Innovation

LimeWire Creator Brings Open-Source to Urban Planning

Entrepreneur Mark Gorton wants to do for people what he already helped do for files: move them from here to there in the most efficient way possible using open-source tools. You might call it a "P2P-to-people" initiative -- these efforts to make cities more people-friendly are partly funded by people sharing files.

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Laugh a Little, Innovate a Lot

When looking for a big idea, you don't necessarily want to hear "Eureka!" but laughter.

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How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations

New products that constitute radical innovations challenge existing cultural conventions, norms, and interests. Often, they are perceived as strange, incomprehensible and evoke doubts, opposition and controversy. For a radical new product to reach the mass market, it ought to become legitimate, that is, unquestioned and taken-for-granted. Market rebels—activists who challenge the status quo and champion a cause, play a crucial role here.

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Innovating From Constraint in the Developing World

[I]nnovation often comes from unusual and difficult circumstances -- constraints -- and that it's often wiser to look for innovation in places where people are trying to solve difficult, concrete problems rather than where smart people are sketching ideas on blank canvases.

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Why Innovation Could Not Save Nortel

Promises and buzzwords could not save the troubled telecom equipment maker from sagging demand for phone gear and a $4.5 billion debt load.

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The New Contrarianism: Less for Less

Michael Raynor, co-author of The Innovator's Dilemma and author of The Strategy Paradox, outlines his theory of "the new contrarianism." In a downturn, says Raynor, companies need to look beyond belt-tightening to focus obsessively on their customers. (Audio)

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Finding Money for Innovation: Develop Those People Skills

Innovating during a financial crisis is no small challenge. Experts at a recent Wharton panel discussion offered tips: Align innovation goals with company goals, focus on technology that can cut costs, and develop the "street smarts" needed to sell technology initiatives to investors or senior management.

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Is Silicon Valley Losing Its Mojo?

Short-term thinking and increasing risk aversion have stifled the tech center's spirit. But innovators still lurk there, if you look for them.

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Airline Flies a 747 on Fuel From a Plant

Air New Zealand did a test flight with a fuel made in part with oil from the jatropha plant in a search for an alternative to crude oil. (Subscription required)

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Miniature World Photography

Going Like Sixty - These images only look like they are of miniature models -- these photographs are actually of real life places! They are created with a technique called tilt-shift, a really cool effect for still photography.

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Innovating in the Great Disruption

While the global economy began slowing down in late 2007, forces transforming the face of business trace back more than a decade. Over that time period, technological improvements have made it ever easier to start and scale a business. Convergence went from being a cliché to a reality. Companies from countries like China, India, and Brazil burst onto the world stage. The global slowdown coupled with the credit crunch in late 2008 accelerated these forces.

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New President Maeda Vows to Make RISD a Force

25 DEC 2008 from The Boston Globe | Read the full story»

A lint ball. This is how John Maeda, six months into his job as president of the venerable Rhode Island School of Design, describes his daily duties. But instead of dust, he collects information. The collecting began the week he arrived, when he asked 600 high school students attending a summer art program to applaud for the vision of the university that resonated most with them.

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The Price of Forgoing Basic Research

The trends that have seen scientific research move away from corporate labs and commercialized academia damage prospects for innovation and growth.

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Innovating for Sustainability: What's Your Heresy?

Heretical ideas have swept industries many times. If someone in the advertising, television, or music businesses had asked 10 years ago, "What if people stop watching commercials?" or "What if people think music should be free?" they would've been laughed out of the room. Then Tivo and Napster asked those questions. Of course, one turned out to be illegal, but their innovations laid the groundwork for others, like iTunes. And the television business is in the middle of a painful transformation away from traditional 60 second spots. Environmental pressures will force much bigger changes than these in many industries in the coming years. Are you ready? What's your heresy?

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Google's Mayer: Staying Innovative In a Downturn

The mantra that's been flooding the Googleplex this year? 'Scarcity brings clarity,' explains Marissa Mayer, Google Vice-President.

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How Hard Times Can Drive Innovation

15 DEC 2008 from the Wall Street Journal | Read the full story»

"One of the banes of successful innovation is that companies may be so committed to innovation that they will give the innovators a lot of money to spend. And, statistically, 93% of all innovations that ultimately become successful started off in the wrong direction; the probability that you'll get it right the first time out of the gate is very low. So, if you give people a lot of money, it gives them the privilege of pursuing the wrong strategy for a very long time. In an environment where you've got to push innovations out the door fast and keep the cost of innovation low, the probability that you'll be successful is actually much higher." - Clayton Christensen (Subscription required)

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Can Established Companies Disrupt?

Established companies sometimes perceive disruptive innovation to be risky. But success is possible. In fact, the greater risk comes from assuming that business as usual will allow companies to achieve their strategic aims. History suggests that assumption is questionable, and today's turbulent times should put to rest any notion that operational acumen is sufficient for long-term success.

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While Detroit Slept

09 DEC 2008 from the New York Times | Read the full story»

Whatever can be done, will be done. The only question is will it be done by you or to you. Just don’t think it won’t be done. If you have an idea in Detroit or Tennessee, promise me that you’ll pursue it, because someone in Denmark or Tel Aviv will do so a second later. (Subscription required)

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Patent Flexibility

Around the world today, most patents provide a monopoly for 20 years, with the clock starting on the date the application was filed. There are only a few exceptions. Because it takes so long to get regulatory OKs, drugmakers, for instance, are given extensions that take effect once their new products win approval. Maybe it’s time to become more flexible. Or so says Gary Litman, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vice-president of Europe and Eurasia policy. Litman is a participant in the Salzburg Global Seminar’s five-day conference on intellectual property and innovation. I’ve also been here, along with more than 50 others from some two dozen nations.

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For Innovators, There Is Brainpower in Numbers

05 DEC 2008 from the New York Times | Read the full story»

Despite the enduring myth of the lone genius, innovation does not take place in isolation. Truly productive invention requires the meeting of minds from myriad perspectives, even if the innovators themselves don’t always realize it. (Subscription required)

Hat tip: Stephen Garner

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Innovating in Tough Times

David Barnes of Western Union talks with Senior Editor Diane Brady about the need to innovate through the crisis. The company's wire-transfer business is holding up well, says Barnes. (Video )

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Five Traits of Innovative Companies

Rajesh Chandy discusses his study on business innovation, highlighting the five ingredients of successful companies. (Audio)

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Obama Names Team To Create "Innovation Agenda"

25 NOV 2008 from the Washington Post | Read the full story»

President-elect Barack Obama today unveiled who will oversee his "Innovation Agenda," a set of policy proposals that aim to make government operations more transparent, use high-technology to create jobs and get average citizens more involved in government.
Lead members of the group, Blair Levin, Sonal Shah and Julius Genachowski, will divide the group into four sub-teams: 1) Innovation and Government 2) Innovation and National Priorities 3) Innovation and Science 4) Innovation and Civil Society. (Free subscription required)

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China's Long Road to Innovation

Beijing is mandating an increase in home-grown R&D, but Chinese companies face long odds in meeting international standards of innovation.

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Innovation Economics

"Innovation itself is a field in need of innovation," says John Kao, in a New York Times article by Steve Lohr (11/11/08). "What we really need is more original thinking about how innovation works in society, and that could come from the philanthropic sector as well as universities..."

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Interview: Tim Brown of IDEO

In this interview, Tim Brown, who has been at the forefront of innovation for more than two decades, distills lessons from a career spent helping scores of companies, nonprofits, and government agencies to become more innovative. Brown doesn’t emphasize a philosophy of design or suggest that what works at IDEO will work everywhere else. Rather, he focuses on the importance of leadership and incentives, as well as on understanding the forces that undermine innovation. (Subscription required)

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Patent Office Stifles Innovation

An appeals court ruling favoring the U.S. Patent Office puts in jeopardy tech companies' ability to get protection for further software advances.

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Voices of Innovation: Jane McGonigal

As director of games research and development at thinktank Institute for the Future, Jane McGonigal is bridging entertainment, research and business.

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Creative Boom

"Because the U.S. remains the world’s largest economy and still leads the world in business and technological creativity, the current crisis is confined to the boondoggles of finance. It will pass rapidly and evolve into a new boom. Emerging is a parallel unregulated financial system based on entrepreneurial creativity and invention."

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America needs modern industries

In the most recent issue of Harper's, Eric Janszen, founder of iTulip.com, calls for a broad re-industrialization of the American economy. Kai Ryssdal talks with him about putting strength back into the country.

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Innovating, not innovation

Why? Because... just because. Because it is fun. Because it is there. Because cultures that play on a routine basis are more likely to be innovative routinely. Because the question "how can we be more innovative?" is better couched as "how can we be more comfortable acting in innovative ways?". It's about encouraging a behavior, not a thing. A verb, not a noun. (Video )

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Innovate Out of the Economic Downturn

A crisis is precisely the time for governments to boost spending on innovation, not cut it. Otherwise, nations will find themselves playing catch-up.

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Voices of Innovation

This year's Voices of Innovation nominees challenge the status quo and represent the true optimistic spirit of innovation.

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The Unique Advantage

Why do mature businesses struggle with innovation? Often it's because they think the secret to growth is rapid-fire line extensions that get customers excited for a little while. But the trick isn't being fast; it's being hard to copy.

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Zara Thrives by Breaking All the Rules

9 OCT 2008 from BusinessWeek | Read the full story»

How the Spanish apparel chain gets new designs into stores in two weeks while keeping costs low

Many U.S. apparel retailers are choking on slow-moving inventories as consumers hold back on spending. But Spain's Inditex, whose Zara chain pioneered cheap chic, is zipping ahead.

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Ponoko ID lets shoppers and designers collaborate

Ponoko ID lets anyone submit a request, including a description (purpose, materials, colours, measurements, etc, plus links to relevant images, sketches or videos if they have them), as well as their ideal price and delivery deadline. Their request is then sent to a selection of designers who can put forward a bid by emailing a brief proposal to the shopper. After reviewing bids, the shopper can accept the one that best matches their Once the designer confirms the transaction, the request/bid becomes a binding agreement. The shopper makes payment to the designer (through Ponoko), and the designer creates the item. Creating transparency for both groups, shoppers and designers can review one another by leaving comments in their profiles.

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Tailoring Treatments To Patients' Genetics

Since it turns out that genes play a big role in how an individual responds to certain drugs, the pharmaceutical industry is looking at genetics. Entrepreneurs are developing and marketing products and techniques to try to improve the odds that a particular drug will work on a patient. (Audio)

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Can America Invent Its Way Back?

"Innovation economics" shows how smart ideas can turn into jobs and growth—and keep the U.S. competitive.

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Google @10: The Can Opener Innovation Continues

Has Google actually ever invented anything new? Think about that.

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Making Operational Innovation Work

[A 2005 article written by the late Michael Hammer] Operational innovation is notoriously difficult. The power of creating and deploying new ways of performing fundamental business processes is indisputable; it has been the springboard to success for leading companies in virtually every industry. But many firms have failed at their efforts to make operational innovation work. What is the secret to success?

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Leaders as Learners: Back to School Edition

While Newbold is working to create a culture of innovation in an industry notoriously hostile to creativity, Maeda is seeking to expand the impact of one of the most respected arts institutions in the world. Both offer up a set of lessons to any leader hoping to hit the ground running with an innovation agenda this fall.

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The Challenges of Innovation

Indifference, hostility, and isolation are among the major obstacles to a healthy innovation environment.

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Handmade Innovation

It’s really, really important to design stuff with your hands. The problem is that lots and lots of designers have no idea what it’s like to design anything with anything other than a computer mouse. Adobe is among those trying to change this lack of hands-on experience in design and innovation.

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How to Spark Innovation

Why is it so hard to stimulate innovation inside big corporations, while at the same time VCs are awash in innovative business plans and people?

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Age v. Innovation

"In the early 20th century, he found, researchers at the times of their greatest contributions were slightly more than 36 years old. In recent decades, innovation became increasingly rare, with the peak age of contribution rising toward age 40. Meanwhile, the frequency of key contributions has consistently diminished by researchers in their early or mid-50s."

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The Olympics and Innovation

The Olympics and Innovation. (Audio)

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In the Innovation Age, India Must Declare Interdependence

India needs the West, and the West needs India. The mutual knowledge dependency between India and the West is a boon for India . Indeed, it can once again self-confidently assume its rightful role as a global knowledge broker to drive innovation synergies between Eastern and Western minds - just as it did in past centuries.

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Big business learning that smaller teams can rekindle the creative spark

Even the Giants Can Learn to Think Small [NY Times] talks about how smaller teams are more agile and creative. The message: Keep teams small, give employees freedom and a sense of ownership, don’t focus too much on the competition, create a culture of experimentation, and use technology to enable remote teams.

By breaking huge business units into smaller, nimbler teams, companies stand a chance of rekindling the creative spark that got them rolling in the first place. After all, "small is the new big," as Seth Godin, a prolific blogger and author, puts it in his 2006 book of that name.

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Ponoko: Marketplace for Things

If this post's headline seems awkward, it's because I can't quite find the right words to describe the service.

"What happens to the music bits today will happen to the chair bits tomorrow when you are able to download the arm-rests from Ikea and the upholstery from Crate & Barrel, mix them up and print them out."

This sounded a bit too sci-fi even to me when I posted it a couple of years ago. Today, I found Ponoko.

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If You Have a Problem, Ask Everyone

Would-be innovators can sign up online to compete for prizes for solving diverse problems from around the world in a variety of disciplines. (Subscription required)

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How to Measure Innovation

NESTA, the independent British organization, is working on a new index to assess the state of innovation within specific industries.

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The Do-Good Imperative

07 JUL 2008 from BusinessWeek | Read the full story»

Some of the most innovative ideas today are coming from efforts to address the needs of those most in need.

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INNOVATION AVALANCHE

There's more 'innovation' happening than ever before. New brands, new niches, new concepts, new products, new services, and new experiences are flooding an equally fast expanding number of markets. Here are 41 new business ideas begging to be copied...

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What George Carlin Taught Innovators—The Virtues of Vuja De

George Carlin made another contribution to the language—believe it or not, to the language of business and innovation.

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Wind charges phones at Glastonbury Festival

Measuring more than 7 meters tall, the free-standing recharge pod is a self-sufficient unit that taps into a wind generator and solar panels to charge as many as 100 mobile phones per hour.

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We Need More Power, Keep Dancing!

Following in the footsteps of San Francisco’s Temple Nightclub, and Rotterdam’s Watt; London is getting it’s own eco-nightclub this July. The club features a piezoelectric dance floor that will generate 60% of the buildings electricity. The remaining balance of electricity will be bought from renewable sources. Organic drinks are featured and if you can prove you walked, biked or took public transportation to the club, they’ll wave the entrance fee.

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How Not to Finance Innovation

Government attempts to provide venture capital are, to me, like government subsidies for stadiums. Both are economic development trends that do NOT work, yet simply won't die.

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C. K. Prahalad on Innovation, Part 1

JUN 2008 from BusinessWeek | Read the full story»

Management expert C. K. Prahalad discusses the new landscape of innovation, in which companies must learn to co-create with their consumers, making use of a global ecosystem of resources. (Video )

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How To Kill An Idea

Super consultant Ram Charan on why that's one of the most important -- and most overlooked -- aspects of innovation.

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Changing the World from the Edge

Our columnists show how impassioned student movements for social change can teach executives about innovation.

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Eyes on Cisco's I-Prize

Competitions from the likes of Microsoft and Virgin are sparking innovation and drawing thousands of contestants from all corners.

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In a city that plays it safe, incubator has a tough job

Azuki Systems Inc. and Tsumobi Inc. are two start-ups with big plans to extend your cellphone's capabilities. But the differences between the two companies, based in Acton and Cambridge, respectively, highlight a serious glitch in the way Boston's innovation economy works.

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product innovation back on the agenda at unilever

At a time when product performance now trumps marketing spin, Unilever's Chairman is looking for more product innovation from the giant multinational.

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Autodesk's Digital Dreams

The software maker's CEO talks about the future of digital prototyping and the amazing structures made possible by the technology.

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Airplane Heal Thyself? Self-Repairing Aircraft Could Improve Air Safety

Aerospace researchers in Britain are developing self-repairing composite materials that "bleed" resin when cracked or punctured, creating a "scab" in a process that mimics human healing. They say it could make airplanes safer and foster development of lighter, more efficient -- and therefore less polluting -- aircraft.

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Fast forward: five to thrive

When Helen Greiner was pitching investors on her business idea in the early 1990s, they could hardly have been less interested. Greiner and Colin Angle were recent MIT grads who wanted to build robots to assist bomb squads and soldiers and fly on NASA missions to distant planets.

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How to allow innovation without abuse?

When Wall Street's best and brightest devise things like collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed securities in the good times, they're applauded. But when those things go bad, they get the blame. Bob Moon reports on balancing innovation and regulation.

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Institutional Innovations

A Silicon Valley nonprofit fostered the development of a radical open-source platform for top-level health research.

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Fueling Google's Idea Factory

CEO Eric Schmidt describes the simple principles driving the company's steady stream of innovations.

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Connect & Develop

It’s been quite some time since Procter & Gamble has rolled out a blockbuster breakthrough product like Pampers or Tide, but ceo A.G. Lafley thinks it will happen again in his lifetime, reports Anjali Cordeiro in The Wall Street Journal (4/23/08). His optimism is rooted in an innovation initiative...

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The Power of the Prize

Lo and behold, contests actually work to spur innovation. So should we use them for everything?

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Creating an American Innovation Agenda

Keeping the U.S. competitive through innovation requires action at the highest levels of corporate, academic, and governmental leadership.

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Finding Innovation Where It Lives

Bottom-up collaborative innovation doesn't happen by accident. BusinessWeek columnists Jack & Suzy Welch talk about what it takes to unleash its power. (Audio)

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BlackBerry: Innovation Behind the Icon

Research in Motion founder Mike Lazaridis talks about building a successful R&D culture and a decade of sustainable innovation.

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Computer Waste Heat to Warm Swimming Pool

Talk about immersing yourself in the data: A new computer center in Switzerland will pump the waste heat from its servers into pipes that feed warm water to the town swimming pool next door.

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Once the World's Great Factory, China Is the Next Great Innovator

The world's notorious source of low-cost labor is generating mountains of capital, tons of hot new companies and even some signs of technological innovation.

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Hidden Genius—Is There a "Million-Dollar Idea" In You?

The most powerful ideas often come from the most unexpected places. That’s why, Collins explains, companies "are now offering everyone the chance to be part of an open innovation process, to submit product ideas, share their creativity, influence the types of products and services offered."

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A Focus on Innovation, Passion and Luck

Innovation, timing, a good idea and luck are all ingredients of success in the technology industry, according to speakers at the recent Wharton Business Technology Conference titled, "Enterprise Agility: Lead with Speed." Former Microsoft executive Rob Glaser, who went on to found RealNetworks, and Glenn A. Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable, both said strong technology businesses are built on firm technical footings, but shaped by business forces that are not always predictable. "Any successful entrepreneur who says luck did not play a role is either lying or lacks self-awareness," stated Glaser.

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Reengineering Xerox

One of CEO Anne Mulcahy's first moves when she arrived at Xerox was to provide the freedom—and funds—needed to let innovation happen.

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we think- a short film about mass innovation

A nice film promoting Charles Leadbetter's new book "We Think". Most of us know all this stuff, but it's nice to see it in a film and the conceptual idea of the shift from "the pyramid" to the "birds nest" is a good one. (Video )

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Want an innovative culture? Status differences blow

At the risk of making a broad generalization, I would say that innovative startups and more mature organizations capable of innovating on a routine basis (like Honda) share two key elements in common: first, a remarkable lack of status differences among employees, and second, a low-friction environment when it comes to the meritocracy of ideas. I actually believe the latter is a function of the former.

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Camera 'looks' through clothing

A camera that can "see" explosives, drugs and weapons hidden under clothing is invented.

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Brainstorming Bee

Stanford University held a global “brainstorming bee” to see who could be most innovative with a rubber band, leading to some insights into innovation, reports Lee Gomes in The Wall Street Journal (3/5/08).

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Building Expertise Through Collective Innovation

The Raymond open-innovation conference gathered design managers from companies such as Heineken and Lego to share best practices and improve the bottom line.

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Innovation Through Acquisition

Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, talks about the potential pitfalls and rewards of trying to "buy" innovation.

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Putting Innovation in the Hands of a Crowd

If executives are going to rely on the wisdom of the masses for business help, it’s probably time the masses get a little compensation for it. (Subscription required)

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Better machines through origami

Industrial Origami's metal-folding techniques are designed to slash the expense of making appliances and car parts.

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Marissa Mayer's 9 Principles of Innovation

Google's VP of search products and user experience shares the rules that gives the search company its innovative edge.

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Alaskan Efficiency

Alaska Airlines has reinvented airport check-in so that it’s not only faster but also cheaper, reports Dave Demerjian in Fast Company (Mar 08). Where the average check-in at United Airlines in Seattle is somewhere around "25 to 30 minutes," at Alaska Airlines, it’s done "in eight minutes or less."

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Philips Lighting CEO Rudy Provoost: Innovation Means Putting Consumers' Needs First

Approximately 19% of the world's electricity bill comes from lighting, according to Rudy Provoost, CEO of Philips Lighting. As such, Philips, the world's largest producer of industrial and consumer lighting products, has a big role to play in the ongoing transformation from incandescent to solid-state lighting using LED technology. Provoost, who until last year was CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, is no stranger to new technologies, which he says are "just a vehicle to respond to needs." Figuring out what those needs are, weeding out needless complexity and innovating with an eye on the bottom line are the keys to growth, Provoost says. He recently spoke with Wharton marketing professor George Day and Knowledge@Wharton about the challenges of staying ahead in a rapidly changing industry.

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The World's Most Innovative Companies

We canvassed the experts, analyzed the products, and crunched the numbers. From visionary upstarts to storied stalwarts, here are companies that dazzle with new ideas -- and prove beyond a doubt how business is a force for change. We call them the Fast 50.

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Questionating by Corinne Miller

Those who ask ‘why’ are typically more holistic or whole-brained thinkers, those who ask ‘how’ are typically more box thinkers, and those who ask ‘why not’ are typically the challenging thinkers. All types, of course, are equally valuable and equally required for innovation!

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Accelerate Your Innovation

Stronger growth demands faster innovation. By Patrick Meyer and Robin Austin.

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Innovation Myths

"The most useful way to think of epiphany is as an occasional bonus of working on tough problems," wrote Scott Berkun in "The Myths of Innovation," as reported by Janet Rae-Dupree in The New York Times (2/4/08).

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Points of Innovation

If you want to innovate like a retailer, you need to think like a shopper. By Al Wittemen.

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Tracking the World’s Appetite for Innovation

In its quest for what it calls "new metrics for the knowledge economy," a nonprofit research group has come up with an index of global innovation confidence. (Subscription required)

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The house that social networking built

The Open Architecture Network's Cameron Sinclair talks about harnessing next-generation Web technologies to proliferate affordable housing around the globe.

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Imagine Innovation

Take a giant step inside your mind. A discussion on the future of innovation featuring Ann Lewnes of Adobe, Todd Peters of Staples, Mats Rönne of Electrolux, Watts Wacker of FirstMatter and Rodney Mason of Hawkeye.

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GM Envisions Driverless Cars on Horizon

Cars that drive themselves - even parking at their destination - could be ready for sale within a decade, General Motors Corp. executives say....

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The State of Innovation in India

The State of Innovation in India  —  10 years ago, in 1997, I wrote an article called Playing Against 5 Aces for a technology magazine in India called Dataquest.  The article looked at how the deck was stacked in favor of American technology companies, because they were playing with 5 Aces in the pack...

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Innovative Minds Don't Think Alike

30 DEC 2007 from the New York Times | Read the full story»

It's a pickle of a paradox: As our knowledge and expertise increase, our creativity and ability to innovate tend to taper off. Why? Because the walls of the proverbial box in which we think are thickening along with our experience. (Subscription required)

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Apple's Piping Hot Innovation

Apple's Piping Hot Innovation — Want a coffee with your iPhone? — Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs wants to patent a process that will save customers the hassle of waiting to order a cup of coffee at a local Starbucks ...

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The State of Innovation

19 DEC 2007 from BusinessWeek | Read the full story»

It's not just a buzzword—three recent surveys find innovation is still a high priority with a majority of executives across industries and across the world.

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Innovation Lessons From 'The Big Apple'

Ten years or so ago Apple Computer was almost bankrupt. Fast forward and Apple (the company no longer uses the word computer) is now regularly cited as the most innovative company in the world.

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The Six Core Values of Innovation

Innovation is the critical capability for all organizations trying to succeed in today's marketplace. But the case for innovation cannot be made solely on the basis of the economic value it creates for customers. It is equally important for enterprises and their leaders to embrace the 6 underlying core values of innovation as an integral element for a more vibrant future. This manifesto explores these values and explains how leaders can infuse them into their organizations in various ways.

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What Is Management's Role in Innovation?

Author: Jim Heskett

In early December, a colloquium on "Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations of the Future" is being held as part of the 100th anniversary celebration at the Harvard Business School. To kick off the colloquium, senior managers of four sizeable organizations at the center of the innovation process have been asked to pose "burning questions" to the assembled researchers and practitioners of innovation and creativity. Given their importance for global economic health and progress, the questions are worth pondering.

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Six Sigma and innovation culture

There was an interesting story in Business Week a little while ago about 3M hiring a CEO called James McNerney, who imported the ‘Six Sigma’ process from his old employer, General Electric. Nothing remarkable about that you might think ...

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Is a Flying Car About to Take Off?

A Massachusetts company is developing a small airplane that can land, fold up its wings and drive down the highway. (Subscription required)

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Next-gen credit card: no names, no numbers

First on the list of paradigm-busting features is that the RevolutionCard does not print users' names or account numbers on their cards; rather, use of the card is based entirely on encryption and a 4-digit PIN. There is no annual fee, and the interest rate charged on unpaid balances depends on the user's credit profile. Consumers can store money on the card, loaded from their bank accounts. Merchants accepting the card, meanwhile, pay a fee of just 0.5 percent of the total sale, rather than the industry average of 1.9 percent.

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Slow Innovation: A Savour-y Way to Success

Using the Slow Food Movement as a metaphor, Derek Cheshire suggests a slow approach to innovation. There is immense pressure to innovate quickly or to rush to market, but does this bargain of speed versus quality really benefit a company? He lauds the goal of creating "an innovative company whose structure and culture are conducive to long-term growth and sustainability."

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