« July 16, 2006 - July 22, 2006 | Main | July 30, 2006 - August 5, 2006 »
July 28, 2006
July 28 innovation linkage
Wrestling organizational inertia to the ground [Patricia Seybold]
Microsoft India launches Rural Innovation Fund [IT News Online]
Curiously strong innovation at Altoids [Candy Addict]
Eric von Hippel and Democratized Innovation [Robin Good]
Xavier Comtesse and the Direct Economy [Pasta & Vinegar]
The world's most innovative renewable energy source [Wired]
Wipro Technologies experimenting with quantum innovation [CIOL]
Multitasking has negative effects on learning [Business Pundit]
[video: DJ Ted Stevens Techno Remix: "A Series of Tubes"]
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The ultimate big box store
We Make Money Not Art points to a big box concept store in Zurich that is generating a fair amount of buzz in the design blogosphere: the Freitag Individual Recycled Freeway Shop. At 26 meters high, it was created by stacking 17 rusty, recycled freight containers one on top of the other, and then connecting them with a staircase. On the top is a telescope and a panorama plate which illustrates what is on view. There are four big windows and a glass-entry, allowing natural light into the structure. In addition, the building is insulated with Foamglas (made from recycled glass) to ensure that temperatures are comfortable both in the winter and in the summer.
At the end of the blog post, there's a brief Q&A with Daniel Freitag, the co-designer of the ultimate big box store, as well as a link to a stunning collection of photos on Flickr.
Tags: Freitag Zurich innovation design
[image: Freitag Shop Zurich]
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The features arms race
Too many products have too many features that nobody wants or needs. (Honestly, how many of those features on your cellphone or kitchen appliance do you actually use?) With that in mind, Kathy Sierra of the Creating Passionate Users blog explains that companies need to avoid getting caught up in the Features Arms Race when they release new products:
"It's the Feature Arms Race that leads to so much sameness among products! It's the Feature Arms Race that leads to the bloody kicking and clawing and fighting for market share. The Feature Arms Race is a form of group think, and we all know that design-by-committee does not produce art. We must wean ourselves off the obsession with the competition. If we're constantly trying to one-up them--or even just stay up with them--how does this really serve the users? How does it help the users kick *** if we're so focused making sure our feature lists kick ***? But it's hard to do."
Tags: features product innovation
[image: Creating Passionate Users]
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Steve Ballmer is Microsoft's new "champion of innovation"
At Microsoft's annual meeting for financial analysts, CEO Steve Ballmer explained that he is taking over as the company’s "champion of innovation." For now, the focus will be on turning online services and entertainment into Microsoft’s new growth areas. At the meeting, Ballmer also outlined what Microsoft would look like in the post-Bill Gates era:
“All of those things mark the beginning of a new era for Microsoft. I think about how the company will move forward, about our growth, innovation, where we are going and I think we have many things to be excited about. This next era of Microsoft will be more exciting, will allow us to generate more shareholder value, more innovation and have more impact to change the world positively."
What do you think? Will Microsoft become more or less innovative without Bill Gates?
UPDATE: Today's Wall Street Journal has a "Boss Talk" feature with Steve Ballmer, who discusses the importance of innovation at Microsoft: "And [now] with me really being the guy who's here every day running the place, I must be the champion of innovation. That doesn't mean I have to be the guy who comes up with every innovation, but I really have to carry the mantle that says we're going to innovate, we're going to do new things, we're going to get into new areas, we're going to protect and nurture all kinds of innovation..."
Tags: Microsoft Steve Ballmer
[image: Steve Ballmer]
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July 27, 2006
Knowledge Management for Dummies
Green Chameleon features the first-ever video interview with Professor Gervaise Germaine of the Free University of Munsterburg, who explains in great detail several concepts related to KM (knowledge management). Oh - if you're not sure whether this is meant to be satirical or not, just fast-forward the video to the two-minute mark, where the bowtie-wearing Professor Gervaise Germaine dumps a metal spaghetti strainer on his head.
Tags: Gervaise Germaine knowledge management KM
[video: YouTube.com]
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July 27 innovation linkage
The Next Xerox PARC [Innovation Creators]
10 Ways to Generate Breakthrough Results [Spooky Action]
Living entirely on Web 2.0 for two weeks [MIT Technology Review]
Discover your inner celebrity with new face recognition tool [Yahoo! News]
It's Not Us Vs. Them [Horse Pig Cow]
The Long Tail may not wag the Internet dog [Lee Gomes]
The Intuitive Process [How to Save the World]
Affinity VC funds for Big 12 football fans [Houston Chronicle]
HarperCollins gets hot and sweaty for romance innovation [Business Wire]
The latest innovation happening in Denmark [Copenhagen Institute of Interactive Design]
[graphic: Activity-Centric Collaboration]
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Dismantling the house of quality
On August 15, Anthony Ulwick, author of the bestselling book What Customers Want, will be presenting a one-hour webinar on how to create a predictable product innovation process. According to Anthony, "the house of quality" (i.e. Six Sigma and QFD) no longer offers an adequate framework when it comes to managing a product innovation process. As a result, organizations should dismantle the house of quality and embrace other alternatives, such as the Opportunity Landscape Model:
"Many companies have used QFD and more specifically the house of quality to advance their product development efforts. After 25 years of using the house of quality, leading-edge companies have come to realize that it is simply the wrong tool for the job of innovation. That is only half of the story. What we have discovered in our work with Fortune 1000 companies over the past 15 years is far more disturbing - the limitations inherent in the house of quality are the cause of process instability and are preventing companies from achieving their goal of predictable innovation.
In this webcast, you will learn about an effective alternative where the house of quality is replaced with the opportunity landscape model - a tool designed specifically to uncover and prioritize opportunities and deliver on the promise of predictable innovation. Just think - success can be achieved without time-consuming and tedious matrices! This new approach, a part of outcome-driven innovation, is the next generation of QFD. This thinking is featured in The Innovator's Solution, a recent book by Harvard Business School Professor, Clayton Christensen, and has supplanted QFD, VOC and other programs in many firms as a best practice and new standard for innovation."
Tags: quality QFD innovation opportunity landscape
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Wendy's creates a new strategy and innovation group
Wendy's is establishing a new Innovation and Strategy group to lead innovation efforts for the Wendy's brand. According to the company's chief marketing officer, the new Innovation and Strategy group will be comprised of three primary functions: (1) R&D (2) Strategic Insights & Innovation (3) Operations Innovation. While the innovation group will be managed as part of the company's marketing department, it looks like the fruits of the innovation initiative will be diffused throughout the organization. The company's chief marketing officer explains:
"We know that innovation at all levels - from the menu to packaging to the customer experience in our restaurants - is critical to our success. Everything is now strategically linked and will work tightly together. Over the last year, we have completely retooled and reinvigorated our menu-development process, and our product pipeline is filled with a wide array of exciting options. Now, we're broadening this effort by creating a single team responsible for driving and enhancing innovation at all levels."
When it comes to innovation, Wendy's is playing catch-up with Burger King and McDonald's, both of which have experimented with innovation in various ways. Burger King, for example, is known for creating all sorts of innovative viral marketing campaigns (subservient chicken, anyone?) while McDonald's is known for trying to introduce Wi-Fi Internet access in its restaurants. Let's just hope that Wendy's doesn't resort to anything "innovative" like the "Spicy Paris" commercial to sell burgers...
Tags: Wendy's innovation
[image: Wendy's from BrownSugarBear on Flickr]
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What is the difference between innovation and invention?
In an extended post about the importance of managing innovation properly, the Innovation Zen blog argues that it is important for companies to understand the difference between innovation and invention:
"The first confusion to dismiss is the difference between invention and innovation. The former refers to new concepts or products that derive from individual’s ideas or from scientific research. The latter, on the other hand, represents the commercialization of the invention itself. It is important to have this difference clearly outlined because an invention may have little economic value, if at all. In order to monetize an invention it is necessary to transform it into innovation, and such transformation is possible once we find a target customer, application or market.
A company may be particularly good at coming up with new ideas and inventions, but it is the ability to monetize those inventions that really matters. Organizations need to have an innovation process in place to ensure that this is possible.
Tags: invention innovation
[image: Thomas Alva Edison invents the lightbulb]
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July 26, 2006
Bored of competing with Detroit automakers, Honda takes on Cessna
Yesterday, Honda unveiled a bold new plan to produce a fuel-efficient, twin-engine, six-passenger airplane: the HondaJet. Pointing to Honda's ability to manufacture the world's best small cars, The New York Times is already calling Honda's new airplane "the Honda Civic of the skies." It's not as far-fetched as it sounds - Honda is just the latest automaker to dabble in airplane manufacturing. Ford, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Mitsubishi have all tried their hands at manufacturing airplanes and aircraft engines over the years. In order to market the new jet, Honda will form an alliance with Piper Aircraft, the 69-year-old manufacturer of small planes such as the Piper Cub.
Tags: Honda innovation HondaJet jet
[image: New York Times]
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User innovation in the rodeo kayak industry
If you enjoyed Eric von Hippel's discussion of innovation within the world of skateboarding at the Fortune Innovation Forum last winter, you'll enjoy this overview of user-driven innovation within the rodeo kayak industry. In order to understand how "user innovations" evolve and eventually become commercial products, Harvard Business School professor Carliss Baldwin, Christoph Hienerth and MIT Sloan professor Eric von Hippel analyzed the sport and industry of rodeo kayaking. In a follow-up Q&A with Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, Carliss Baldwin explains how user innovations become commercial products and describes the implications for entrepreneurs who would like to nurture a community of user-innovators:
"Baldwin and her fellow researchers wanted to better understand this path from user innovation to commercial product. What role do user communities play in this process? Are "user-manufacturers" —users who turn their improvements into commercial products—usually industry leaders? How competitive are existing, well-capitalized companies when they compete against user-manufacturers? Although there have been a number of studies on user innovation, little if any work has been done on the commercialization of user innovations... The research was recently published in the working paper How User Innovations Become Commercial Products: A Theoretical Investigation and Case Study."
Tags: user innovation innovation Carliss Baldwin Eric von Hippel
[image: HBS Working Knowledge]
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July 26 innovation linkage
50 Innovators Who Matter [Business 2.0]
AT&T Labs vs. Google Labs [Slashdot]
Has Australian innovation lost its mojo? [The Border Mail]
The Myth of the One-Woman Inspirational Whirlwind [Evelyn Rodriguez]
Can frozen ice cubes really be innovative? [Clayton Christensen]
Asia embraces global innovation networks [DailyIndia.com]
Open innovation up to all of your employees [Entrepreneur.com]
Home Depot is now a media business [Media Buyer Planner]
Meet the winner of the 2006 Honda Prize [Technology News Daily]
[image: The Inventor's Workshop for Nokia]
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Richard Branson's secret fuel alternative
Walter Derzko's Smart Economy blog points out that Richard Branson, the entrepreneurial founder of Virgin Group, is working on a top secret fuel alternative that could be ready by 2007. To a list of Virgin businesses that includes media, air travel, credit cards, cell phones and music you can now add Virgin Fuels. Apparently, Branson dropped a few hints about the new fuel at this year's Davos meeting before spilling the beans about a "green super fuel" in a recent interview with Business 2.0:
I used to be skeptical of global warming but now I’m absolutely convinced that the world is spiraling out of control. [...] We’ve put quite a lot of money to invest in alternate fuels, one billion over the next four years…The money is going into a whole series of different things like building ethanol plants, solar, wind power and we are also working on developing a new kind of fuel which I can’t say much about, but which is quite exciting.
It will be called Virgin Fuel…It’s not ethanol-based as such, but it’ll be a clean fuel. [...] And if we got it right, it could be a very important break through. [...] We think this fuel will work in cars, trucks and trains within a year (ETA 2007) and we’re hoping it might work in commercial jet engines within 5 years (ETA 2011)."
Tags: Virgin Richard Branson fuel
[image: TheAge.com]
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The great Canadian potato innovation famine
The next time you step into the local supermarket to pick up a sack of potatoes, think about how innovative those potatoes really are. What? According to Canada.com, the Canadian government is investing almost a million dollars in potato industry innovation:
"The federal government [in Canada] is contributing $590,000 to help launch a national network geared to finding new markets and innovative uses for potatoes. The goal of the Potato Innovation Network 2020 is to create alliances between university, government and industry to create new or improved potato-based food, bio-medical, and industrial products. The provinces of New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Quebec are also contributing to the project, putting its total value at over $830,000. The potato industry contributes approximately $6.4 billion to Canada's economy."
If you look up "pork barrel" in the dictionary, I think you'd find something like this. In Canada, I guess, the term "potato barrel" might be more relevant.
Tags: potato innovation Canada
[image: Potatoes]
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July 25, 2006
Welcome to the fuzzy front end of innovation
John Caddell of the Shop Talk blog points to an interesting study on the activities that take place at the beginning of the innovation process: Fuzzy Front End: Effective Tools, Methods & Techniques. The study describes the fuzzy front end of innovation, including an explanation of the five-factor NCD (new concept development) model. As Shop Talk explains, the NCD model can become a tool "to provide more consistency and predictability in companies' product creation efforts."
Anyway, the "engine" in the center of the NCD model refers to senior- and executive-level management support; the arrows pointing into the model represent starting points, and the exit arrow represents how concepts leave the model and enter the New Product Development (NPD) or Technology Stage Gate (TSG) process.
In order to wrap your arms around these concepts, it's probably best to download the study as a 32-page PDF. You also might want to check out the materials now available from the Front End of Innovation event earlier this year.
Tags: fuzzy front end innovation PDMA
[image: New Concept Development Model]
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The most beautiful innovator in the world
Priyanka Chopra, Miss India 2000 and Miss World 2000, is now hitting the speaking circuit as an expert on innovation, reports a Bollywood trade mag:
"Priyanka Chopra first represented India on an international level when she won the Miss World beauty pageant. This time around she will be doing the same at the Global Leadership Forum to be held at Kuala Lumpur on Aug 1, reports a tabloid. She is supposed to give a speech on 'Innovation of competitive edge', a 45-minute speech on competition in any field, where she will incorporate several aspects pertaining to films and cinema.
"I believe competition exists everywhere. When films release at the same time, they are competing with each other. It's always the competitive edge, which drives people to excel in their career. I am working really hard on my speech. I utilize my shooting breaks reading extensively which I can incorporate in my speech and make it interesting and contemporary," she informed the tabloid."
Ok, ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming... That's what happens when you enter "Innovation India" into Google and hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky!" button.
Tags: Priyanka Chopra India innovation
[image: Priyanka Chopra]
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Dan Pink: Design-centered companies offer superior returns to their shareholders
In his "Trend Desk" column for Yahoo, Dan Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, explains that investors are finally waking up to the notion that design-focused businesses offer superior returns to their shareholders:
"What if we could identify companies that have integrated design into their very business model? Would they make good investments? I've taken a quick stab at doing that -- and the answer is a resounding yes. I've identified an initial group of five publicly-held companies that differentiate based on design: Apple (AAPL), Target (TGT), Starbucks (SBUX), Motorola (MOT), and Procter & Gamble (PG)...Turns out that these five design-centered companies have easily outperformed the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ over the last five years.
Maybe it's time for an index of companies that grasp this new competitive logic of business. Call it the DADI, for Design as Differentiator Index, to which I'd probably add the following to the five companies listed above: Whole Foods Market (WFMI), which has dramatically outperformed the indexes, and JetBlue (JBLU), which has not, as well as non-American companies such as Nokia (NOK) and BMW.
Anyway, Dan Pink is currently soliciting ideas for other companies to be included in the DADI. If you click on this link and read to the end, there's an e-mail address to send ideas for other companies to include.
Tags: design innovation DADI
[image: Dan Pink]
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The best collection of innovation videos on the Internet
If you're jonesing for videos on innovation, check out MIT Sloan's Innovation Leader Series. There's a group of about 20 hour-long videos featuring the likes of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Tim Brown of IDEO, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, and Peter Diamandis of the X Prize Foundation. The latest video in the innovation leader series features Lord John Browne of BP, who talks about the future of energy and the purpose of business in the 21st century: "One common view of business makes a sharp distinction between making money and doing good in society. This is a limited and distorted perspective. Business that focuses just on money doesn’t invest in the future -- in its employees, new ideas, markets or products -- and won’t be around for long. Any successful business is part of society and exists to meet society’s needs."
A big hat tip to MIT World, which continues to provide free, on-demand video coverage of significant public events at MIT.
Tags: innovation JohnBrowne BP MIT
[image: Lord John Browne, CEO of BP]
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African innovation: why don't we hear more about it?
The Science and Development Network suggests that part of the reason why African innovation doesn't get the attention it deserves is the absence of a developed media infrastructure:
"From the outside, there is a lack of media attention. On the inside, exacerbating this problem, there is a distinct lack of capacity among African journalists — an inability to cover complicated scientific developments in a way that speaks to the needs of locals. Meanwhile African scientists are often so burdened by enormous teaching loads and poor communications infrastructure that sending out a press release is an impossible luxury. Journalists eager to cover science struggle with other problems: media proprietors and managers can fear or resent scientists and do not prioritize science stories. If on occasion a science story makes it through the various roadblocks, journalists often lack the understanding to communicate the relevance of the story.
It is true that some newspapers, magazines and broadcasters have special sections for environmental and health coverage. Hard-pressed, cash-strapped editors have been known to argue that this is sufficient. Meanwhile, other media simply import inexpensive stories from abroad to fill a space and make it appear as if there is a diverse mix of stories. The result is that in some cases, science from Africa, by Africans, returns to Africa with the emphasis on Western researchers. In the most distressing cases, all references to African scientists are absent."
Apparently, there's a lot of interesting research happening across Africa on infectious diseases and other problems, but there's nobody willing or able to get the word out. The only folks with the time and money to cover the stories are the Western press, and they're biased toward work that features prominent Western researchers. Anyway, as the Science and Development Network explains, journalistic mentoring programs like the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program could offer a solution to getting more stories about African innovation into the news. Participating journalists continue to work for their respective media outlets in their native languages, while at the same time receiving encouragement and professional advice from experienced science journalists in both developed and developing countries.
Tags: Africa innovation
[images: Science and Development Network]
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July 24, 2006
Detroit's biggest nightmare: the Google Car
In a quick two-minute video, futurist and innovation expert Jim Carroll discusses the Google Car and massive market disruption. As Carroll points out, the car of the future will likely come in a box and will be delivered via FedEx. Need a new part? Just go online and order it. By fundamentally changing the way that the automotive industry does business, the Google Car would become Detroit's worst nightmare:
"Given rapid science, hyper-innovation, low cost offshore production, and the slow response of other traditional business models ... every industry today is ripe for massive disruption and the rapid emergence of new competitors. A big part of the equation is avoiding 'legacy costs' both in manufacturing as well as sales and support. Think FedEx, not car dealerships. Think smart engine modules that pop in and out, not auto mechanics. Think WalMart, not ReadyLube. It's all there, and someone just has to pull it together."
Watch the Google Car video clip here.
Tags: Google car auto Detroit innovation
[image: Digital Media]
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Microsoft unleashes an iPod killer
It's official: Microsoft has formally introduced the Zune, aka the Microsoft iPod. If all goes according to plan, the Zune will be available for consumers just in time for the winter holiday shopping season. More details on Microsoft's digital music player available from Zune Nation.
[image: SciFi blog]
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July 24 innovation linkage
With open innovation, no idea is left behind [CNET]
IDEO prototypes the future [metacool]
How to deal with oddballs and idiots [Bob Sutton]
Marvin Minsky on Common Sense and Computers That Emote [Technology Review]
Renowned thinker Ray Kurzweil sees boundless future [St. Paul Pioneer Press]
Factor L [Seth Godin]
Maybe we should leave that up to the computer [New York Times]
Deloitte & Touche on global megatrends [Electronic Design]
Summer reading for innovative corporate executives [Vijay Govindarajan]
A private spaceport for Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com [Wired]
University gets NSF grant to figure out Rubik's Cube [Computerworld]
[image: Microsoft's PlayAnywhere]
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The most inventive towns in America
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal ran a great feature piece on "the most inventive towns in America." The upshot of the article is that innovation is alive and well in America, with small-time inventors continuing to pop up in unexpected places across the country. Moreover, these small-time inventors account for 15% of all U.S. patents and remain a "potent force" in the economy. In some cases, these small-time inventors tinkering in their garages are coming up with truly life-changing innovations (e.g. sonar alarms for swimming pools). In other cases, these lone inventors are merely coming up with whimsical creations, like automatic pizza sauce pouring machines.
Anyway, the Wall Street Journal crunched the data to come up with a list of the Top 20 most inventive towns in America, as well as a list of the "Up & Comers." It turns out that Las Vegas (!) is becoming an innovation hotbed, as many inventors attempt to cash in on the demand by casinos for the next new gaming phenomenon. For those keeping score at home, California accounted for eight of the top ten most innovative towns in America, including the runaway leader in innovation: San Jose.
For more insights on where innovation is happening across America, listen to this MP3 file from the Wall Street Journal.
Tags: invention innovation
[image: inventor]
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