Author Archives: John P Benfield
The ‘obvious’ value of innovation is easy to see and communicate. The unique products, business models, customer services and other ‘tangible’ innovations are usually enough to justify the existence of an innovation program. But what about justifying an innovation program when you don’t have an existing track record? When times are hard, budgets tight and groups are fighting for survival, fledgling innovation teams and programs may be an easy target for ‘right sizing’.So if your innovation team isn’t delivering the next iPod, “name your own price auto insurance” or Nintendo Wii, what value are you providing? To answer this question, we need to take a step back and look at a typical corporate culture.The Typical Corporate CultureMost organizations develop processes, forms and tools to drive consistency. On the surface, this seems like a good thing. But what tends to happen is that processes layers on top of processes until every … Continue reading
The intriguing use cases that people are missingby John P. BenfieldI’m in a bit of a moral dilemma. I’m not an Apple fanboi. I’ve outgrown my habit of buying tech for the sake of tech and I’ve been studiously staying just short of the bleeding edge for the past few years. The problem is that I’m really excited about the iPad and I desperately want one.Let me back up a little bit before getting too deeply into this.Last year, I finally succumbed to the iPhone. When it was released, I hated it. It was typical Apple. Slick, shiny, sexy and hideously proprietary. As much as I hated the cumbersome half-assed attempt at a mobile OS from Microsoft, I had gone down that path 10 years ago and I was riding it into the abyss. I had finally arrived at a decent compromise with a wonderful HTC device. It actually made … Continue reading
Our special guest columnist today is C. Mudgeon III, CEO of Dumbleton & Dorfly. C. Mudgeon is an Alumnus of the Machiavelli School of Business at Screw U.I think that we can all agree that Innovation is a tremendous waste of time. The money that we all waste on these initiatives could be much better spent on cappuccino service for the executive boardroom or cashmere toilet paper for the restrooms on the top floor. These upstart “Innovators” challenge our assumptions, threaten the status quo and upset the delicate political stagnation that we’ve worked so hard to cultivate over the decades.So how do we shut these programs down without being tagged as an “Enemy of Innovation” (like that’s a bad thing?)It’s actually not that difficult. I have a few sure-fire suggestions for undermining your innovation programs, destroying that pesky enthusiasm and still making it look like you’re supporting the program.Starve them … Continue reading
It’s a sad indicator of the level of excitement in my life, but I have at least half a dozen conversations every month rehashing and debating the definition and nature of ‘innovation’. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who will say that they don’t know what innovation is, yet there’s an incredible amount of fuzziness and outright disagreement over what ‘innovation’ is. Whether it’s sustaining, disruptive, continuous, product, process, or paradigm, what really qualifies a change as an ‘innovation’?The Apple iPod has been touted as one of the most innovative products of the last decade. It’s become such an integral part of our culture that the term “iPod” has become the generic term for MP3 players in the same way that Kleenex has for facial tissue. Yet when the iPod was released, it really wasn’t anything new or revolutionary. It was released into a market that was already well … Continue reading
