Monthly Archives: August 2011
What could a marathon training teach us about innovation? As an athlete and innovator I am interested in the connection between marathons and innovation. In order to define a “innovation process” within the athletic for looking to get a better result in training, time competition and satisfaction, I want to share the experience of my participation in the 40th NYC Marathon (November 1st, 2009) clocked 3:00:55 and in the 114th Boston Marathon (April 20, 2010) with a record of 2:55:42. For this I followed a “strategic process” or “methodology”. Prepare for a marathon also requires a strategy, new ideas, perseverance and effort. Continue reading
I was in a Chinese buffet last week, and found myself humming along with the oriental muzak. In fact, I couldn’t stop. Why was I humming along to music I’ve never heard before? It turns out I had heard these songs before, as they were Chinese takes on American melodies. They covered the likes of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, with traditional Chinese musical stylings. (Or at least what I imagine to be a traditional Chinese “style”.) *** Why are musical remakes so well received? Because they’re a perfect blend of familiar and unfamiliar. A new take on an old story. Up-and-coming musicians sometimes get their start by remaking an old classic. Sometimes it fails badly, but breathing life into a classic is can be a great way to get an artist noticed. Recent savvy internet startups have been using this method successfully. Here are a few: Domains: … Continue reading
I did a workshop last week with a group working on improving innovation within the Australian school system. I played my normal role of grenade-thrower, errr, thought-provoker on the topic of innovation, while working with eight other people that all have backgrounds in education. As the day went on, I noticed something interesting. In sessions like this, people always pick up on different points that I make. This is one of the reasons that I try to make a wide variety of points – I never know for sure which ones will stick! On this day, one of the points that I made is that any time you have a gap between where you currently are and where you want to be, you have to innovate. You can’t bridge these gaps by simply doing more of what you’re currently doing. This is a really important point when thinking about public … Continue reading
Paul Sloane recently asked this question in my 15inno LinkedIn group: Is Open Innovation the future for all companies or is it so damned hard that only a few will have the resources and commitment to make it work? I think this is an interesting question although I acknowledge it is a question that you cannot answer with a simple yes or no. Personally, I do not think we will talk much about open innovation 5-7 years from now. This is not because I believe the idea of opening up the innovation process is wrong; on the contrary. What will happen is that the terms “open innovation” and “innovation” will merge leaving us with just “innovation” – but the meaning of this term will include a much higher external element than what see today. As an answer to Paul’s question, I would say this development will happen in all industries … Continue reading
Innovation is the lifeblood of any organization, and value creation is measured by a company’s intellectual property portfolio. As a business leader, you are responsible for protecting your company’s IP portfolio through patents. What exactly is a patent? A patent is a legal document granted by the federal government that gives the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing the claimed invention. Essentially, it is the property right to the inventor. Virtually anything made by man can be patented, such as “a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement,” according to Fleit Gibbons Gutman Bongini & Bianco PL. Continue reading
Great innovations are often based on powerful intuitions, but we all know examples of someone thinking they have a great intuition and being misguided. So where does intuition fit into innovation and how do we know when we can rely on it? Continue reading
