How To Leverage Collaborative Innovation
Every now and then I read an article like this one in Forbes that touts the virtues of looking outside the walls of your company for innovation. There is a whole section in Mavericks at Work devoted to this, and the concept was, in fact, a partial inspiration for the name of this blog. I’m an outwardly focused individual, and naturally seek opportunities to collaborate and increase my knowledge. Similarly, organizations can seek the same opportunities for all kinds of situations - new products, new business solutions, new technologies, new perspectives on old problems.
Sphere: Related ContentWill Verizon’s Open Source Innovation Succeed?
Up until late last year, Verizon was a closed network. And then, this:
In late November, Verizon Wireless said it would allow any device or software to run on its wireless network. It’s a reversal for the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, which had been known as the most protective in the industry.
Why the turnaround? And what does this say about the organizational character of Verizon?
Sphere: Related ContentHow The US Patent System Crushes Innovation
Forbes Magazine recently interviewed Michael Meurer and James Besson, authors of Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk, a massive study on the costs and benefits of holding patents. Their chilling conclusion:
Sphere: Related ContentMeurer and Bessen concluded that in every industry, except pharmaceuticals and biotech, publicly traded companies spend more money litigating to protect existing patents and paying fees to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office than they earn from the same patents. (Bessen and Meurer evaluated patents issued by all publicly traded companies between 1984 and 1999.)
Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part I
Table of contents for State of Innovation
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part I
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part II
In December, three international consultants published the results of their research on the current state of innovation. This four-part series will cover each in turn, then I’ll add a conclusion that ties them together. First on the block - Innovation 2007 from the Boston Consultancy Group.
Sphere: Related ContentDo You Know If You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know?
Do you produce the best solutions possible?
How do you solve an easy problem? Probably, based on your experience, the solution comes quickly. You solve it easily because of what you know.
What happens, though, when you’re confronted with a problem outside of your experience? Chances are, you know SOME of the right stuff, but you don’t know enough to solve it. So you find out what you don’t know - you research things, or consult others.
But your solution is only as good as the knowledge you acquire. If the knowledge is adequate, so will be your solution. But if it isn’t, your solution may come up short.
You know what you know.
Sometimes, you know what you DON’T know.
But other times, you DON’T know what you don’t know. Hard to follow, eh? But essentially true.
Sphere: Related ContentHas Solar Energy Finally Turned The Corner?
The key to making a disruptive solar energy product is to overcome the high cost of the initial installation. Popular Science has awarded its Innovation of the Year award to a company who may well do that starting next year - Nanosolar. Let’s see if they can truly be disruptive.
Sphere: Related ContentBuffalo Wild Wings - Another Example of Innovation Effectiveness
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There is a Buffalo Wild Wings about 15 miles down the Interstate from me now. It opened about two months ago, in a rather large mall. There is also a well-established restaurant 3 miles from my house that specializes in wings. It has a more locally appealing flavor variety, the wings taste better, and they’ve been doing extremely well for years. So naturally, people all over town are flocking to…
…Buffalo Wild Wings, even though it’s out of the way and has lower quality food. Why? How is BWW kicking ass?
Sphere: Related ContentThe Secret To Innovation Effectiveness Is…
Buried in this Fast Company article on design wunderkind Fuseproject is this intensely interesting factoid:
Whither Thou Goest, id Software?
Halo 3 is out, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is just around the corner. So now seems a fitting time to post on the company that created the business model for the modern action computer game - id Software.
Followup - How EESTOR Can Be Disruptive
My innocuous little post on EESTOR has become the most popular/infamous article I’ve written yet. So I thought I would follow it up with a more positive outlook on how I think EESTOR could be more disruptive.
Sphere: Related Content