Monthly Archives: November 2010
My wife pointed me to an LA Times story a couple of days ago that made me cringe… The article recounted how TV personality Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”) suddenly passed out while speaking at USC. While this caused a tense moment, he appears to be okay now. However what incensed me was how the crowd reacted. Witnesses noted the crowd did nothing, they did not come to his aid, and they were of no help to Bill whatsoever. But the audience was oh-so quick to grab their phones and tweet/IM/Facebook about what they were watching. Therein lies the problem – they were watching, not acting. In today’s post I’m going to explore responsibility as it relates to social media – the responsibility that comes with living in the real world vs. a perpetual state of virtual reality. As most of you know, I’m a big fan of social media. … Continue reading
You probably haven’t heard of Richard LaMotta but I bet you have heard of and enjoyed his innovation, the Chipwich ice cream sandwich. I rank the Chipwich right up there on my list of all-time favorite innovations along with Guttenberg’s printing press and Apple’s iPhone. Like most great innovations the Chipwich didn’t require inventing anything new, just recombining existing elements in a new way to deliver value. What could deliver more value than sandwiching soft vanilla ice cream between two, large chocolate chip cookies? As if that isn’t innovative enough add in the piece de resistance, rolling the whole thing in chocolate chips! Now that’s innovation. LaMotta died recently and his classic entrepreneur story is worth remembering and celebrating. LaMotta was ahead of his time in 1982 when he deployed unheard of guerilla marketing tactics to take the idea for Chipwich from a retail confectionary store called …
I recently did a workshop where we got into a great discussion on issues that can hinder innovation at a company. Among many, I especially took notice of these 10 signs that a company struggles with innovation. Let me know what you think and please add other signs. Unclear strategy for innovation: There are no short or long-term goals on innovation or they have not been communicated well enough. Lack of process: There is no process on how to develop an idea or a concept. No entry point for external contribution: External contributors have no clear entry point for their input. They are forced to rely on personal contacts. People are empowered, but not enabled: Employees are asked to make innovation happen, but in reality they do not have the decision-making power for this and thus decisions are pushed up. No smartfailing process: Failure is inevitable, when you push the … Continue reading
Who says there is no such thing as free speech? (well, nearly free) In the spirit of the holiday season, I would like to offer as a gift to you the loyal readers of Blogging Innovation three free events. NO MINIMUM BOOK PURCHASES I have some open spots in my year-end schedule, and if you are one of the first three (3) organizations to commit to hosting a ‘Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire’ event by December 31, 2010 — I will waive 100% of my normal speaking fee to come and present some of the key insights from the book along with time for questions and answers for FREE at your organization or event (travel expenses still apply). I’ll come to you and share my thoughts about identifying and removing barriers to innovation, including: The Power of Simplicity Speaking a Common Language Rediscovering Your Innovation Superpowers Creating and Maintaining Innovation Alignment … Continue reading
#innochat this Thursday with author Braden Kelley On Thursday, November 18, 2010 at Noon EST I will be participating in a twitter chat at #innochat (6PM in Europe, 9AM on the west coast). One great way to follow along is to use this URL: http://tweetchat.com/room/innochat I will be discussing some of the topics in my new book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, especially the role and importance of innovation vision, strategy, and goals. The book is being very warmly received so far and the content of the book appears to be resonating with people, both in terms of the early reviews and interviews, but also through sold out events like the recent one in Toronto. The book is very accessible and is focused on helping organizations identify and remove barriers to innovation. To find out more about what we’ll be covering in the hour, please see: http://innochat.com/innochats/date/2010-11-18/nov-18-innochat-stoking-your-innovation-bonfire-guest-braden-kelley I’d like to invite … Continue reading
Korea and China are Almost Ready to Take Over by Idris Mootee It is nice to be back in Japan this week although I am just here for three days and off to Seoul. I went to this restaurant in Subuya with impressive design where the kitchen is raised and open like a theater with the manager as the conductor (although he looks more like a headmaster standing on a podium). I wish the chefs can come out and sing a tune or two once 30 minutes. I used to spend a lot of time in Tokyo 15 years back and it was probably the most innovative city in the world for a long time. Is this still the case? I don’t think so. Many ask me the question why is Japan so innovative and at the same time so conservative? Obviously many top Japanese companies are struggling with the … Continue reading
