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

So much of innovation is coming up with new ideas and concepts via a change in perspective. (I have included the above picture to stimulate a change in the same before reading on). I have spoken and written in the past about perspective and the value of changing it often. Many a time I have read about artists needing to travel in order to change their perspectives and drive inspiration and passion. This entry, however, is about the value of life learning which to me is a constant change in perspective. I am one that is motivated by constant learning and in thinking about this subject it occurred to me that our social systems do not seem to instill this philosophy. If Leonrado De Vinci espoused it, who can argue against it? One very simple idea would be to create 10, 20, 30 year University degrees. Who decided that four years is enough? (of course there is Masters and PHD's). But really, why not have life learning degrees that are broader and instead of narrowing the field of studie...

This past November I participated in an Innovation conference where I had to present the results of a group brainstorming session on the subject of how to create innovative cultures in staid companies. This past December I was approached by another Innovation conference to participate as panelist on a thought leadership conference. This February I am giving a keynote address at a Frost and Sullivan conference on the subject of spotting trends and market shifts, I was approached by F&S to do so due to my work in Innovation Management. All of these events prompted me to think about the subject of trends and to write this entry. Some trends are so, so evident that there are hard to read; it is something akin to fish not seeing water because it is all around them. Who was it that said something to the effect that the hardest things to see/understand are those that are closest to us? Well, I won’t make this mistake here. One trend seems fairly evident to me now: Innovation is a ...

Lately (well, over three years now) I have become a long distance bicycling addict which unfortunately places me out on the streets together with inattentive drivers driving giganticus SUV’s while on cell phones. If this is not scary enough, now I understand from the latest research, that GPS receivers are the latest distraction toy to complement cell phones. As I deeply believe in the powers of evolution to enlighten us into healthier ways, I hope that we hurriedly are evolving ourselves to accommodate our new, always-on, connected lifestyles. I, and I am sure all my fellow bicyclists out there feel the same way, am praying for this to happen sooner rather than later because the close calls have become too close and in many unfortunate cases, deadly. What brings me to this latest stream of thinking is not the trials and tribulations of sharing the road with inattentive and arrogant drivers and their vehicles, what has surfaced instead, thanks to this new found love, is an insight...

If a company wants to establish themselves as innovative and if they truly want to institute an innovative and creative culture, then they must re-think the hiring and promotional policies and think diversity, not only in the racial sense but in a much broader sense. Innovation is a complex eco-system with many variables and requirements, one of them being, in my experience, the need for people from different walks of life with different experiences and psychological profiles. Remember those crazy Myers Briggs tests? Those tests are fantastic, as they provide valuable insights into the different profiles that an innovation group requires. From the highly sensing types to the highly left brain types, they can all contribute to an innovation practice with their skills in the proper job. I see it again and again. Too often we promote the wrong profile into the wrong positions. A feet-in-the-street sales person does not make a good sales manager. Period. Yet, I have seen this being done ov...

As I was driving to work the other day, I was listening to NPR and the show Marketplace which was doing a special on Innovations. The piece was about the business of Foundations and how they grant money to non-profits. One of the experts being interviewed come upon the idea that non-profits need a little more than a “mission” statement to drive them and that they should be more “objective oriented” (read for profit management practices). Duh! of course. I am a huge proponent of “best practices” and to that end why not use some of the management lessons learned from the for-profit World and apply them to the non-profit World? Is this really Innovation? Now, the bigger and more important insight for me upon listening to this story and others similar stories is that we have created these “artificial detachments” that at the end of the day have done a disservice to the advancement of human progress. Non-profit - For-Profit; Religious-Humanists; Consumption/Living-Environment; Businesses- r...

One simply cannot be in Innovation management without having a pulse on what is happening internationally. In the case of my industry, being at the intersection of media, telecom and technology is a must and finding those leading-edge markets and regions where innovation is accelerating ahead of the USA is critical to my practice. For my industry these regions and countries are Europe, Korea and Japan. One simple example is broadband penetration in Japan. While in the USA we get excited about 5Mg download speeds for $40 a month, in Japan the going deal is 100Mbps for $19.99. Now, that is what I call broadband. And, oh yes, I forgot to mention, it is fiber and not cable. Two weeks ago I had the chance to feel the international pulse via a conference in Europe; Berlin, Germany to be exact. The event was wonderful and what struck me the most about the event was the seriousness of the proceedings and the dedication and attention given by the attendees to the topics and discussions. There s...

The attachment of meaning to synchronicity is highly dependent on where one is in his/her search for significance. As one that is innovation, I seek inputs and nuggets from everywhere. I have made the deliberate decision to open my mind to all occurrences that cross my path and analyse them; not in detail, but as potential pieces of puzzles in my search for new ideas, products, issues, etc... Just yesterday during my morning commute, I saw this car with a set of highly creative bumper stickers with very distinct messages. I found it fascinating and very creative and in at the end of the encounter with the car, I found myself stimulated and though about new ways to convey messages via SMS and other digital technologies. SMS is still in its infancy and it has become a great medium that people are comfortable with, that is easy to use. The same day I spoke to a company that is adapting the use of search and directory services to deliver information via SMS gateways. This is what I cal...