Innovation: The Who's Where's and How's

I know that for some of you the experience of opening up and using a Google phone is either: 1) fait accompli, for all those of you in advanced mobile markets such as Korea, Japan and to some extend Europe, or 2) who cares, for all of you that just want a phone to work as a phone. So, here is the thing, the last thing a Google phone does (and for that matter the iPhone) is make calls. As I have noted before, calling these "hand-top" devices "phones" is a total misnomer. These devices represent the future in so many ways that it is hard to qualify them. For starters, they are the source of some of the greatest innovations, such as the inventor of a microscope that attaches to the phone camera and can take and send pictures for the purposes of diagnosing diseases all around the World in ten minutes or less. http://www.popsci.com/ Part of innovation management is trying to develop "forevision" and watching my son's unfolding experience was quite revealing...

A few years back I met a writer of novels who had been on that journey for many years. He was young and was fortunate to have the funds to be able to go places to "get inspired". Fast forward a few years and a conversation I had with my brother in law who had the opportunity to meet Bruce Springsteen and talk about his creative process. It turns out, he needs inspiration as well. The creative process requires inspiration, period. And those involved in Innovation management need it as well. I think humans in general require inspiration and the first thing we need to acknowledge is that this is a thing we NEED in order to live to the fullest. I want to share a piece that I received from an inspirational speaker that I had the pleasure of meeting last year during our kick-off. His name is Eric Taylor and is the founder of Selfgrowth .com and empowerment group international. One of the things that I have decided to do is to gravitate to people that can inspire and Eric is one of ...

As I sit here in my hotel room in LA with the patio door ajar, I can feel that famous temperate and sweet weather that has made California a world destination and the creative cauldron that it is. On the occasion of the American Film Market tradeshow taking place here, I am trying to understand the impacts of the digital revolution on this industry. As I have said before I do not feel that the industry leaders are assesing these impacts in a methodical way. OK, so perhaps they are and I just don't see it and they are quietly trying to assess the synergistic impacts (or not) of all the technology-driven trends and facts bearing down on them. One interesting company from Europe doing just that, has created a web-based marketplace for the buying and selling of content (all of it destined to be digital). It is a "simple" B2B portal where you can easily preview any content that wishes to use the service (for a fee of course). It is sort of like an "Amazon" for conten...

Innovation is at times pressing the reset button and starting anew, rejoicing in the new energy that is thrust upon us when exploring with new eyes and minds wide open. Liberating the soul to explore new horizons and possibilities is part of the human condition; It is at the core of what liberty means. Once new conditions are unleashed and unshackled, everything seems possible. I had one of those moments this AM where I could feel this new energy; a sort of rebirth. Like it or not, the events of last night have shaken every social dynamic and construct; it is truly a colossal event full of portent and potential. My day today started at 3:00 am, as I needed to catch a flight to the West coast. After an instantaneous waking I performed a quick check of CNN and quickly discovered the ground shaking events of last night putting the first "black" president in office. I was elated not for reasons that most people would suspect; I was elated because the USA and the world needed to c...

I wonder if we will ever see the day when we have "The Oscar's for Teaching and Education". I was lamenting this very thing with my wife the other day over coffee. Or maybe, we can have "The Oscar's for the greatest Innovation of the year" In my experience, I find that a "life learning ethos" is a must in any society that wants to be at the front end of change and innovation, and critical to innovation management, creativity and - in general - creative thinking. I saw a great quote yesterday in the hallway of my daughters school from Gandhi. "We must be the change that we wish to see" It fits in that we need to revamp our ideas of what education is and what it is for. It fits because in order to advance our minds and views we need to start the process of becoming life learners with ourselves. I leave you with the top 8 recommendations from the aforementioned insitute available at: http://www.itif.org/files/TimelyTargetedTemporaryTransf...

Yes, here I go again... Watching and hearing Dr. Greenspan in front of Congress yesterday was truly a revelation in one sense and a confirmation of another. There is a wholesale detachment out there from our leaders that is very hard to comprehend given what is transpiring. It is as if they are operating in a different orbit, immune from the physical world. They speak and move as in a cloud, floating above the chaos and pain. It is truly remarkable. I understand how it can happen, though, it is that blissful human condition that comes when one is called an "oracle" and when one is drunk with power and hijacked by collective acquiescence . These things have vanquished historical leaders, and here again it has claimed its latest victim. There is something that Mr. Greenspan said yesterday that resonates with my prevailing ethos that in order to advance innovation thinking you need leaders with a different set of attributes and human assets, not rooted in ego-centered leaders...

So here we go again, from one extreme to another. We basically had eight years of one political party drunk with power ruining things for everyone. Now, based on the latest Wall Street Journal op ed ( October 17, 2008) we are already talking about the liberal super majority destined to get drunk on power and really ravage things for everyone. This could absolutely be true and could happen. Let us hope that they have learned the lessons from the last eight years and don’t. I hope that if Senator Obama wins he will have the intellectual fortitude (as he appears he does) to perform post mortems on what has happened and guard against abuse of power. The point, however, is that once again we the people are engaging in what I call “snappy polarity”. We swing from one extreme to the other as if there is no middle ground and no lessons to be gained from hybrid thinking and new proposals. I will stop here because this is not a political but an innovation blog. There is analogous behavior in bus...

So here is the deal...Innovation and creativity go hand in hand and the stimulation of creativity is becoming an area of focus in the mainstream think tanks. (I know, I sound like a broken Mp3). For the latest on this, please go to your latest issue of Harvard Business Review (October 2008 issue). If you don't have it, sorry, you are missing some good stuff. I am not pushing, HBR , mind you. What I am trying to push for is for the wholesome adoption of creative teaching in our society because in my job, I see a dearth of creativity in the people that are not in "creative" endeavors but are responsible for the heartbeat of companies. In any case, here is the link to the article for those that may want to download it (and pay for it). http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0810G But wait, there is more. For all those Executives out there that may just have arrived at this blog by accident and are trying to institute an innovati...

What can a lowly Innovation blogger say about what is going on in the World...not much, really. Our "leaders" are so embattled trying to prevent the next depression, that all voices have been drowned out now in favor of operational execution of a rescue plan that while innovative is seriously complex, complicated and time consuming to execute well. The crisis, unfortunately, needs action real-time, as in now, and not 6 months from now when the "reverse auctions" might finally be put in place. In my view this crisis elevates an issue that has been in my mind for a long time and it is the issue of Human nature and the lack of relevance we attribute to it. In very simple terms: As a nation rooted in puritanical principles, we seem to willfully dismiss and discount human nature as a factor in human actions. In this latest episode, we have ignored greed as a supremely relevant human instinct . Did we really think that the mortgage broker would NOT sell the wrong mortgag...

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Dr Atkinson last month. He is the founder of The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) based in Washington DC. The ITIF is a small think thank producing wonderful reasearch and advancing the cause of technology anb Innovation. One of its missions is to elevate the profile of technology and Innovation as a driver of economic growth and economic development. The following report is a must read for everyone in Innovation Policy circles: http://www.itif.org/index.php?id=34 Based on my conversation with Dr. Atkinson it appears that there people in government that do not believe -let me repeat - DO NOT believe that the greatest economic expansion of all time during the 90's happened - in large part - because of technology and Innovation. Apparently the Internet, digital telecommunications, Google, the wireless revolution, the Iphone...all of it happened becuase for other reasons and had nothing to do with new Innovations hitting t...

This morning during my drive to work I was listening to NPR where they were discussing – what else- the latest “Innovation”to come out of Pennsylvania street. As a congresswoman was being interviewed about her no vote, she mentioned the word “prudence” and expounded on it being part of the mid-western value system. In my world prudence is a universal value, but let us drop this line of thinking for now. Like everyone else, however, her analysis stopped there and did not take the next logical leap, which is how do we stimulate the prudent people; first as a way of thanking them for being prudent and second as a vehicle for fixing the economic mess that we are being told we are in. Being in innovation and involved in a daily process of evangelization of new ideas to internal and external audiences, I have come upon the realization that in many instances companies mobilize their entire "enlightened" energy to change the minds of the reluctant few which in may intances are CEO...

Lack of Leadership and Innovation thinking continues...watching the debate last week was a painful experience for me. Besides the total lack of respect that McCain exhibited to his counter part, there is so much to say about the lack of intellectual rigor that was so evident from our septuagenarian candidate. How can we still be talking solely about spending and framing the debate in a spender and not-spender polarity? Have our leaders so diluted the message – and ourselves - that we cannot develop the debate past the spending, no-spending mantras? Do we have to rescue everyone from celebrity-induced trances (including our supposed leaders) in order broaden the debate and make them understand that education and our children are NOT “expenses”. Have we become so deficient in understanding this? Education is an INVESTMENT and not an expense. Healthcare is an investment in our people and not an expense. Broadband connectivity is an investment in our knowledge infrastructure and not and ex...

Please, please, to all those with the power to create, affect change and inspire; to all those powers - be them metaphysical or spiritual- please give us real leaders and please give us the capacity to understand what real leadership is. Give us the capacity to think deeply and with great care. Give us the capacity to get past our self imposed celebrity filters and stop the analysis at: “she seems nice.” Give us the analytical mind-sets to be able to connect facts and not fiction. Give us the critical thinking skills and the brain power to go back and see what a disaster immature and arrogant un-leadership has been laid on our door step and that of the World. Give us the strength to not react to emotional triggers. More importantly, however: Give us the strength to look in the mirror and say to ourselves, I am responsible for the mess this country is in due to my own flaccid and indifferent participation. Let’s get active and demand more. Let’s demand an idea revolution and do nothing ...

In discussing Innovation and Information Technologies the other day with the Founder of Technology think tank, it occurred to me that we have a "branding" problem with IT and in general Technology. The fact is that the major economic expansions are driven by innovations in technology. Witness the 90's boom. While it led to a crash, it nevertheless created immense wealth for many. This fact however, does not seem to be known by the populace. Why? I theorize that it is because people have a hard time "connecting" the benefits of technology with their daily lives and their jobs. It is an imperative that we do a better job of making these connections for our customers. Apple is a great example of a "technology company" that has figured out (for now) how to translate technology into customer experience, i e., where technology meets the road, if I can borrow and change a known aphorism . The more important point here is the following: If we do a better job o...

So here is the deal, I need to buy a new car because – well - because my lifestyle is forcing me to. I have to have a car in order to survive in the suburbia-induced car culture that I have created for myself and family. It does not help that public transportation in Northern Virginia is as rare as a bicyclist hitting a bear and survives to tell about it. This actually happened in Montana yesterday. You don't believe me? Check it out: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/offbeat/sns-ap-odd-bicyclist-vs-bear,0,26902.story The car that I have chosen to purchase is a Honda Fit, an environmentally-aware car responsive to the new world order consisting of high prices, a warming environment and immature politicians. It is actually a ULEV (ultra low emissions vehicle) car rapped in a small, sporty and utilitarian package. And, but of course, it is a Honda, a car of supreme quality. If you want to read about the car, click here: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shoppi...

Another great voice from the silent -but becoming louder - Innovation movement is raising the alarm. This time not from someone raised and protected in academic or think-tank circles, this time it is from someone that has been in the technology and innovation trenches for her entire career. Her name is Judy Estrin and was former CTO of Cisco and an entrepreneur , founder of four technology startups . Please check out the article below. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/technology/01estrin.htm?_r=1& adxnnl =1& oref = slogin & adxnnlx =1220620493-Tb12 xYB 2 EfoxHkvGFog ++w There has been an innovation slowdown. It is fact . Why? I do not really now. I theorize that it has to do with economic cycle maturity (in that we may have reached our economic and creative zenith), or our lack of attention and focus on the core issues, those being education, infrastructure and health-care . Maybe it is has been caused by the "crowding effect" an economics term that describ...

I hate to say it...but I told them so... The scene was a digital event in Hollywood about 1 year ago when I ventured the comment that there will come a time when digital technology will allow the making of entire movies without actors. The responses from the audience ranged from a resounding "no way" to "it will never happen" to "you are crazy" It never ceases to amaze me how dismissive people continue to be regarding the power of digital technology. It is a form of willful ignorance. Not unlike that displayed by our politicians that refuse to adopt new ideas becuase they simply do not understand them. So, here we are a year later and a new technology/product called Aguru Dome offers exactly what I postured 1 year ago; the ability to make real-life digital doubles so real that we are almost there in terms of not needing actors. Interestingly enough, I have no seen a lot of the traditional media carry this news item. I actually found it on a BBC web site ...

On the occasion of my travels to Europe (for work and pleasure) I find myself thinking about perspectives and how much travelling can help reset thinking and aid in Innovative creation. The mere fact of being around new historic surroundings and observing differing human behaviors can be so refreshing. Case in point were two observation. The first was an older couple here in Budapest. They were in their mid 60's early 70's. I saw them in a park this past Sunday sitting side by side at the base of a statue staring into their individual mobile phone screens. They did this for the longest time so they were either playing games or reading some kind of email/text. The length of time that they were doing this was uncanny and a behavior that I have never seen in the USA. Like I have asserted many times, mobile broadband is the future and here in Europe things are a bit more advanced than in the USA, including adoption at all ages. The second observation was more pedestrian and not f...

I know my audience is interested in this sort of thing, so I am including a link to the Forum on Global Leadership and its final report. I was a contributor to this report. http://www.ibm.com/ibm/globalleadership/pdf/online_FGL_white_paper_final.pdf For those who reeeally know me, you know that the international/global dimension is front and center for me in many respects and for many reasons. The subject of my last entry had lots to do with the global dimension as a vector of influence in creating true, cultured leaders. The initiative for this Forum came directly from the C-Level's of IBM. I congratulate IBM for doing so and reaching out to those that want to make a difference. This final report was created using the theories of open innovation, including reaching out to the "global-idea-bank" that ALL of us are part of. Pleease, please, please...share this report with everyone that you can: CEO's, friends, family and colleagues. It is of the utmost importance to do...

I know, I know...It has been a long time... There is so much to say and so much to comment on that I basically shut down for a few weeks. Add to that vacation and business travel schedules, family duties,etc...Well you get the drift. One though that has congealed on my mind has to do with this issue of "leadership" and "leadership development". I get flyer upon flyer and email upon email from just about every top Business school (Harvard, UVA , Duke, Wharton) pitching my these "leadership development" seminars that - incidentally - range in price from $6k to $25K. Not an insignificant amount for a weeks' time. So, I am thinking: what does leadership development mean? In my view - and this is strictly my opinion- it means FIRST having an open, global, sympathetic and empathetic mind. Without this basis, I ascertain, it will be very difficult to "develop" leadership qualities. This basis- call it world aware- can ONLY be achieved by experien...