39 am[View the story "Innovation must reads of the week: To truly innovate, create pleasant surprises" on Storify] Related posts: Innovation must reads of the week: Are we losing the will to innovate? Innovation must reads of the week: How to innovate innovation Innovation must reads of the week: Change consumer behavior with these 5 levers -
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Innovation
14 May 2013 | 6:11 amHere are HBR’s 10 must read articles on innovation. No need to buy, although you can if you want to, as I’ve compiled the PDF’s for each article right here. Just click on the link and voila! 1. Innovation’s Holy Grail by C.K. Prahalad and R.A. Mashelkar 2. Stop the Innovation Wars by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble 3. How GE Is Disrupting Itself by Jeffrey R. Immelt, Vijay Govindarajan, and Chris Trimble 4. The Customer-Centered Innovation Map by Lance A. Bettencourt and Anthony W. Ulwick 5. The Innovation Value Chain by Morten T. Hansen and Julian Birkinshaw 6. Is It… -
Enter to win a signed copy of The Innovator’s DNA from Game-Changer
13 May 2013 | 10:09 amGet a chance to win a signed copy of The Innovator’s DNA. Sign up for our free newsletter to enter. If you’re the lucky winner, you will have access to a very well written book about creativity, innovation and leadership that is free of buzzwords at your fingertips. Entry deadline is May 20. As a newsletter subscriber, you’ll get email updates of my innovation focused blogs posts, as well as resources and tips. You won’t get any spam from me. I promise you. CLICK HERE TO ENTER! On May 21, 2013, I’ll announce the lucky winner. You must be a newsletter…
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Creativity at Work Blog
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Creativity on the Go: These iPad tools make it easy
7 May 2013 | 3:50 pmCreativity on the Go: These iPad tools make it easy Creativity on the Go: If you don’t have... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Left vs Right Brain Infographic
26 Apr 2013 | 12:01 pmLeft vs Right Brain Infographic Left vs Right Brain Illustrated Is your left brain at war with your... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Photos of Hatley Park Gardens at Royal Roads University
22 Apr 2013 | 9:42 pmPhotos of Hatley Park Gardens at Royal Roads University I took these pictures of Hatley Park... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Whole Brain Thinking: Cultivate 21st Century Creativity and Leadership
22 Apr 2013 | 6:21 pmWhole Brain Thinking: Cultivate 21st Century Creativity and Leadership Whole Brain... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Scientist finds link between the neurobiology of music and language
11 Apr 2013 | 5:26 pmScientist finds link between the neurobiology of music and language Send to Kindle A prime reason... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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STEVENAHILL.COM
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Why Bother With Africa?
20 May 2013 | 7:46 pmThere’s a mentality that exists here in America that we are to take care of our own before we start worrying about anyone else. Not everyone holds that belief, of course, but I’ve encountered plenty who do. As I find myself preparing for another trek by skateboard across the state of Indiana to raise money...Continue reading » -
In the Room Are Many Doors
15 May 2013 | 7:55 pmLast Sunday I was standing in the room you see above contemplating what the future had in store. I had briefly excused myself from cocktail hour when I was struck with a simple yet, intriguing metaphor that lay in front of my eyes. I front of me lay two doors, one that would take me...Continue reading » -
Allen Iverson and Identity
28 Apr 2013 | 11:08 amThis past weekend I was reading a rather sad article in the Washington Post about one of the most prolific NBA point guards of all time, Allen Iverson. Now assuming you were familiar with the guy, hearing that name would probably bring to mind his trademark cornrows, extensive body art, a killer crossover dribble, and/or a rather...Continue reading » -
The War on Single Christians
9 Apr 2013 | 7:51 pmIf you’ve come to my site by way of Twitter, the greatest social network ever, you may be aware of the fact that I use the service a lot and I follow an awful lot of people. I’ll be the first to admit that there is no way I can possibly stay up on every...Continue reading » -
An Easter Manifesto
30 Mar 2013 | 9:14 pmAs I began writing this Easter post, I envisioned an article that would tactfully yet pungently nail churches and Christians themselves on a variety of issues I had with how this incredible holiday is observed. I wanted voice my frustration with this constant need among churches to go “bigger and better” year after year with their light...Continue reading »
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TalentCulture - World of Work
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Workspace Design: Form, Function and Positive Feedback
21 May 2013 | 5:27 pmWhen designing an organizational workspace, it's essential to think from the "inside" out. Why? Thoughts from an employee recognition expert...Read MoreThe post Workspace Design: Form, Function and Positive Feedback appeared first on TalentCulture - World of Work. -
The Business Wisdom of Recognition #TChat Preview
19 May 2013 | 3:53 pmIt's no secret that workforce recognition pays. The trick is getting recognition right. How can employers make it count? That's the focus in the TalentCulture community at this week's events...Read MoreThe post The Business Wisdom of Recognition #TChat Preview appeared first on TalentCulture - World of Work. -
Recognition Done Right: 9 Points of Light
18 May 2013 | 12:54 pmWhat do some of the world's most respected companies do to recognize employee performance -- and why? Take a quick tour and get inspired!Read MoreThe post Recognition Done Right: 9 Points of Light appeared first on TalentCulture - World of Work. -
Office Space: Work in Progress #TChat Recap
16 May 2013 | 4:30 pmHow does workspace design affect workforce engagement and organizational performance? See what our talent-minded "world of work" community says...Read MoreThe post Office Space: Work in Progress #TChat Recap appeared first on TalentCulture - World of Work. -
Employer Brands: Big-Company Ideas for The Rest of Us
15 May 2013 | 11:25 amWorld-class employers work overtime to create an environment that attracts new talent and keeps existing employees on board. What can the rest of us learn from them? Ask yourself 4 questions...Read MoreThe post Employer Brands: Big-Company Ideas for The Rest of Us appeared first on TalentCulture - World of Work.
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Innovative Brain Food from New & Improved
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Driving innovation in Turkey
20 May 2013 | 7:06 pmNew & Improved CEO Bob Eckert and New & Improved Turkish consulting partner Pelin Urgancilar are both featured in the April 2013 issue of Turkishtime, Turkey's leading economic magazine. We thought you might like to take a look at the conversation. -
Men (and women who like to laugh with them) Listen UP!
20 May 2013 | 3:00 pmAre you wondering how your organization can come up with a high-falootin’, toothy, game-changing solution that will send a powerful signal to clients that you are the innovator they will want to do business with? Read on for an irreverant example from Powerful Yogurt. -
Announcing the First Great Innovative Brain POINt CONTEST!
15 May 2013 | 10:00 amAnnouncing the First Great Innovative Brain POINt CONTEST! You could WIN one of three fabulous prizes, or at least have a great time trying. -
The Great Cookie Caper
9 May 2013 | 5:52 amJust because your work is important doesn’t mean that you have to take yourself seriously. You’ll soon observe that a backdrop of playfulness at work yields greater levels of innovation. That's the premise behind our recent cookie caper. -
From blah to brilliant...this isn't your father's coffee vending experience
6 May 2013 | 12:15 pm“We all know that big payoffs come from big risks,” say our favorite authors, Bob Eckert and Jonathan Vehar, but it’s not easy to take those risks. Consider the risk UK-based Costa Coffee faced when approached by Coffee Nation about forming a new and innovative brand alliance.
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Pacific-Tier Communications
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Big Data Skills – Opportunities and Threats
25 Apr 2013 | 5:15 pmBig data. There are few conversations in the IT community which do not start, address, or end on the topic. Some conversations are visionary in nature, some critical, and many considering the challenges we’ll need to overcome in the process of understanding how to deal with big data. Definitions of big data almost parallel the 3 V’s of big data, which are velocity, volume, and variety. We may call it a byproduct of massive data growth, cheap technology, and our ability to save everything. We may address the enormous volumes of data generated by social media, smart grids, and… -
The Value of Cloud Computing Certifications
8 Apr 2013 | 6:34 pmA good indication any new technology or business model is starting to mature is the number of certifications popping up related to that product, framework, or service. Cloud computing is certainly no exception, with vendors such as Microsoft, Google, VMWare, and IBM offering certification training for their own products, as well as organizations such CompTIA and Architura competing for industry neutral certifications. Is this all hype, or is it an essential part of the emerging cloud computing ecosystem? Can we remember the days when entry level Cisco, Microsoft, or other vendor… -
ICT Modernization Planning
23 Mar 2013 | 7:40 pmThe current technology refresh cycle presents many opportunities, and challenges to both organizations and governments. The potential of service-oriented architectures, interoperability, collaboration, and continuity of operations is an attractive outcome of technologies and business models available today. The challenges are more related to business processes and human factors, both of which require organizational transformations to take best advantage of the collaborative environments enabled through use of cloud computing and access to broadband communications. Gaining the most benefit… -
The Future of Carrier Hotels and Mixed-Use Office Buildings
20 Mar 2013 | 3:22 pmWe all know the buildings, One Wilshire, The Westin Building, 60 Hudson, Telehouse (UK), 200 Paul, 1102 Grand – all buildings advertising dozens, or even hundreds of carriers using the properties for interconnections at the fiber and network level. Meet-me-rooms are crowded, ladder racks full, and each property sits in the middle of the central business district in large cities. At one point, rumors circled the industry that if One Wilshire had a catastrophic failure of infrastructure that global communications may be set back to the mid 1960s. True or not, the building’s… -
Burbank Takes on Puppy Mills – Interview with Vice Mayor Gabel-Luddy
27 Jan 2013 | 11:57 pmEDITOR’S NOTE: This article by the author originally appeared in BurbankNBeyond. This and the interview with Councilman David Gordon, are the final articles in a series researching the introduction of a proposed pet Sales and Breeding Regulations Ordinance that may potentially eliminate the sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in the City of Burbank. BurbankNBeyond requested interviews with city council members to learn and publish their positions and opinions on the topic, issues, and proposed ordinance. Vice Mayor Gable-Luddy and Councilman Dr. David Gordon agreed to discuss…
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spruancegroup.com
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Surge pricing: What a difference a year makes
16 May 2013 | 3:00 amWhen Uber rolled out surge pricing during the 2012 New Year holiday, the feedback from customers was terrible. A year later, they utilized the same pricing model with a much kinder reception. So why the difference? It turns out that if you properly communicate and prepare your customers for price changes, their response is significantly much more positive. Uber—the service that allows customers to order high-end livery cabs through a smartphone application—has been using what the company calls “surge pricing” on the busiest of evenings (typically Halloween and New Year’s Eve) that… -
ChangeThis: One year and 6,700 downloads later
1 May 2013 | 3:00 amOne year and over 6,700 downloads later, “Five Rules for Pricing Excellence: Getting the Most for Your Services” has become one of the most popular ChangeThis manifestos to date. To all who have downloaded and viewed our eBook over the past twelve months, thank you! I hope that you’ve come to appreciate these five rules for pricing excellence. For those who haven’t, what’s taking you so long? Pricing is critical, and short-changing your pricing strategy is the fastest way to leave cash on the table—money that will be lost forever and never recovered. So after that initial… -
If prices were raised today, how would your customers react?
12 Apr 2013 | 2:30 amHow well do your salespeople know their customers? No, I’m not talking about knowing basic customer information or buying habits. Rather, I’m talking about knowing how each customer will react to price changes for each product or service he or she currently consumes. It’s about listening and constantly probing to find the answer to one very important pricing question. If prices were raised today, how would your customers react? The simple answer is that it all depends on how price sensitive (or insensitive) your customers are for specific products or services. For customers who are… -
A different look at pay-what-you-want pricing
26 Mar 2013 | 2:00 amThe concept of pay-what-you-want pricing is quite simple. Rather than setting a fixed price, sellers instead ask each buyer to pay whatever price they feel is appropriate for the object or service. In some cases, a minimum price (“floor”) or suggested price may be set, but in most cases buyers are allowed to pay what they want—even nothing. Some restaurants have been experimenting with this strategy for years, with mixed results. Software developers have also used freeware and shareware as another form of this type of pricing model. In doing this, they rely on donations from buyers to… -
Google Shopping Express to attack Amazon Prime: Will Jeff Bezos care?
6 Mar 2013 | 10:00 pmAccording to a recent TechCrunch story, Google is set to go after Amazon’s Prime Service that for $79 annually, gives Amazon customers unlimited movie and TV streaming, (free) access to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, and free two-day shipping on most everything bought on Amazon. While the unlimited movie and TV streaming along with access to the Kindle library are ‘nice to haves’, it’s the free two-day shipping (with no minimum purchase) that clearly drives customers' willingness to fork out the $79 annual fee. Here’s the story: Google is stealthily preparing to launch…
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Front End of Innovation Blog
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Post FEI Doldrums: A Kick in the Asterisk*
21 May 2013 | 12:24 pmThe seminars are over, the conversations have gone silent, and we’ve all gone back to our work-a-day lives. Perhaps some messages got through from the show, and some items you’ve since taken back to study under the fluorescents. This is where the real stuff happens. The other 355 days [giving 10 days for show euphoria to wear off] is where we need to apply a new frame to an old challenge. We essentially need a kick in the asterisk* at least once a week. So, we’re here to provide that Shift-8 every so often. These posts will be about what I’d expect you to be working on to solve the… -
The Top 6 Ways to Guarantee a Successful Enterprise Software Pilot
20 May 2013 | 1:58 pmSoftware pilots are tricky endeavors. They are a crucial first step in the process of deploying an enterprise software technology solution. You don’t want to commit full tilt until you’ve tested a technology. Successful deployments have significant impacts upon companies, people and careers. You want to get it right. Whether you call it a pilot or a Proof of Concept (POC for short), Pilots may be “tricky” but there are 6 crucial steps to take to optimize your chances for success Your software vendor partner can be your best friend. Software… -
Virtual Work Helps Women Get Ahead in Tech
16 May 2013 | 10:50 amWe all know that women in the tech start-up world are outnumbered by men, and most of them tend to be in support roles such as marketing, public relations and office management. But, as of late, it is the lack of women entrepreneurs in the technology industry, and the shortage of female tech employees have been major topics of discussion. Some women are working hard to bring more women into tech, but mostly they choose to ignore the industry’s male-dominated tradition, shrugging off the threat of sexism. Many seem not to notice when they’re pitching to a room full of men; some… -
Caution and Innovation: Do They Go Together?
16 May 2013 | 7:46 amAre you apprehensive about innovation? You are not alone. A new study by Accenture based on surveys of 519 companies across over 12 sectors in the U.S., U.K., and France revealed that half of executives feel their businesses have become risk averse when considering new ideas. Instead of inventing brand new products and services, 64 percent of companies focus more on product-line extensions. If innovation is the creation and delivery of new value, they have focused too much on the "new" part and not enough on the "value" part. While most companies look at innovation as a… -
Innovate Your Innovation Strategy
15 May 2013 | 6:00 amFor decades, consumer goods companies have line extended in order to maintain continued growth. New sub-categories have been created, and then saturated. But this has led to many more choices than a consumer could possibly want. In turn, this has created a “paralysis of choice,” according to Luke Atkinson, deputy head of planning at Leo Burnett Sydney, so retailers are starting to consolidate and replace aisles of brands with their branded products. “There is no genuine unmet need left in these categories,” he wrote. “This is further compounded by digital, which has created lots of…
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Innovation Leadership Network
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Three Steps for Social Media Success
21 May 2013 | 1:05 am“We hate Twitter…” I was talking with entrepreneurial brothers Paul and Ian Everest last week about how Unit, the company they started together 10 years ago, uses social media. Ian said: “We hate Twitter… but we get a lot of love on Instagram.” They thought that the amount of love on Instagram was a bit weird, because while they have more than 250,000 likes on their Facebook page, they only have 16,000 people following their Instagram account. On twitter they have 5000 followers. The paradox is this – when they post on Instragram, they are… -
Innovation Lessons from the Rise of Tesla Motors
14 May 2013 | 9:45 amHow to make gradual change look like a big jump One of the big privileges in my job is that I get to travel a fair bit. As part of this, I’ve been coming to Palo Alto about once a year for the past five years. This is interesting because that is infrequent enough that the changes that look gradual to those that live here look like jumps to me when I’m here so irregularly. The big jump I’ve noticed on this current trip is that electric cars are finally taking off. On previous trips, I saw lots of Tesla cars – all in showrooms. This trip, they’re on the road:… -
Five More Thinkers That I Admire
11 May 2013 | 5:07 pmA couple of weeks ago I wrote about five thinkers that I admire, and today I’d like to highlight five more that have influenced how I’m thinking recently. Valeria Maltoni I’ve admired Valeria’s work on her blog Conversation Agent for a number of years now. Today, I was fortunate enough to meet her in person. Our discussion was wide-ranging, and we touched on a number of interesting ideas. Valeria one of the best thinkers around on the topic of how firms actually work. She is starting to place more focus on the importance of executing ideas, which is an area that is… -
Food, Connection & Innovation
6 May 2013 | 7:03 amWhen firms are trying to become more innovative, they often don’t know where to start. Here’s one idea, start by making your people lunch. Drake Baer wrote a terrific profile of a startup called Thumbtack discussing how their decision to hire a full-time chef has transformed their business. Cofounder Sander Daniels lists the reasons they made this decision: Meals build community: Everyone on the team eats together every day Meals build networks: On Wednesdays they have an open dinner where recruits can hang with the company The team is more productive: People aren’t… -
Here is Why You Need Business Model Innovation
2 May 2013 | 7:10 amNew technologies require new business models to succeed. I can’t prove this yet, but the more I study the innovation process, the more convinced I am that this is true. If you have an innovative new idea (and this can be a product, a service or a new way of doing things), if you are going to replace something directly, you need to perform at least 10X better than the incumbent. That’s not impossible, but that’s a pretty big jump. It’s much better to come up with something interesting, and then innovate the business model. I was talking about this yesterday with my…
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15inno
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Embrace Failure to Build a Stronger Innovation Culture
21 May 2013 | 1:18 amThe fast pace of change, business and thus innovation requires several changes in the innovation processes as well as in the innovation culture in today’s organizations. One key element is that they must embrace and foster a culture of experimentation in which failure is acceptable as long as the intentions were relevant and if the learning of the failure was captured so that you don’t go on repeating the same failures over and over again. This is the topic for the presentation I gave at TrendForum in Berlin earlier this year. The video is now ready and thus I have updated this blog post… -
FREE Workshop or Consulting Session! (Only in the U.S.)
18 May 2013 | 2:39 pmWould your company like to get some external perspectives on these topics? • Be Competitively Unpredictable: Make It Happen Through Innovation • Innovation Culture: The Big Elephant in the Room • Making Open Innovation Work • Social Media for Innovation Efforts I can offer you a free workshop (3 hours) or consulting session on the above topics if we can make this happen on June 10-14 or July 11-19. This only applies in the U.S. You do not have to pay a fee for this, but I will ask you to help cover my travel costs (about USD 2,000). Let me know if you would like to discuss this. -
6 Drivers for Intrapreneurs and Innovation
15 May 2013 | 10:26 amI am giving a workshop on intrapreneurship next week and as I am doing some research, I decided to update this post and ask for more input on the drivers for intrapreneurs – and innovation in general. If you wonder what the term, intrapreneur, means the American Heritage Dictionary in 1992 acknowledged this as “a person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation. Entrepreneurs are driven by passion, an urge to execute on their ideas and the chance to strike gold. -
Top 5 Companies for Open Innovation – May 2013
14 May 2013 | 5:59 amHere you get my current top 5 list of strong open innovation initiatives and efforts. Your comments and suggestions for other companies are appreciated! 1. Google Glass – for taking an open approach for a disruptive offering I take it as a clear sign of the changing game of innovation that Google early on recognized that they needed to be open on their efforts with the Glass. Now, they are building an ecosystem that can help develop the apps that will make people buy and use the Glass. Read more in this blog post: Google Glass versus Apple: Different Takes on Open Innovation 2. Microsoft… -
Business Opportunity: Innovation Workshops in Your Region
13 May 2013 | 2:50 amDo you want to host an innovation workshop in your city? Do you want to make some money on this? Well, then we should talk. I am currently putting the finishing touches on a range of innovation exercises that are important elements in some interesting half-day workshops on topics such as: • Be Competitively Unpredictable: Make It Happen Through Innovation • Innovation Culture: The Big Elephant in the Room • Making Open Innovation Work • Social Media for Innovation Efforts I am looking for partners, who want to help organize and market the workshops. I will deliver the workshop…
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The Extra Piece of Chicken
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1 May 2013 | 6:53 pm
1 May 2013 | 6:53 pmWith so many food brands bragging about their huge food portions and yard sized drinks, Pepper Smash in Plano, Texas definitely over delivers on food quality, without the excessive quantity. Pepper Smash (www.peppersmash.com) is one of the few “Cocktail Kitchens” found in the US, and they take pride in their one of a kind cocktails and menu creations with recipes developed right in their kitchen. The Mixologists at Pepper Smash utilize gastronomical methodologies such as liquid nitrogen freezing, and alcohol infusion in fruits and vegetables to create crazy cool cocktails. You may be… -
Nothing Beats Sweat Training
14 Mar 2013 | 3:47 pmChad Dawson (www.badchaddawson.com) is boxing’s WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. Boxing is all about strength, endurance, and reflexes. That’s why Chad’s training remains old school and authentic, preserving the strategies that led previous champions to their victory–Yes, this means long hours at the training camp, buckets of sweat, and sore muscles. Chad’s training demonstrates that change is not mandatory. There’s often great value in tradition and authenticity that makes a brand, or in this case, Chad, successful. -
Accessible Elegance
18 Sep 2012 | 8:14 amAll of us have done it—Wish for a celebrity’s outfit or two…or their entire closet. But let’s face it; the price tags are often bigger than our wallets. Roberto Cavalli, the famous celebrity designer, gave Las Vegas community a chance to, at least, get an up-close look at his extravagant, celebrity-worn gowns. Some of his famous creations were showcased at Crystals, the shopping and dining center at the City Center in Las Vegas, during Las Vegas Fashion Night Out. The collection included Christina Aguilera’s pink feather dress in 2003 for the MTV Music awards and a black gown worn… -
Challenging Nature
20 Aug 2012 | 8:32 amWe’re only getting older by the second, and it sometimes shows. Stressing over how to take years off our appearance only makes it worse. Luckily, cosmetic companies are helping consumers actively, aggressively disrupt or delay the inevitable. These cosmetics allow consumers to be pre-emptive in changing the natural condition or series of events. Products like Organic Root Stimulator and Estee Lauder’s Re-Nutriv give consumers the ability to reduce years off their appearance and cheat Father Time. -
Recipe for Men
30 Jul 2012 | 1:15 pmWe all know Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. We think and are built differently. Different needs, physiology and contrasting shopping behavior. We look for different signs and symbols to make our purchases. It used to be easy for marketers, just take a successful female brand and make the label BLUE (For men), but that’s not the case anymore. Men need no fail results and brands like Recipe for Men help make that happen with packaging that doses “just the right amount” so the user can be assured of how to use Recipe for Men products for maximum effectiveness. The proof is in the…
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Innovation Speaker
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8 Step Process Perfects New Product Development
21 May 2013 | 4:13 pmEvery entrepreneur knows that productivity is one of the key ingredients for successful product development. One of the two key processes in Robert’s Rules of Innovation is the NEW PRODUCT... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Walking on the Edge with Innovation
6 May 2013 | 5:31 pmInnovation thrives on a diet of news ideas. It needs new views, fresh thinking; a different perspective from across the organization, from the center to the edge. According to John Hagel and John... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Sustainable Innovation Meets Disruptive Innovation
23 Apr 2013 | 10:53 amWhy is success so hard to sustain? In order to succeed, everybody should be involved and engaged in innovation. Innovation should be broad; from innovations in the product or offering, to... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
The Hidden Value of an IP Portfolio – Just ask Dell
8 Apr 2013 | 9:40 amValue creation is the performance of actions that increase the worth of goods, services and businesses. It benefits customers, who receive improved products and services, as well as shareholders of... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Interview with Jim Blasingame on The Small Business Advocate Show
3 Apr 2013 | 6:25 amFind interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show Listen to my interview with Jim Blasingame on The Small Business Advocate Show. Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/
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Paul4innovating's Blog
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Moving Towards Globally Integrated Innovation
15 May 2013 | 4:25 amThere are so many books out there on innovation that it sometimes gets just hard to decide which to buy and read, to invest time into. I’ve got a growing stack of books sitting on my coffee table or in my e-reader file all shouting “read me, read me!” Well one I recently finished has been one of those rare books that got the Paul Hobcraft treatment; considerable underlining, scribbles in the margins, circles around some pages that I want to refer back too as quickly as I can. You can never achieve that same sense of ‘ownership’ and possession through the e-reader can you, or am I… -
The Innovation Bunker – Avoiding Cognitive Traps Part Three
3 May 2013 | 1:23 amOften we forget to look back as we constantly get into that habit of always wanting to simply keep moving forward. So, sometimes I would recommend we stop and reflect. I, for myself, keep returning to great thinkers in innovation to remind me and these can often bring me back on track in avoiding certain traps. Part Three of the Cognitive Traps we find ourselves in. Go here for Part One and Part Two I’ve always valued one terrific observation of Professor Clayton Christensen (of many thoughts) where he talks of the core theories of innovation. One small part: He states “theory helps to… -
The Innovation Bunker- Getting Out of Cognitive Traps Part Two
2 May 2013 | 6:13 amHelp seems to come from new quarters – unlocking our minds and breaking free from our cognitive biases. Part two of the Cognitive Traps we find ourselves in. Part one is here So how can we break free from what holds us back? As we have these cognitive biases then we have to consciously work on reducing their effect in our judgements, decisions and actions. We need to break out of those cognitive chains that can hold us back and limit our innovation thinking I think there is so much help at hand If I take www.innovationgames.com, as one example, of where Luke Hohmann and his team are… -
The Innovation Bunker – Our Cognitive Traps Part One
1 May 2013 | 1:12 amI suspect we are all cognitively trapped most of the time. We are all more ‘hard-wired’ than we would care to admit too. That cognitive bias that ‘permits’ us to make constant errors of judgement, ignore often the advice around us and certainly gloss over the knowledge provided or staring us in the face. Innovation does need us to break out of these cognitive biases if we want to really develop something very different, more transformational. We should all recognize this constrain we all have, it might help our innovation activity. We are often guilty of being overconfident, actually… -
Navigating the future landscape by developing adaptive innovation skills
24 Apr 2013 | 7:25 amSo where are we focusing upon to make sure we are developing the right proficiencies and abilities we will need to manage our innovations of the future? For me innovation capabilities and competencies needs to be far more adaptive and aligned to the different emerging skills we should be bringing to bear, so we are able to find better innovating solutions for our collective futures. The issue is this: if we do want to reshape much of what we are struggling with today – poor growth, diminishing futures, disconnected communities, stagnating economies or ones struggling to emerge from…
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Game-Changer
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Tunnel vision: The enemy of strategic thinking
21 May 2013 | 7:48 amTwo weekends ago, I went to Disneyland with my brother. We had a good time and got a on a lot rides. Including some I’ve never gotten on before. Astro Blasters is one such ride. If you’ve never experienced it, think of it as a shooting gallery on wheels. Basically, you ride a two person pod that has two laser guns attached to it along with a screen that shows you how many points you have. Your task is to hit targets with the letter “Z” on them. Different targets are worth different points. And, as you’ve probably guessed, you have to accumulate as many points as… -
Stop guessing. Business is done outside the office!
20 May 2013 | 7:37 amHow do you do real business development? “Stop guessing. Business is done outside the office!” That is the core message from Stu Heilsberg’s book. A true Business Development Executive, Stu shares his experience in The Answers Are Outside The Building. Business development is customer/client development. Being Startup Weekend Organizer and entrepreneur, I’m well aware of the “customer development” concept advocated by Eric Ries and Steve Blank. You may get this, and may even do it. And, I know what you are thinking, get out and talk to customers. Right? -
Innovation must reads of the week: To truly innovate, create pleasant surprises
19 May 2013 | 7:39 am[View the story "Innovation must reads of the week: To truly innovate, create pleasant surprises" on Storify] Related posts: Innovation must reads of the week: Are we losing the will to innovate? Innovation must reads of the week: How to innovate innovation Innovation must reads of the week: Change consumer behavior with these 5 levers -
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Innovation
14 May 2013 | 6:11 amHere are HBR’s 10 must read articles on innovation. No need to buy, although you can if you want to, as I’ve compiled the PDF’s for each article right here. Just click on the link and voila! 1. Innovation’s Holy Grail by C.K. Prahalad and R.A. Mashelkar 2. Stop the Innovation Wars by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble 3. How GE Is Disrupting Itself by Jeffrey R. Immelt, Vijay Govindarajan, and Chris Trimble 4. The Customer-Centered Innovation Map by Lance A. Bettencourt and Anthony W. Ulwick 5. The Innovation Value Chain by Morten T. Hansen and Julian Birkinshaw 6. Is It… -
Enter to win a signed copy of The Innovator’s DNA from Game-Changer
13 May 2013 | 10:09 amGet a chance to win a signed copy of The Innovator’s DNA. Sign up for our free newsletter to enter. If you’re the lucky winner, you will have access to a very well written book about creativity, innovation and leadership that is free of buzzwords at your fingertips. Entry deadline is May 20. As a newsletter subscriber, you’ll get email updates of my innovation focused blogs posts, as well as resources and tips. You won’t get any spam from me. I promise you. CLICK HERE TO ENTER! On May 21, 2013, I’ll announce the lucky winner. You must be a newsletter…
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Innovation Leadership Network
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Three Steps for Social Media Success
21 May 2013 | 1:05 am“We hate Twitter…” I was talking with entrepreneurial brothers Paul and Ian Everest last week about how Unit, the company they started together 10 years ago, uses social media. Ian said: “We hate Twitter… but we get a lot of love on Instagram.” They thought that the amount of love on Instagram was a bit weird, because while they have more than 250,000 likes on their Facebook page, they only have 16,000 people following their Instagram account. On twitter they have 5000 followers. The paradox is this – when they post on Instragram, they are… -
Innovation Lessons from the Rise of Tesla Motors
14 May 2013 | 9:45 amHow to make gradual change look like a big jump One of the big privileges in my job is that I get to travel a fair bit. As part of this, I’ve been coming to Palo Alto about once a year for the past five years. This is interesting because that is infrequent enough that the changes that look gradual to those that live here look like jumps to me when I’m here so irregularly. The big jump I’ve noticed on this current trip is that electric cars are finally taking off. On previous trips, I saw lots of Tesla cars – all in showrooms. This trip, they’re on the road:… -
Five More Thinkers That I Admire
11 May 2013 | 5:07 pmA couple of weeks ago I wrote about five thinkers that I admire, and today I’d like to highlight five more that have influenced how I’m thinking recently. Valeria Maltoni I’ve admired Valeria’s work on her blog Conversation Agent for a number of years now. Today, I was fortunate enough to meet her in person. Our discussion was wide-ranging, and we touched on a number of interesting ideas. Valeria one of the best thinkers around on the topic of how firms actually work. She is starting to place more focus on the importance of executing ideas, which is an area that is… -
Food, Connection & Innovation
6 May 2013 | 7:03 amWhen firms are trying to become more innovative, they often don’t know where to start. Here’s one idea, start by making your people lunch. Drake Baer wrote a terrific profile of a startup called Thumbtack discussing how their decision to hire a full-time chef has transformed their business. Cofounder Sander Daniels lists the reasons they made this decision: Meals build community: Everyone on the team eats together every day Meals build networks: On Wednesdays they have an open dinner where recruits can hang with the company The team is more productive: People aren’t… -
Here is Why You Need Business Model Innovation
2 May 2013 | 7:10 amNew technologies require new business models to succeed. I can’t prove this yet, but the more I study the innovation process, the more convinced I am that this is true. If you have an innovative new idea (and this can be a product, a service or a new way of doing things), if you are going to replace something directly, you need to perform at least 10X better than the incumbent. That’s not impossible, but that’s a pretty big jump. It’s much better to come up with something interesting, and then innovate the business model. I was talking about this yesterday with my…
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URENIO Watch
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Open Innovation 2.0, Smart Cities, Living Labs
17 May 2013 | 11:56 pmThe yearbook Open Innovation 2013 (with the sub-theme ‘Open Innovation 2.0’) published by the Directorate-General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission, highlights two main perspectives: firstly, the disruptive nature of Open Innovation 2.0 and, secondly, the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit URENIO website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Preparing for China’s Urban Billion
17 May 2013 | 10:46 pmMcKinsey Global Institute (MGI) produced a two years study on the urbanization of China, examining the global economic and social implications of the unprecedented expansion of China’s cities and how national and local policy makers can shape China’s urban development to 2025 and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit URENIO website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Smart Seoul: Case study of a smart city
22 Apr 2013 | 3:29 pmThis ITU-T Technology Watch Report analyses Seoul’s implementation of its “Smart Seoul 2015” project, providing a best-practice guide to the construction and operation of a smart city. The report investigates the conceptual underpinnings of Smart Seoul, the use of smart technologies and mobile-web... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit URENIO website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Smart Specialisation Strategies in Greece
20 Apr 2013 | 11:33 amThis series of 14 reports deal with Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation in Greece. These reports have been prepared at the request of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy, Greece and Cyprus Unit, of the European Commission. They are targeted at national, regional and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit URENIO website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Smart Grid: 10 Trends to Watch in 2013 and Beyond
3 Apr 2013 | 3:04 pmThis Navigant Research white paper provides insights into key issues that will shape the smart grid market in the months and years ahead, with summary forecasts of smart grid, smart metering, and automated demand response markets. The white paper also compares the development of these markets... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit URENIO website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Innovation Management » Doug Collins
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Fertile Ground for the Ideation Seed
14 May 2013 | 12:42 amDepending on the people involved, their motivations, and the phase of the moon, you may or may not find fertile ground for the practice of collaborative innovation. In this article innovation architect Doug Collins explores the fecund places that you, as a practitioner, may want to think about planting your seed of ideation to ensure a bountiful harvest. -
The Many Paths to Collaborative Innovation
29 Apr 2013 | 11:31 pmThe Lean Startup. Lean Thinking. Design Thinking. Agile. Skunk Works®. Outcome-Driven Innovation. Customer Co-Creation. Future Search. The World Café.Hunting for Hunting Grounds. Choosing an approach by which to pursue collaborative innovation is like choosing a religion. In this article innovation architect Doug Collins reflects on the essence of the practice. -
The CFO: the Innovator’s Best Friend
16 Apr 2013 | 8:15 amThe front end of innovation offers organizations engagement. Engaged people bring more of their gifts to the table. The back end of innovation offers organizations ideas that, when implemented, bring relative advantage. Each idea has its own story of relative advantage and risk. How do you tell the back end story in a valid, credible way? In this article innovation architect Doug Collins commends people who practice collaborative innovation to their organization’s chief financial officer. Having heard many, many tales of the back end, she can guide you. You can help her, too. -
Two Years at the Coalface: A Miner Reflects
2 Apr 2013 | 1:08 amFor two years our columnist Doug Collins has shared with us his exploration of the practice of collaborative innovation. Today, at this anniversary, we announce the release of volume 2 of his Innovation Architecture series, an exciting and deeply thought-provoking book whose cover is depicted in the headline graphic for this article. Hence, this week, Doug reflects on his contributions that resonated most with readers and shares a few thoughts about what inspired each. -
Better Living through Collaborative Innovation
19 Mar 2013 | 6:32 amOrganizations big and small have begun to explore the practice of collaborative innovation as a way to increase engagement and to foment a culture of innovation. Let’s say you work for such an organization. What’s the quid pro quo when you find yourself part of the crowd from which wisdom is sought? In this article innovation architect Doug Collins wrestles with questions that you may want to ask the practice sponsors and yourself.
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Linda Bernardi - DISRUPT | INNOVATE | LEAD
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Stay Tuned…What is in the Hopper?
3 May 2013 | 10:21 amQuote from Scott Belsky – Author of Making Ideas Happen Hello friends, Been a few weeks since my last blog post and a number of you have asked why? First: An insane travel schedule around the globe and ProVoke speaking engagements, etc. And: I am intrigued, fascinated and at times equally frustrated about so many [...] -
Big Data: To Understand Employees Better and Have a Stronger Company
22 Apr 2013 | 6:30 amYesterday’s Sunday New York Times article in the technology sector titled : “Big Data trying to build better workers” - caught my eye, no doubt….Big data used internally to understand and improve the work force. Interesting concept. I totally agree with Google’s philosophy. I am deeply involved with helping individuals in large companies become more innovative [...] -
Democratization of Innovation – Liberation of Patents for a Purpose
22 Apr 2013 | 6:00 amFellow readers, this month GE announced that it will be opening up thousands (not thousands not hundreds) of patents from its library of 20,000 patents. First off, this liberation of IP (patents) is a huge forward move. Why? For decades, global companies have viewed their technical prowess, not in terms of new products and innovation [...] -
Stop Gender Stereotyping!
17 Apr 2013 | 10:25 amOne of my favorite morning rituals is to browse the papers in the early morning to catch up with what is going on and to be inspired! WSJ is one of standard papers I read. On top of the front page I read: Don’t be the office Tech Dinosaur (which makes sense as old pros [...] -
“Get Out of Jail, Free” Cards
21 Mar 2013 | 12:50 pmMore and more I am seeing senior executives in large companies inspired and challenged by the task of ‘how to encourage staff’ to make deeper and bolder bets, choices and decisions. Ironically, I am seeing this in companies where top-down command and control would have not allowed us to have had this conversation before. The [...]
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Information Architected
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IAM Talking: Lean Everywhere – small i to BIG I Innovation with Ken Shropshire
25 Apr 2013 | 6:08 amWelcome to IAM Talking, a periodic podcast interview series, with your host, Dan Keldsen, Chief Engagement Officer at Information Architected. Today IAM Talking Lean Everywhere – small i to BIG I Innovation with Ken Shropshire, Director of Continuous Improvement from AstraZeneca. Lean Powers, Activate! Ken and I met each other when I was involved in an innovation challenge engagement in early 2012, and Ken was leading part of the charge in taking a Lean look at innovation opportunities internally. For this interview we caught up roughly 6 months after the first wave of innovation… -
IAM Talking: Di-Ann Eisnor of Waze on Crowdsourcing and Mobile
15 Jan 2013 | 11:01 amWelcome to IAM Talking, a periodic podcast interview series, with your host, Dan Keldsen, Chief Engagement Officer at Information Architected. Today IAM Talking with Di-Ann Eisnor, VP Platform and Partnerships. Di-Ann runs US operations and is crafting the cartography of “live mapping” for Israeli crowd-sourced navigation and real-time traffic start-up, Waze. If you have not already downloaded Waze (iOS, Android), I highly recommend you do so, and compare Waze versus other GPS-enabled apps on your mobile platform of choice. As we’ll touch on in the interview, you can also… -
IAM Talking: Crowdfunding and Storytelling – Structure and Creativity through Cards
28 Dec 2012 | 9:07 amWelcome to IAM Talking, a periodic podcast interview series, with your host, Dan Keldsen, Chief Engagement Officer at Information Architected. Today IAM Talking with BJ West – he is a writer, filmmaker and graphic artist, and has worked on some of the best selling computer games of all time including The Sims, SimCity 3000, The Sims Online and The Sims 2, as well as some of the worst selling games – although the world of games are a topic we will address in a separate interview. He was the editor of “Fog City Nocturne,” an anthology of original detective fiction, as… -
IAM Talking: Employee engagement, BIG E vs little e – With Robb Webb, Chief Human Resources Officer for Hyatt Corporation and Dan Keldsen
17 Dec 2012 | 8:52 amToday, the topic is Employee Engagement, and what engagement means from several perspectives. Welcome to IAM Talking, a periodic podcast interview series, with your host, Dan Keldsen, Chief Innovation Officer at Information Architected. Today IAM Talking with Robb Webb, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Hyatt Corporation, and who has been described as the “Culture Guru” for Hyatt Corporation, in Talent Management magazine (see article at TalentMgt.com). Big E Engagement vs. small e engagement – what is it? Robb’s take on engagement is that there is a… -
Enterprise Mobility – Are You Ready to BYOD?
6 Dec 2012 | 12:34 pmLast week at the Gilbane Conference, I moderated a panel on Enterprise Mobility and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). My two panelists were Cimarron Buser, VP of business development at Apperian, and Vern Imrich, Chief Technical Officer at Percussion (both Boston-area companies, so Boston was well represented in our panel). We covered issues of security, general readiness, what BYOD means for enterprises, and how to think in an app and data-centric manner. And reporter Ron Miller (who sat in on the session) did a great job of summarizing the session and the concerns and opportunities in an…
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EYES IN
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MEYSTYLE: Mayan Inspired Couture Wallcoverings
21 May 2013 | 8:04 pmThe doomsday theory of 2012 was source of reflection for some. For MEYSTYLE, it was inspiration for greater things.The post MEYSTYLE: Mayan Inspired Couture Wallcoverings appeared first on EYES IN. -
NASA, Bigelow Talk Private Sector Space Exploration
21 May 2013 | 8:03 pmUnder the agreement, Bigelow will work with a variety of commercial space companies.The post NASA, Bigelow Talk Private Sector Space Exploration appeared first on EYES IN. -
Museum Berggruen Welcomes New Life
21 May 2013 | 8:01 pmIn addition to the new building, a sculpture garden has also been unveiled, named in honor of Bettina Berggruen.The post Museum Berggruen Welcomes New Life appeared first on EYES IN. -
Mesmerizing Life Transformations, Body Worlds: Pulse
21 May 2013 | 7:57 pmBody Worlds: Pulse shows the healthy and distressed human body, its vulnerabilities and potential.The post Mesmerizing Life Transformations, Body Worlds: Pulse appeared first on EYES IN. -
Brown Begins Sequel to Popular Thriller, Forgotten Word
21 May 2013 | 7:56 pm"Forgotten Word" traces the path of international police detective Zena McGrath.The post Brown Begins Sequel to Popular Thriller, Forgotten Word appeared first on EYES IN.
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InventHelp Invention Girl Blog
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InventHelp® Signs Kevin Harrington, Infomercial Pioneer, as Company Spokesperson
16 May 2013 | 8:50 amInventHelp is pleased to announce that Kevin Harrington, chairman of As Seen on TV, Inc. and a former investor shark on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank has signed an exclusive deal with InventHelp to act as the company spokesperson. Kevin will be featured in a series of national television commercials alongside the company’s iconic caveman. [...] -
Is 48 Frames Per Second the Future of Movies?
26 Dec 2012 | 7:56 amYou may not have ever thought about it, but most movies you’ve seen in theaters were shot at 24 frames per second. In other words, 24 frames, each second, were blasted into your eyes to give you the illusion of a fluid image. If the frame rate were lower, you’d easily discern the individual frames. [...] -
Yotaphone is a Dual LCD/E-Ink Smartphone
13 Dec 2012 | 7:37 amWere you excited about the iPhone 5’s release? Were you at least a little bit disappointed when it came out? The iPhone 5 is only the second iPhone not to have compelling difference between it and the previous version (the iPhone 3GS was a faster version of the iPhone 3G) . The iPhone 4S had [...] -
Abraham Lincoln: The Inventor
29 Nov 2012 | 8:09 amWhen you think of Abraham Lincoln you think of the historical president: the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, the first Republican President. He was also an inventor… When the future President was trying to get home to Illinois, his boat was stopped by a sandbar. In order to lift the boat from the impediment, he [...] -
What Will a Future iPhone Look Like?
16 Nov 2012 | 9:05 amHave you noticed that the iPhone hasn’t changed all that much since it was released in 2007? Sure, the iPhone 5 is faster, has a camera, has apps, and is a little bit taller, but the way you use it has not changed. There was a time when the iPhone could be the best phone [...]
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Business Strategy Innovation
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Now Available in Spanish – Nine Innovation Roles Cards
21 May 2013 | 5:41 pmI am proud to announce the Spanish language design of my Nine Innovation Roles card deck, made possible by the translation efforts of Vanessa López De la O from Mexico. Spanish speakers can read more about the Nine Innovation Roles … Continue reading → -
Partners Wanted – Taking Nine Innovation Roles Global
15 May 2013 | 5:24 pmI was in Boston, MA last week for the Front End of Innovation conference and had the opportunity to train dozens of potential corporate Nine Innovation Roles trainers as part of my quest to set the Nine Innovation Roles free … Continue reading → -
Free Nine Innovation Roles Train the Trainer Session
5 May 2013 | 10:33 amI will be in Boston, MA this week for the Front End of Innovation conference May 6-8, 2013 at the Seaport World Trade Center, joining 650+ innovation managers and thought leaders from around the world who are serious about learning … Continue reading → -
Las Ocho I’s de la Innovación Infinita
4 May 2013 | 6:37 amGracias Vanessa López De la O para su traducción! Algunos autores argumentan que la innovación exitosa es la suma de la idea más la ejecución; otros hablan más de la importancia de la intuición (insight) y su papel en impulsar … Continue reading → -
Latest Radio Interview with The Health Maven
30 Apr 2013 | 4:37 pmI’m proud to share with you the link to my latest radio interview. This time I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with LeAnna J. Carey (@thehealthmaven), host of the popular radio program The Health Maven – Innovation … Continue reading →
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Ideatrotter: Disruptive 2.0 Intelligence
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Google Glass Causing Congressional Privacy Concerns Eight...
19 May 2013 | 10:42 amGoogle Glass Causing Congressional Privacy Concerns Eight Congress members are questioning how Google Glass would impact the privacy of the “average American.” -
Stop Wondering, Try Instead Born in 1988 in Boston, USA. Last...
19 May 2013 | 10:40 amStop Wondering, Try Instead Born in 1988 in Boston, USA. Last year of Engineering in Telecommunications. Co-director of El Androide Libre and member of the Organizing Committee of the Forum IMPULSA. What began three years ago as a hobby, today is the largest Spanish Android website with over 500,000 daily page views (15 million per month). He uses his precious spare time to design and work on the rest of his projects. -
Technologists say apps can aid in Asia Tech innovators and app...
19 May 2013 | 10:39 amTechnologists say apps can aid in Asia Tech innovators and app designers attending the recent “Apps For Asia - Redesigning Development” programme in Uttar Pradesh, say technology holds the answer to many of Asia’s poverty-related problems. The programme was created by the Asian Development Bank and Microsoft to bring new solutions for improving the lives of millions across the continent. -
Medicare’s Blue Button: Data is ‘Oxygen for...
17 May 2013 | 10:02 amMedicare’s Blue Button: Data is ‘Oxygen for Innovation’ Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, discusses how venture capital is a driver in healthcare information technology and data tools like The Blue Button. -
John Doerr On The Business Of Venture Capital Silicon...
17 May 2013 | 10:00 amJohn Doerr On The Business Of Venture Capital Silicon Valley’s best-known VC talks about the service-oriented approach he says distinguishes Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers from its rivals.
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Business Model Institute
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LegalZoom Should Consider the Franfiliate Business Model
9 May 2013 | 5:37 amLegalZoom has built a $200+ million business catering to the needs of customers with a legal need who don’t want to hire a lawyer. The company started out selling forms and helping preparing them. If you needed to file an LLC with your state and did not know how to do it yourself, you could pay LegalZoom to help. The company carved out a niche doing law-related work, mostly forms-based, that did not require a lawyer to complete. This allowed the company to operate outside the state-by-state licensure of attorneys. This model proved very disruptive and successful carving out a niche of… -
The Franstributor Business Model
16 Apr 2013 | 6:05 amWhat does a company do when they want to grow their distribution network but a conventional business model has limitations? They combine a franchise model with a distributor model and create a Franstributor ™ © business model. The traditional distribution model allows a product’s creator to license exclusive or non-exclusive distribution of products. This model has worked well for thousands of products such as: Coca-Cola, Diehard and Exide batteries, Kohler bathroom supplies, Krocs sandals, Tumi bags, Allstate Insurance, Lennox (both the china and air conditioning) Fannie May Candies,… -
T-Mobile Messes with Samsung’s Business Model
2 Apr 2013 | 7:32 amDeutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA made a bold move to remove smartphone subsidies. Carriers have long complained that handset subsidies benefit manufactures such as Apple and Samsung to the detriment of carriers. For instance, an iPhone 5 sells for $199 with the remainder of the $650 cost buried in the required two-year service agreement. With the new T-Mobile plan, the Samsung Galaxy Note II will cost about $680 upfront or $20/month financed. Alternatively, the customer can opt for a $200 down-payment and a two-year contract. Of course, the monthly contract amount drops radically as the cost… -
A Great Business Model Lesson from Gun Control
19 Feb 2013 | 5:52 amIn business, change is not usually your friend. . You work hard to create and work your plan, and then competitive, economic, and sociological changes degrade it. . Clever entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the politically charged changes to the gun business. As eBay, Google Shopping, and other large marketplaces are prohibiting gun listings, savvy entrepreneurs are creating niche marketplaces like freegunshow.com to connect gun buyers with sellers. Let’s set personal and political positions aside and confine the conversation to the business aspects of gun sales. . Annual gun sales in the… -
The Girl Scouts’ Disappointing New Business Model
28 Jan 2013 | 1:42 pmIf you frequent the grocery store, you have probably noticed the variety of products labeled, "Contains Real Girl Scout Cookies.” Everything from ice cream to Nestle Crunch Bars is now co-branded with Girl Scout cookies. This mass distribution and leverage of the Girl Scout Cookie brand is undoubtedly an economic boon for the Girl Scouts of America’s finances. However, what’s good for the Girl Scouts of America Inc. is bad for Girl Scouts. As the father of two girls who benefited tremendously from selling Girl Scout cookies, I am not particularly excited about this change. I saw…
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Innovation Speaker
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8 Step Process Perfects New Product Development
21 May 2013 | 4:13 pmEvery entrepreneur knows that productivity is one of the key ingredients for successful product development. One of the two key processes in Robert’s Rules of Innovation is the NEW PRODUCT... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Walking on the Edge with Innovation
6 May 2013 | 5:31 pmInnovation thrives on a diet of news ideas. It needs new views, fresh thinking; a different perspective from across the organization, from the center to the edge. According to John Hagel and John... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Sustainable Innovation Meets Disruptive Innovation
23 Apr 2013 | 10:53 amWhy is success so hard to sustain? In order to succeed, everybody should be involved and engaged in innovation. Innovation should be broad; from innovations in the product or offering, to... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
The Hidden Value of an IP Portfolio – Just ask Dell
8 Apr 2013 | 9:40 amValue creation is the performance of actions that increase the worth of goods, services and businesses. It benefits customers, who receive improved products and services, as well as shareholders of... Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/ -
Interview with Jim Blasingame on The Small Business Advocate Show
3 Apr 2013 | 6:25 amFind interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show Listen to my interview with Jim Blasingame on The Small Business Advocate Show. Visit our Innovation-Innovation coach website today! http://www.innovationcoach.com/
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strategy+business: INNOVATION
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Can Best Buy Thwart the Grim Reaper?
12 May 2013 | 10:00 pmAs Best Buy takes a pounding in the financial markets, its leaders need to look beyond conventional solutions and reach for true strategic innovation. But is the once-dominant big box retailer up to the challenge of seeking solutions from outside its comfort zone and, indeed, from outside its own industry? Doing so may be its last hope for survival. -
The Gorilla of Agile Business Innovation
5 May 2013 | 10:00 pmCorning Glass Chief Technology Officer David Morse explains how the company, through speed and customer-driven research, development, and engineering, has built an $8 billion enterprise in an industry that many regard as moribund. Morse is responsible for shepherding Corning's innovative R&D practice through an era of change. -
The Right Ideas in All the Wrong Places
10 Mar 2013 | 10:00 pmCapable strategists must embrace and enhance strategic intuition to generate groundbreaking ideas for where their companies most need to innovate . That requires knowing where big, practical ideas come from. -
Innovating for Energy's Future
10 Mar 2013 | 10:00 pmUnder chairman and CEO Thomas A. (Tom) Fanning, Southern Company has been deeply committed to a wide range of R&D efforts designed to employ a diverse mix of fuel resources. This, according to Fanning, is the key to clean, reliable, and affordable energy: a bold and balanced approach to innovation. -
Product Management Gets Stronger
25 Feb 2013 | 10:00 pmThe diffusion of decision rights across functions throughout a product's life cycle can result in wasted customer insights, subpar innovation, and ineffective complexity management. Companies should adopt strong-form product management: giving responsibility for top-line growth and other financial outcomes to one person, who also has cross-functional decision-making authority.
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Riverside Innovation Centre
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Imagination into action Day
21 May 2013 | 8:34 amPictures from the ‘Imagination into action’ workshops and presentations held at RIC today. -
Imagination into action
21 May 2013 | 1:04 amRIC hosts Imagination into action today, a collaboration between the Universities of Lappeenranta and Chester who specialise in the use of drama and theatre as a special form of innovative process. This collaboration has heavily involved working not only with executives and directors, but also front- line workers in manufacturing, agriculture, local government and services such as health and education during difficult periods of change and transformation. The aim of this highly participatory workshop is to connect and engage leading-edge academic and business innovators from Finland and… -
Technology Today 2013
20 May 2013 | 2:51 amClick here to view the video on YouTube. Ever stopped to think about the technology that we use everyday? This video looks at how technology is impacting our lives in 2013. -
Cut Right Through Call Centres!
20 May 2013 | 1:22 amA new website has been launched by a retired IT Manager who was frustrated with the amount of time it took to navigate call centre menus. The site www.pleasepress1.com lists the sequences of button presses to access thousands of services. Nigel Clarke created the site after compiling his own lists of regularly used sequences. Mr Clarke says that whereas speaking to an adviser at HM Revenue and Customs only required pressing four buttons, it could take six minutes to get through each menu level on the HMRC telephone systems. Using his site, which is a free service, users can… -
Google Maps Revamp
16 May 2013 | 1:59 amWell, there’s good news and possibly bad news – depending how you look at it. The good news is that the popular Google Maps has had a major revamp which consists of nothing less than what Google describes as ”rebuilt from the ground up”. The changes allow a more personal experience with maps being customised dependent upon the user, features include: Highlighting establishments with positive reviews from the user or friends, posted on Google+ Prioritising the names of any locations a user has frequently searched for in the past Better labelling of relevant street…
