Monthly Archives: June 2009
To get the latest thinking and network with their peers, managers used to jump on a plane and go to an industry trade show or conference. Now with the Internet and Social Networks, managers can do a lot of the same things right from their desk. Conferences and trade shows are facing disruption from blogs, webinars, and social media. The economic downturn hasn’t helped matters as companies have slashed education and travel budgets.To survive, conferences will have to harness the power of the very tools that are threatening to kill them. This means the logistics requirements and characteristics of conference events are changing. In today’s digital world, conferences have the ability to spill beyond the four walls of the event and grow their platform at the same time.TED, with good reason, is widely considered the leader when it comes to utilizing digital media into their approach to events (including their … Continue reading
Here is another video from Tim Brown of IDEO, this one is “Innovation Through Design Thinking” from a visit to MIT (skip ahead three minutes if you’re pressed for time):According to IDEO, Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation.This video highlights how companies use design thinking in their businesses, from Motorola thinking about strategy to P&G thinking about moving into new markets to Microsoft thinking about the application of new technology.I’ve always believed that:Innovation = Invention + InsightsIt was good to see Tim reinforce this core belief when he says “Insights are the fuel for innovation.”Some of the key things to consider when looking to use design thinking as an approach to innovation:Analogous situations (example: hospital operating teams versus pit crews)Insights come from the extreme users (example: working with kids on cooking tool project)Getting out there to look, listen, tryBuilding to think – prototyping for thinking and learning not … Continue reading
Helen Walters, Business Week’s Editor for Innovation and Design, recently gathered opinions on crowdsourcing, via Twitter.I replied with a quote via email and Business Week published it recently with a dozen others. Here’s mine:You can find the whole slide show here.”The future of crowdsourcing will be as an integrated and required part of the front end of innovation. Its role, however, will be limited in order to protect brand perception and competitive differentiation. Crowdsourcing will serve as an input into the innovation process that must be filtered by internal resources and built upon as necessary. The most forward-thinking organizations will invite the wisest of the crowd to participate in this idea refinement side by side with internal resources.”What do you think?Braden Kelley (@innovate on Twitter)
I came across this great video from Tim Brown of IDEO about creativity and play that I thought I would share with you:It is interesting as you watch the video to think about what narrowing behaviors you’ve taken on as an adult, and to think about how you might step outside them to achieve greater creativity.As I was watching the video, I found myself wondering why design is not part of the core curriculum for students growing up and going through elementary school and high school.I know there are movements out there to merge b-school and d-school thinking, but it’s a lot more work to get people to unlearn old behaviors and learn new ones. How much more efficient and enjoyable would our society be if we all thought like designers?What do you think?Braden Kelley (@innovate on Twitter)
I just returned from a great experience at the incentive2innovate conference at the United Nations in New York City. Hosting the conference at the United Nations seemed appropriate given that it was a gathering of people who are trying to change the world. The percentage of people representing non-profits and social capitalist organizations was much higher than I expected, and it made for fascinating discussions. The conference was hosted in a gigantic conference room at the United Nations where UN delegates recently discussed the current economic crisis and debated potential solutions.The conference was a combination of keynotes, panel discussions, and group breakouts where the groups debated one particular topic and brought their collective reactions back to the bigger group. There was a high level of interaction between participants during the various breaks and meals – with the public, the private, and the charitable all coming together for some interesting conversations … Continue reading
The final panel on the second day at the incentive2innovate conference at the United Nations was on global development and partnerships. The panel was moderated by Michael Green (Co-Author “Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World”):Andreas Widmer, Co-Founder, S.E.VEN (Social Equity Venture) FundAmir Dossal, Executive Director, United Nations Office for PartnershipsCharlie Brown, Executive Director, Ashoka ChangemakersCarol Armistead Grigsby, Deputy Director, Office of Development Partners (ODP), US Agency for International Development (USAID)Rather than trying to recount the discussion, I thought I would present the Top Insights from the panel:”Innovation requires the use of appropriate technology for your target markets (whether corporate or non-profit).” – Andreas Widmer”When a non-profit is looking to run a contest, it shouldn’t be focused solely on the ideas or the solutions, but on the total impact.” – Charlie BrownAshoka’s Changemakers seeks to act as an accelerator for external foundations who provide sponsorship for its challenges.”There are … Continue reading
