Monthly Archives: May 2010
1. “I want to put a ding in the universe.” – Steve Jobs 2. “Ideas won’t keep. Something must be done about them.” – Alfred North Whitehead 3. “Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.” – Jonas Salk 4. “If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” – Charles Kettering 5. “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney 6. “Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller 7. “You can’t solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level.” – Albert Einstein 8. “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” – Miles Davis 9. “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct arising from inner necessity. The creative mind plays … Continue reading
Hutch Carpenter asks on Blogging Innovation: Should BP crowdsource potential solutions for the Gulf oil spill? Crowdsourcing has indeed proven its value time and again. In We Think Charles Leadbeater demonstrates its power to harness the collective brains of people across the globe to design strategies to solve problems more effectively and rapidly than formal organization could ever do. In his post, Hutch examines three factors that might be holding BP back: Site becomes a place for public criticism Little previous experience with crowdsourcing Deep technical domain experience is required The first one, the risk that the crowdsourcing site could become a place for public criticism, appears to be obsolete by now. There is plenty of public criticism already in the open, and no shortage of channels for such public criticism to express itself. As Hutch points out, all that would be required is a simple sieving mechanism to separate … Continue reading
by Mike Myatt Is Memorial Day just another holiday, or does it mean something more to you? While this weekend simply signifies a long awaited prelude to summer for some, it is much more than that for me. As a veteran and lifelong student of leadership I have always found Memorial Day weekend to be one of the most meaningful and significant of all holidays. In today’s post I’ll share two events which occurred over the past week that inspired me to write about why I believe all business executives can learn valuable leadership lessons from those in uniform. Memorial Day not only provides great opportunity for introspective reflection, but the stories of what constitutes great leadership surrounding this holiday are frankly too numerous to count. As many of you know, my son is an active duty officer in the US Air Force. This weekend I had the honor of … Continue reading
Last year I had the opportunity to visit or speak to 24 organizations around the globe, for my research on open innovation practices. These companies included Philips, Kodak, Nokia, Telefonica, Siemens, Xerox and Dupont, but also highly innovative Brazilian firms such as Natura (cosmetics) Embraco (world leader in refrigeration) and Petrobras (one of the largest energy companies in the world) that have been implementing very successful innovation practices. When doing such research one always looks for good practices common between the companies, but also for the practices that make them stand out or be very successful through open innovation. Here I am sharing seven successful practices that resulted from this research and I would highly recommend implementing: Open innovation strategy should be result of business strategy. Just like any other type of business operation, open innovation practices should support business and innovation objectives in the short, medium and long run. … Continue reading
This is the ninth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms collaborate with customers and/or value chain partners to co-create new products and services?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Steve Todd Customer Innovation via Corporate Portals “Innovate With Influence” provides several examples of how interaction with customers can result in breakthrough new ideas. The examples in the book, however, highlight customer engagements initiated by one person: the intrapreneur. While intrapreneurial intent is a valued trait, one intrapreneur can connect and interact with only so many customers. What is also needed is a corporate mechanism for engaging, brainstorming, and co-creating with customers in a more scalable way. At EMC Corporation, social media experts have created an online portal for that purpose. The portal can serve as a clearinghouse where customers and intrapreneurs can … Continue reading
Clifford Krauss of the New York Times reports on BP’s latest effort to cap the oil leak, called ‘top kill’. He notes the following: “The consequences for BP are profound: A successful capping of the leaking well could finally begin to mend the company’s brittle image after weeks of failed efforts, and perhaps limit the damage to wildlife and marine life from reaching catastrophic levels. A failure could mean several months more of leaking oil, devastating economic and environmental impacts across the gulf region, and mounting financial liabilities for the company. BP has already spent an estimated $760 million in fighting the spill, and two relief wells it is drilling as a last resort to seal the well may not be completed until August.” Let’s hope for the best. Given the challenges of the previous efforts, it sounds like it will take a monumental effort to stop the leaking well. … Continue reading
