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March 10, 2006

March 10 innovation linkage, A.M. edition

A review of Instapundit's new book [The Economist]
Gorgeous maps of complexity [VisualComplexity.com]
10 Questions with Adam Lashinsky of FORTUNE [Guy Kawasaki's blog]
Innovative thinkers visit Google [Google Video]
SXSW kicks off this weekend [South by Southwest Festival]
Australia's new marketing campaign: innovative or profane? [Tourism Australia]
Talent You Should Know [Talentism's new TuSK blog]
Too busy being unproductive to learn to be productive [How to Save the World blog]
Entrepreneurial Proverbs [O'Reilly Radar]
The amazing spider bots [Nicolas Nova's Pasta & Vinegar blog]

[image; TheyRule.net]

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The secrets to Starbucks greatness

The cover story in the current issue of FORTUNE magazine is a feature called "Secrets of Greatness: How I Work" -- a series of first-hand accounts of how some of the world's busiest executives handle the constant flow of information around them. One of those profiled is Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks, who explains a few of his tips for staying one step ahead of the curve:

"I get up between 5 and 5:30, and naturally the first thing I do is make some coffee; depending on my mood, it's either an espresso macchiato or one of our Indonesian coffees in a French press. I'll take my coffee, read three newspapers -- the Seattle Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times -- and listen to a voicemail summarizing sales results from the past 24 hours. This has been my routine for 25 years. [...]

At work the first thing I do is read the flash report, which is our roadmap of what we do that day. We manage day-to-day in our business. I'm proud that we are so nimble -- we have great information flow to make that happen. So we attend to U.S. business during the day, and of course at night I'll be speaking with Asia.

I'm always stopping by our stores -- at least 25 a week. I'm also in other places: Home Depot, Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. I was just in a great [home improvement] store, Tokyu Hands, in Tokyo; it's fun and it grabs you. I try to be a sponge to pick up as much as I can..."

Acting on the tip from Howard Schultz, I checked out the Tokyu Hands store in Frommer's:

"Billing itself the "Creative Life Store," Tokyu Hands, part of the Tokyu chain, is a huge department store for the serious homeowner and hobbyist, with everything from travel accessories, noren (doorway curtains), chopsticks, and kitchen knives, to equipment and materials for do-it-yourselfers, including paper for shoji. If there's a practical Japanese product you've decided you can't live without (lunch box? bathroom slippers? hanging laundry rack?), this is a good place to look."

Any guesses as to how Starbucks will add these "creative life" and "do-it-yourself" elements from Tokyu Hands to its worldwide chain of coffee shops?

Tags: Starbucks HowardSchultz

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Idea Logistics: translating innovative ideas into action

Having trouble executing on the brilliant ideas generated by the innovative thinkers within your company? Jeffrey Phillips of the Innovate on Purpose blog describes an interesting concept called "idea logistics":

"...Far too often we get caught up in the "Creative" piece of the process - generating ideas, but then the logistics or executional portion fails to create excitement or process flow around the idea.

Often I think we view "logistics" as a relatively mundane, back office capability, but in our global economy logistics is the chain that keeps our economics engine humming. In the product world, toys, computers and cars can be made anywhere in the world, but aren't worth much until they arrive at a place where the customer can acquire and use them. Our trade with China and the Far east is completely dependent on a strong logistics capability. If the Chinese vendors made a toy for Christmas 2006 but the logistics supply chain failed, we'd have no new toys for Christmas.

In the same manner, we should think of logistics for ideas. Creating an idea is important - but what happens next? How do you keep the idea current, keep it in process and tie it to an important goal or milestone? What logistics capabilities exist for your ideas?

The concept of "idea logistics" is already starting to resonate within the innovation blogosphere. As Chief Innnovation Officer points out: "[Idea Logistics] is a perfect metaphor for managing the process of getting innovative ideas to market. I really like the way the phrase blends the creative (idea) side with the process discipline side of innovation... What does your Idea Logistics capability look like - Dell, UPS or herding cats?"

Tags: idealogistics innovation businessprocess

[image: Herding Cats]

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A review of Geoffrey Moore's "Dealing with Darwin" book

Paul Williams of the Idea Sandbox blog has posted a thorough two-part summary of some of the key ideas in Geoffrey Moore's recently published book, Dealing With Darwin. Recently, Geoffrey gave a talk at Starbucks HQ as part of his national book tour, and Idea Sandbox has done a great job of assembling together a collection of PowerPoint presentation slides and charts, as well as a few direct quotes. The diagram here shows how three different categories of innovation (Product Leadership, Customer Intimacy, and Operational Excellence) can appear during various stages of the company/product/service life cycle.

Anyway, it's possible to download a full series of slides from the Dealing with Darwin presentation here. Also, check out Geoffrey's blog called - what else? - Dealing With Darwin.

Tags: GeoffreyMoore DealingWithDarwin innovation

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March 9, 2006

Who said businesses in India weren't creative?

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (free feature) had a fascinating article about the new breed of advertising and marketing agencies that are based in India, staffed with Indian nationals - and winning clients away from more expensive Western marketing agencies at an eye-popping clip: "Treated like a dirty word by many on Madison Avenue, outsourcing is starting to invade the global marketing industry, and India is leading the charge."

In fact, some of the biggest brands in the world - like Coca-Cola - are now turning to Indian creative types to manage their online advertising campaigns. What's more, even luxury brands are no longer deterred from using Indian talent, as this example using Alfred Hammel illustrates:

"Typical of ad outsourcers is niche luxury brand Alfred Hammel, which pitches $10,000 Swiss watches to Americans and Europeans in tony magazines and newspapers. Looking to cut marketing production costs, two years ago the New York-based company handed its ad account over to Banerjee & Partners, an agency specializing in outsourcing work to India.

The watch company's president, Gurbakhsh Sethi, meets with Banerjee staff in New York to plan strategy and sign off on designs, slogans and creative ad themes. Behind the scenes, Banerjee's staff in Bangalore, India, does art direction and color correction on the photos, which were shot in New York. The finished work is sent back to New York over the Internet. Dave Banerjee, the agency's founder, says his U.S. team, which works in morning and afternoon shifts to take advantage of the time difference, works closely with the Indian team throughout to process "to ensure that the work reflects the right cultural nuances."

The bottom line appears to be cost savings: according to the Wall Street Journal, some firms in India charge as little as one-eighth of what it might cost in the U.S. Add to that, Indian firms are becoming more sophisticated, especially when it comes to rolling out online campaigns that can really leverage world-class Indian technology talent.

Tags: India innovation creativity

[image: Chronographs from Alfred Hammel]

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The "monolithic insanity" known as the modern office cubicle

In a fun piece called Cubicles: the Great Mistake, Julie Schlosser of FORTUNE magazine explains why the modern corporation can't seem to get rid of the pesky office cubicle:

"Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called "monolithic insanity." Propst is the father of the cubicle. More than 30 years after he unleashed it on the world, we are still trying to get out of the box. The cubicle has been called many things in its long and terrible reign. But what it has lacked in beauty and amenity, it has made up for in crabgrass-like persistence.

Reviled by workers, demonized by designers, disowned by its very creator, it still claims the largest share of office furniture sales--$3 billion or so a year--and has outlived every "office of the future" meant to replace it. It is the Fidel Castro of office furniture. So will the cubicle always be with us? Probably yes, though in recent years individuals and organizations have finally started to chart productive and economical ways to escape its tyranny..."

What's interesting - or maybe ironic? - is that the same company (Herman Miller) which created the first office cubicle (the so-called "Action Office") is now widely touted as one of the most innovative design companies in the world. In fact, there's a good probability right now that you're reading this blog entry from the comfort of a Herman Miller chair.

Tags: HermanMiller cubicle workspace

[image: the first commercial installation of a cubicle, circa 1969]

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Connect + Develop: Procter & Gamble's game-changing innovation strategy

On the Really Simple Sidi blog, an employee from Elsevier Engineering Information points to the cover story in the March 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review about Procter & Gamble's Connect + Develop innovation strategy: "In a HBR article (subs req) Larry Huston and Nabil Sakkab who are VP for product innovation and knowledge and senior VP for corporate research and development respectively for P&G explains how P&G is transforming their innovation process by aiming to acquire 50% of their innovation outside of their company through implementing a "connect and develop" strategy. Authors list yet2, innocentive, ninesigma, and yourencore as some of the sources that they rely in the open networks."

On the Connect + Develop website, P&G chairman A.G. Lafley lays out the building blocks of the company's innovation strategy:

"We've collaborated with outside partners for generations - but the importance of these alliances to P&G has never been greater. Our vision is simple. We want P&G to be known as the company that collaborates - inside and out - better than any other company in the world. I want us to be the absolute best at spotting, developing and leveraging relationships with best-in-class partners in every part of our business. In fact, I want P&G to be a magnet for the best-in-class. The company you most want to work with because you know a partnership with P&G will be more rewarding than any other option available to you."

Tags: P&G innovation strategy

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An innovative way to catch the attention of venture capitalists

The other day I was browsing through the videos at YouTube.com (you know, looking for a three six Mafia clip), when I stumbled across a quick 30-second clip for optical camouflage. The video sounded interesting enough and it was tagged with "amazing" and "invention," so I checked it out. It turned out to be a brief video clip for the "cloak of invisibility" that was originally featured in Wired Magazine back in August 2003. Two years later, the clip wound up on YouTube.com, the viral, youth-oriented video site.

That got me thinking... If you were an entrepreneur, wouldn't that be a great way to pitch a new product (assuming the product is finally out of the research stage and finally into the development stage)? After all, the science behind the "cloak of invisibility" is probably way too complex to explain in a routine elevator pitch. But a quick 30-second video clip really whets the appetite. Some of the comments on YouTube reflect this: "amazing invention!" "WTF?" "Is it possible?" Imagine if you got a bored, old-school VC to pop open his or her eyes and say WTF? Chances are pretty good you'd get financing. In other words, replace the tired old 30-second elevator pitch full of jargon like "first mover advantage" with a hip 30-second YouTube.com viral video.

Anyway, to find out more about the cloak of invisibility and the Japanese researchers who created it, check out the site for Optical Camouflage (in English and Japanese) or the Wikipedia entry for optical camouflage.

In 2003, TIME Magazine named "optical camouflage" one of the coolest inventions of the year.

Tags: invention innovation VC venturecapital

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Thomas Friedman: the seven categories of skills for the global workplace

Niti Bhan points to an interview at YaleGlobal with Thomas Friedman, who riffs on some of the themes covered in The World is Flat and shares some of his experiences in Silicon Valley and India. According to Friedman, there are seven broad categories of jobs that are assuming greater importance in the global workplace:

(1) Collaborators
(2) Leveragers
(3) Explainers
(4) Localizers
(5) Adapters
(6) Personalizers

The seventh category is "anything green" (i.e. people with a familiarity with sustainable technology). After reading through Niti's blog post, I took the time to read the full Thomas Friedman interview. There are a lot of interesting nuggets in there - such as Friedman's commentary about the way that the "flattening" of the world is starting to impact India in a negative way. While India may be strong in the fundamentals of science, engineering and math, the nation is still behind when it comes to creativity and synthesis:

"I was at Nascom, the Indian high-tech association's annual meeting, and full of some of the brainiest and most innovative people in India, but the buzz, the subterranean buzz that I found there was all about, "woe is me," basically. We're now doing a lot of BPO, that's India' specialty, business process outsourcing. That's everything from answering your phone, to writing your software, to running your back room, your human resources department. A good business, but India's getting competition in that field now. Vietnam will come in there, Eastern Europe. They've got to move, they know, to KPO, knowledge process outsourcing, where you don't just tell me – I don't just do the "how," I do the "what." I actually conceive of the project, the idea, and then I execute and implement it.

To do that, though, you need a different type of mindset. You need a mindset that's questioning, that's innovative, that's synthesizing. And Indian education has been very good for pounding in those fundamentals. We know that, and nobody does it better. It's been great at getting people who know how to do the "how." But it has not been great for creating people to know to ask the "what." And – or the "why."

And, of course, that's the strength of the United States. We need more people with good fundamentals, they need more people who are creative, and that's where you're getting this kind of grand convergence. So I think you're going to see, over time, a loosening up of the rigid Indian education system, and introducing a lot more "what" and "why" into the classroom, because the talent is there, we know. It's just really how you shape it and reshape it."

Tags: ThomasFriedman theworldisflat

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March 8, 2006

Get into the zone with Microsoft

On his Next Big Thing blog, Don Dodge of Microsoft's emerging business team announces the launch of the Microsoft Startup Zone:

"Microsoft's Emerging Business Team has launched Microsoft StartupZone, a new site for VC's, entrepreneurs, and start-ups. The site makes it easy to find the right person at Microsoft to help you get started on a partnership with Microsoft. The site also has links to partner programs, resources, and profiles of companies we work with.

The Emerging Business Team is totally focused on start-ups that are building products and solutions on Microsoft platforms. We can help you get into beta programs, access developer technical support, participate in marketing programs, introduce you to field sales people, and other things depending on the stage of your company."

While I haven't had the time to explore the new site thoroughly, it looks like Microsoft is really making an effort to reach out to Web 2.0 startups and innovative entrepreneurs. In the Wall Street Journal the other day, there was a brief item about Microsoft's improving public image in the marketplace, and this new Startup Zone site could be yet more proof that Microsoft is really changing for the better.

Tags: Microsoft StartupZone innovation

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The newest X Prize: automobile fuel efficiency

The X Prize Foundation, which organized the highly successful $10 million Ansari X PRIZE competition that was eventually won by Burt Rutan and SpaceShipOne, just announced the creation of a new X Prize to inspire entrepreneurial innovation in the automotive industry. Although the details are still being firmed up, it looks like the prize will encourage cutting-edge research into automobile fuel efficiency. Not sure if the new prize will require alternative fuel sources or traditional fuel sources (i.e. gas from the local filling station), but the premise sounds interesting enough. Mark Goodstein, the recently appointed executive director for the new X Prize, explains what the new award is all about:

"The X PRIZE is about changing paradigms. The current paradigm is that it's perfectly acceptable to drive a car that only gets 20 or 30 miles per gallon. This prize is about leveraging cash and opportunity to effect positive change in the environment, economy and geopolitics."

Anyway, you may recognize the name Mark Goodstein - he was the founder of GoTo.com as well as the founder of X1 Technologies (no relation to the X Prize). With a successful serial entrepreneur at the helm, the new X Prize competition should get off to a running start. John Neff of Autoblog suggests that the cash prize will finally spur some real breakthrough innovation in Detroit:

"As fun as the X-Cup race to outer space was, a major breakthrough in fuel efficiency for automobiles would be a much more useful achievement than being able to cart fat cats with deep pockets into lower orbit. No official word yet on the contest’s rules or what the prize will be, though we suspect it will likely be in the many millions.

Since it seems that the auto industry moves only by the hand of market pressure, here’s hoping that a large quantity of cash will motivate all those amateur engineers out there to save us from oblivion. You can bet that Autoblog will be sponsoring Eric Bryant, our own resident engineer, who can build a vehicle out of a garbage can, a roll of duct tape and a wire hanger that runs on Boo-Berry Kool-Aid and gets 168 mpg."

Tags: XPrize fuel automobile

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Reinventing the very process of invention

In Wired Magazine, Joanna Glasner provides an overview of three ideas that work when it comes to the rapidly changing nature of business innovation. As Joanna explains, innovation is no longer "easy." Companies are becoming increasingly protective of their intellectual property in a "knowledge-as-asset age" and spending more than ever on R&D in the hopes of uncovering the Next Big Thing. At the same time, companies are re-examining the very process of innovation to see what works, and what doesn't. Based on interviews with academics, consultants and business writers like Paul Ormerod (author of the recently published Why Most Things Fail), Joanna highlights three winning strategies:

(1) Admit that most things fail and opt for a program of continuous, aggressive innovation;

(2) Specialize, specialize, specialize;

(3) Break complex systems into simpler pieces: a product can be improved upon by focusing not on the whole, but on a small part.

Tags: innovation strategy

[image: Brain Fingerprint via Flickr]

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The secret to Google greatness: work for 14 hours straight in front of the TV

In a multi-part interview series called Secrets of Greatness: How I Work, FORTUNE Magazine interviews some of the busiest, most high-powered people on the planet to see how they work. As part of the series, FORTUNE's David Kirkpatrick caught up with the suddenly ubiquitous Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience for Google. In a first-person account, Marissa explains how she keeps up with the constant flow of information at Google:

"I don't feel overwhelmed with information. I really like it. I use Gmail for my personal e-mail -- 15 to 20 e-mails a day -- but on my work e-mail I get as many as 700 to 800 a day, so I need something really fast. I use an e-mail application called Pine, a Linux-based utility I started using in college. It's a very simple text-based mailer in a crunchy little terminal window with Courier fonts. I do marathon e-mail catch-up sessions, sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday. I'll just sit down and do e-mail for ten to 14 hours straight. I almost always have the radio or my TV on. I guess I'm a typical 25- to 35-year-old who's now really embracing the two-screen experience...

I almost always have my laptop with me. It's sitting with me right now. We are a very laptop-friendly culture. It's not uncommon to walk into a meeting at Google where everyone has a laptop open. To keep track of tasks, I have a little document called a task list. And in the same document there's a list for each person I work with or interact with, of what they're working on or what I expect from them. It's just a list in a text file. Using this, I can plan my day out the night before..."

Marissa also explains how the Google "deli counter" works:

"From 4 to 5:30 every day that I can, I'll sit at my desk to answer any question that shows up on my doorstep. We have a big sign-up sheet outside. We joke that we should get one of those deli number tickers -- "Now serving No. 68!" But we have nice couches and power for laptops and things outside the door where people wait. The average seems to be around 13 people per day. Sometimes they show me mockups or new demos of ideas they want to advance. Sometimes they have a presentation they're working on. Or sometimes they just want to ask me a question about Google's overall management. Anything is fair game."

What's interesting is that Marissa doesn't mention a single Web 2.0 gadget or gizmo in her account of how she deals with information overload. She doesn't use a BlackBerry, is frustrated with TiVo and cellphones, uses a text-based e-mail application that she started using more than five years ago, uses a Notepad-like text program to keep track of her tasks, and employs a meeting planner system used by the local Italian deli.

Tags: Google MarissaMayer

[image: FORTUNE]

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March 7, 2006

Seth Godin rallies the troops at the Googleplex

The Long Blonde Tail blog points to a video clip of Seth Godin rallying the troops at the Googleplex. Godin, who was appearing as part of a program that brings innovative thinkers to Google, riffs on a number of themes during a presentation called All Marketers Are Liars. As can be seen at left, one of the themes discussed by Godin was how to "flip the funnel." Any guesses as to what Google's next strategic venture might be?

Big props to Google for trying to stay current with hot ideas and trends in the Internet world. Interestingly, the company actually puts these ideas into action... During the Google Analyst Day presentation for Wall Street last week, Google execs repeatedly mentioned the "long tail theory" and the "wisdom of crowds" - two ideas that are helping to shape the future development of the Internet.

Anyway, it's possible to download and watch the Seth Godin video via (what else?) Google Video. According to Seth, the video has been a big hit as a download: "The viral nature of my talk at Google has astounded me. TV really is the influenza of idea spreading. If I had a million dollars for every single person who downloaded the video, I'd have almost as much money as Google..."

Tags: SethGodin Google Googleplex

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The most advanced quadruped robot on earth

In Monday's Financial Times (free access this week only), Jonathan Loades-Carter took a brief look at three new technologies that are making their way out of the lab: robotic dogs that navigate treacherous terrain, safer carbon nanotubes and Web-controlled kitchens. Of these three technologies, the most interesting is probably the so-called BigDog:

"Boston Dynamics has built an agile four-legged robot that shows amazing reflexes for a robot - negotiating steep slopes, crossing rocky ground and recovering its balance even after being given a strong kick - a move that was bound to up-end a Dalek.

Named BigDog, the machine is being developed for the US military who are hoping it will prove useful in the field acting as a robotic “pack mule” assisting soldiers in areas which are too tough for vehicles. BigDog can also carry more than 40kg, about 30% of its bodyweight, and could potentially lighten the load of soldiers who in the US army can be burdened with a similar weight of equipment."

Anyway, if you're interested, the Boston Dynamics website has video clips of BigDog in action. According to Boston Dynamics, the BigDog is the "Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth" and the "the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots."

[Yo, is it just me, or is BigDog missing a head?]

Tags: robot BigDog BostonDynamics

[image: Boston Dynamics]

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Amsterdam's new design and creativity showcase

Ulla-Maaria Mutanen of the Hobby Princess blog points to the new Platform 21 initiative in Amsterdam, which sounds like an interesting showcase of design & innovation in the center of a large urban metropolis:

"Putting money in cultural activities within an urban area is an investment that pays back. At least that is what the directors of ING Real Estate in Amsterdam believe. ING, Premsela Dutch Design Foundation and the Amsterdam City Council have started an amazing project, which aims at building a 5000 square meter space for design, fashion and creation in the city of Amsterdam. Joanna van der Zandenfrom, the manager and main architect of Platform 21, has admirably fresh ideas about what design is and how it should be exhibited."

The building, which was originally envisioned as a design museum of sorts, is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2009. (the architect will be announced in mid-2006) According to the event's website, Platform 21 will be "an international meeting point, real and virtual, where seemingly disparate groups can inspire and strengthen each other: a network for people curious to explore our new century... We look forward to experimenting with different ways of exhibiting design and fashion, showing the process of creation, and allowing interested designers and companies to share and test their latest projects."

Not clear yet on what Platform 21 is? This could be a tough one to wrap your arms around, given that, the Platform 21 logo will randomly change over time:

"The logo of Platform 21 is a small platform in itself. It will change in style, colour and pattern according to its purpose, the season or Platform 21's programme. Its creator, graphic designer Roelof Mulder, foresees that the Platform 21 logo will become more than just a corporate image. He imagines a fashion label, a 3-D product design, a cookie, a sculpture. Watch this page to follow the changing moods of our logo and download your favourites."

Dude, groovy. Instead of a mood ring, a mood logo.

Tags: innovation Amsterdam Platform21

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Specialization and teamwork as key drivers of future innovation

IFTF's Future Now blog points to a new working paper (The Burden of Knowledge and the 'Death of the Renaissance Man') from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which suggests that innovation is becoming too complex for individuals to go it alone. Instead, the recipe for innovation success includes teams and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Anyway, the download from NBER costs $5, so the Future Now blog has generously summarized the key points of the paper:

(1) As the volume of knowledge grows over time, invention requires a depth and breadth of knowledge that is impossible for single individuals to attain;

(2) This will encourage researchers to become more specialized;

(3) Innovation will require more teamwork

Tags: innovation collaboration teamwork

[image: How To Save The World]

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March 6, 2006

Will D-school become the new B-school?

A Wall Street Journal article from last week (Market is Hot for High-Skilled in Silicon Valley) highlighted the changing nature of employment in Silicon Valley. It appears that the "hot" tech companies are actively looking for job candidates with skills in areas like industrial design and product development, rather than just hard-core technical skills. It's no secret that tech companies have always loved candidates with business acumen and "soft" skills, but this appears to be something qualitatively different:

"Overall, 14% of all the jobs in Silicon Valley today belong to a sector called core design, engineering and science... Doug Henton, an economist and co-author of the report, says with the growth in these creative engineering jobs, a new face of Silicon Valley is emerging. "Ten years ago, this was an engineering Valley that pumped out chips and computers," he says. "Now it's all about creative tech and staying on the cutting edge."

Without getting into a long Dan Pink-inspired discussion about whether academic programs need to be revamped to take into account creativity and innovation, it is worth posing a single question: Is D-School the new B-school?

In other words, are the most highly-talented students with a penchant for business going to consider Design School (or at least, professional programs that take into account strategic design and innovation) as the path to riches and fame, rather than the traditional business school path? It will be interesting to track the career trajectory of students at Stanford's new d.school to see whether these students move into the types of jobs and roles once coveted by quant jock B-school grads.

Take a closer look at what's already happening at software maker Adobe:

"The type of Silicon Valley employee now in demand looks something like Simon Smith. The 36-year-old Mr. Smith, who works at software maker Adobe, doesn't have a typical engineering background: He has degrees in architecture and ran a Web development company before becoming creative director of software firm Macromedia Inc. in 2002...

At Adobe, Mr. Smith heads the world-wide user experience practice, a 12-person consulting team that works with outside clients to design mobile and Internet applications using Adobe technology. "We want to usher in a whole new era of design for our clients by leveraging Adobe technology," says Mr. Smith. He says he plans to expand his team over the next 12 months, with job candidates ideally coming from design firms such as Frog Design Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.,-based company that helps design products such as Micron's PCs, Dell.com's Web site and Symantec's software packaging."

Tags: design innovation dschool bschool

[image: WSJ]

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March 6 innovation linkage, the A.M. edition

How to be an expert [Creating Passionate Users]
House Republicans push "innovation" agenda [InfoWorld]
The world is becoming faster: video clip [Jim Carroll's weblog]
Geekcorps: a Peace Corps for techies [CNET News.com]
Netbangers: online street gangs, yo! [Newsweek]
Package tracking with Google maps [isnoop.net blog]
MIT and Nokia partner on new R&D lab [Mass High Tech]
Ideas on display at Microsoft's TechFest [CNET News.com]
Silicon Valley Fight Club: Brad Pitt would approve [CBS News]
Levi's RedWire DLX iPod jeans [Engadget]

[image: Creating Passionate Users]

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What's so innovative about Blockbuster's new strategy?

A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. After comparing the current home pages of Blockbuster and Netflix, I think the lesson here is clear: people who subscribe to Netflix just have more fun. The guy who subscribes to Netflix gets the blonde girl, a bottle of wine, a tub of popcorn and the movie. The guy who subscribes to Blockbuster gets the brunette girl, no wine, no popcorn, and the movie.

Netflix continues to have the most innovative DVD subscription business around, despite all the efforts by Blockbuster to copy its business model (and its online advertising). Netflix offers unbeatable selection, quick delivery, an intuitive user interface, low pricing, and a number of extra gizmos on its Web site (like the ability to create multiple queues for different members of the family). On the other hand, Blockbuster continues to struggle on its strategic execution. For example, Blockbuster used to advertise "no late fees" in an effort to stay competitive with Netflix. Now, the advertising from Blockbuster sends out a mixed message: "We may not have late fees, but we do have due dates." (and re-stocking fees, I should also point out)

Tags: Netflix Blockbuster

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Six questions to ask before embracing an innovative new strategy

In the current issue of strategy + business magazine, Dallas-based author and strategy guru Ram Charan offers advice on how a company can change its strategic positioning in response to emerging long-term trends. In order to adapt quickly to new discontinuities, Charan points out, it requires both "an insightful assessment of the external business landscape" and a "keen awareness of how money can be made." For media companies, it means being able to shift away from print media (i.e. newspapers) into digital media and information. For oil companies, it means being able to respond to global concerns about the environment. With that in mind, Charan provides six questions to ask for any company embarking on an innovative new strategy:

(1) What is happening in the world today?
(2) What does it mean for others?
(3) What does it mean for us?
(4) What would have to happen first (for the results we want to occur)?
(5) What do we have to do to play a role?
(6) What do we do next?

By taking a long hard look at these questions, Charan notes, it might just be possible to predict the types of discontinuities that impact business success.

Tags: strategy innovation

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