Innovation on the Run

Syndicated TV is Dead...

2011-12-16T20:57:00.001-08:00

... Long live Syndicated TV.

Syndicated Tv will not lose, as the CEO of of Dicovery, David Zaslav, is banking is strategy upon. The distribution of that value, however, is and will be forever changed. Xbox is one example, Roku, Apple TV etc... My bet is a separation of content development and content delivery. The days of building a cable box, performing a poor install with holes in walls and cables floating in thin outside air, and charging for an static piece of hardware are soon history. Charging mechanisms to pay the bills are in question and need to be resolved, but ultimately, the consumer demand for on demand, in control and pay for preference, and evolving content experience instead of the cruel pay for package will prevail.

Change Management cues from nature

2011-08-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article by David Quammen, a biologist, on migratory behaviors that include - linearity, undistractibility, special start and stop behaviors and stored energy.

Undistractability was one that doesn't necessarily equate to the common change management tools such as vision, communications, and understanding change fatigue etc....

--- During migration, animals will forgo an easy meal in order to stay focused on the end goal which is reaching their destination.

So if you are trying to change something, take note if any distractions are being thrown out there. In thinking of some of my projects, I have a whole new view on those delicious short term gains that are impeding progress.

XBox and Home Theater

2011-02-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

I have to say the whole Kinect idea fascinated us enough to buy and XBox 360 Kinect Bundle. It is truly a fantastic technology, but the poor product capability release cycle has left us a bit befuddled and confused. It seams there are Kinect connectivity difference between and original XBox 360, an new XBox 360 S and a Kinect bundle.

In an attempt to simplify the connectivity of the Kinect camera/devise, Microsoft combined the information cable and the power cable. This means you no longer have to plug the Kinect Camera in. But they missed a user profile in their design efforts. That user is me and at least a few other adults who have their equipment across the room from their fantastically clean wall mounted (mine above the fireplace) TV's.

Their 10ft cable and optional $50 9ft extension cable just doesn't cut it. Additionally, the limitations are not clearly communicated in any of their marketing materials so I was unable to make an educated decision. The misstep leads me to believe -- Microsoft either doesn't understand a portion of their users or they chose to ignore us.

You be the judge. User design is far from clear or clean cut to even the most heavily invested corporate giants.

Design in power tools and Product Experience

2010-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

After fumbling around with my Black and Decker blower / leaf vacuum this fall, I came across Worx power tools. Green because they run on batteries not gas. Innovative because they seem to have taken design considerations very seriously. Their blower switches to a vacuum with one switch flick, not multiple part reconfiguration. Their trimmer has a twisted line cord that they claim wacks through the weeds and grass more efficiently.

The challenge with the online model is being able to see and touch. Do they feel solid or flimsy? Amazon now has several demo agreements with Target and Best Buy to get their Kindle product displays and demo units into the hands of consumers.

A recent trip to Macy's Chicago revealed a whole first floor of store in store departments. One of my favorite online retailers, Levenger, has a dedicated floor block to many of their products. In this case store actually carry some level of inventory.

But what does this mean to innovation of distributor structure and supply chain in retail environments? Will their be distributors of experience? Will product and brand experience be delivered differently from the actual product. Will the new product landscape shift to very niche, highly specific product creation companies? I have read articles about the innovation in Black and Decker and yet, they seem to trail Worx in this case.

The Worx trimmer and blower are on my Christmas wish list, but won't be able to confirm quality or performance til Spring at best.

Glassware

2010-08-25T17:53:00.001-07:00

If you watch Mad Men on AMC, you may have noticed the number of retro advertisements that go along with it. You also may have noticed the amount of drinking that goes with the show. Bars in every office. Although I understand the drinking may be overdone even for that time period (I still have my Dad's portable bar), there seems to be a resurgence in cocktails. During a recent visit to Chicago, the bar in my hotel , The Palomar, had the finest muddlers I've ever seen and a ton of herbs and glasses to make a plentitude of cocktails with so many ingredients it spins my head to try to remember them all.

Schott Zwiesel may have caught on to the game with a new Basic Bar collection. I will be watching to see if their eyes and ears to the ground and their fantastic collection will find a way to make ground in the US. They base the collection on Munich bar owner Charles Schumann. Extras include a recipe .pdf to marry the perfect ingredients to the perfect glass.

Almost forgot: More info at: http://www.schott-zwiesel.com/

For those fellow residents in Grand Rapids - G.B. Russo's carry Schott. I have emailed David to get a quote on some Cocktail Glasses: http://www.gbrusso.com/

Marketing Synergy

2010-04-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

What do Fluevog Shoes, the Canadian shoe company, and Goldfrapp, the English electronic duo have in common? Well they must believe their target markets collide. I recently received a pair of shoes with a Fluevog Business card from Chicago and a Goldfrapp card with a free MP3 downlaod. Shipping costs for the Goldfrap card $0. Now the only question is -- do I like the song because I like the shoes?

On the importance of flow charts

2010-01-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ski trip any time soon? Road trip? Live in Middle America where chain food descends on the populous as frequently as UFO's?

Full size

And notice how art imitates life as there is no way to get to The French Laundry.

Tokyo

2009-09-20T02:39:00.001-07:00

Having spent a week in Tokyo, mostly working, but sometimes watching, I learned how so many different perspectives, styles, ideas can exist in one place.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-06-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Go or nogo - Decide among alternatives - Create alternatives

In today's business environment, very few companies can rely on only one way of doing things. Decisions are a part of every executives responsibility yet I often see an entire room walk the path of semantics instead of focusing on their ability to construct the very values they targeted to achieve. This is a great way to think about decisions.

mondaydots hybrid: fastworks from jeff monday on Vimeo.

Another Looking Back Innovation

2009-05-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

We spend our intellect and energy inventing ourselves out of the best solutions. At times simplicity rules the world or at least the buses of NY. A return to the bell pull cord. Riders of all ages understand it. Foreign visitors understand it. Bus drivers can easily explain it. It replaces more expensive and less comprehended touch tape buttons introduced in the 80's as technology established its footings. Cheaper to install and repair, the bell cord exudes great functional nostalgia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/nyregion/13cords.html

What parts of your business can be pared down and remain the same or maybe evolve to something better?

Simplicity

2009-05-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Innovate by looking back

2009-04-30T12:03:00.001-07:00

While studying Japanese gardens in hopes of bringing structure to my back yard I learned design principles followed in Japan for hundreds of years, taking advantage of the south exposure and utilizing the natural position of the sun to bring light to the garden and to the home. Egyptians created courtyards as private space that is shaded from the blaze of the sun. They often had water gardens to add to the cooling affects. In the Alps, heavy-built cabins had cold roofs that held the snow by ventilating between insulation and the exterior for extra insulation in the cold of winter.

Instead of working with nature, we work to control it. Light it, cool it, heat it. All driven by carbon based energy. Because it is easier and cheaper than developing expertise on interaction with nature.

What other lost arts could we be missing out on? Feng Shui next anyone?

Fannie Mae

2009-04-22T13:13:00.001-07:00

Fannie Mae understands innovation. They are using policies - contractionist policies - to shift risk to people like me in a time of supposed stimulation. How you might ask? They are issuing weekly changes to policy. One that has affected me personally is the refusal to accept property appraisals from the norm to less that four months. This shift in short term real estate value fluctuation is bared by many people mid project like myself.
This means that you should not start a project that needs to be financed that is longer than 4 months or else any decrease in short term real estate value needs to be absorbed (i.e coughed up) by you!! STOP ALL CONSTRUCTION NOW that exceeds 4 months of duration.

Good Luck and Good Night.

WIll the world revert back to Darkness!

2009-03-11T11:27:00.001-07:00

Some people think it is a good thing. A National Geographic map exposed me to the true scope of the issue. Most major cities no longer see starlight. Their skies are a steady glow. Sure I remember getting out into the country on a camping trip and seeing the stars for the first time in a long time. I have flown into major cities at night and come into the glow long before landing.

The NG map showed a global view of light produced at night and later articles also tell the tale of wildlife and their need for darkness. Europe is pretty lit; Africa, not so much. The US certainly shows off it's coastal living, but is pretty lit throughout. Having moved from Dallas, pretty lit up, to Michigan where I need to polish my car's headlight covers to drive at night, I have again grown fond of darkness. I now own more than an emergency flashlight and enjoy seeing stars again and knowing what phase the moon is in when I look out the window before heading to bed.

Staying dark is not so easy. I still want people to enter and leave my house without walking into a fencepost or tripping over something left in the driveway, so I started my search for sky friendly lighting. There are more options on the Internet than I ever thought. One company in particular solved my outdoor lighting issues without having to install new fixtures. They provide shades for your normal PAR 38 outside lights that direct those bright outdoor lights and stops blinding your neighbors and people passing in the street. My small contribution to darkening our skies.

Check them out if you need the easy route like me or if you want to be more elaborate:

Starry Night Lights

Dark Sky Friendly Outdoor Lighting Products

www.StarryNightLights.com

Found this on Alex Osterwalder's blog

2009-03-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Even beyond the business model, having now downloaded the SLIP, is the usability. The site has instruction every step of the way. In addition to the usual MP3 and Lossless downloads, they are breaking into audiophile quality files with 24/96 files.

If you build it, you will fill it

2009-02-01T07:57:00.001-08:00

During my time in supply chain innovation, I came across an interesting operational rule of thumb for building warehouse space. If you build it, you will fill it. Processes aside, inventory targets aside, rules aside, the more space you have the natural forces of the efficiency of manufacturing will lead your organization to build it and fill it.

Keep your known natural forces in mind when changing things in your business. Business controls are essential to running a business. Even more powerful is creating an environment that will lead itself naturally to the end goal.

How I buy travel tickets...

2009-01-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if this can equate to a pricing strategy but like many I have developed a fly/train/drive cost equation to choose my method of travel, probably like many people. With flying the convenience often outweighs a 12 hour drive, but for Amtrak (a favorite topic of mine) it is not so simple.

I live in East Grand Rapids, MI. And like many in GR, I like to travel to Chicago for the big city lights. Many neighbors spent time shopping in Chicago with the variety of stores that our town doesn't support. If I am to take the train myself, it makes sense. Downtown to Downtown is probably cheaper to ride than to drive. But once you get to around 3 people, it stops making sense. It becomes cheaper to drive. Now I am not sure how busy that train is, but I know they offer specials that you have to figure out how to catch and it certainly is not as easy as American Airlines Super Saver.

I would like to see either an easier way to communicate discounts or something in line with family based pricing. Or super saver packs. Riding that train would sure be easier than finding parking!

Can reviewing your customer buying strategy help you develop a better pricing strategy? What are the top three things that drive your customers buying decisions and patterns?

Say it with Pictures

2008-12-09T08:01:00.001-08:00

I truly enjoyed Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam, and since have been exploring visualization quite a bit. His book walks you through a 4 step process that helps you solve problems with pictures using 5 questions and showing it in 6 ways. For those who dread the whiteboard, it is an excellent resource to help pick up the pen. The more I practice the better I get. I can't stop drawing!

For those who would like to explore an encyclopedia of visual maps take a look at the interactive visual periodic table and the visual-literacy.org. For those who would like to delve into a variety of ways to interpret information.

Management vs. Business Skills

2008-12-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

I entered the working world with a degree and skills but no experience managing a business. I now talk to people who look for uber-skills but it seems the art of management is still left, many times, unevaluated except for brief behavioral interview questions such as "Tell me the last time you faced a problem and how did you handle it?" For which the only real wrong answer is a stutter or an overwhelming cynical look of stupidity, of which I have done both at different times. I think this video of a conversation between Henry Mintzberg and Ricardo Semler states the problem better than I could:
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Haworth - Customer Intimacy Through Partnering

2008-11-16T14:21:00.001-08:00

Haworth is a manufacturer of office furniture products transforming into a workspace company in Holland Michigan that just celebrated it's 60th Anniversary. I recently toured Haworth's new corporate headquarters. The project won the 11th annual "Good Design is Good Business" international competition awards by BusinessWeek and Architectural Record magazines as well as local Deals of the Year Sustainability Award in Grand Rapids. The building truly amazes the eye and neither pictures nor the virtual Internet give it true justice. The tour, thanks to press contact Julie Smith at One Haworth Center, enabled me to stand in wonder at the front desk and view a sea of floors and workspace protected from a rainy afternoon in West Michigan. I felt sure the tour would show off their design capabilities and expertise in light of the new workspace but was surprised to find more than my initial thought.

Companies offer 3 core value propositions:

Providing best product
Providing best total cost
Providing best total solution

The new One Hayworth Center showcases great products, no doubt. Hayworth's SAP project addresses operational efficiencies, as any conscious company must do in this tough market. Julie referenced more than once that many companies can no longer afford to "build the Taj Mahal" which shows sensitivity to current market realities. The story of customer focus goes beyond pricing strategy. Haworth illustrates total solution through the headquarter's showcase.

During the tour I peeked at CEO, Franco Bianchi's office. Mr. Bianchi ran the Italian operations and later came to the US and took the role of CEO in 2005. His transformational focus on partnerships with Architects, Designers and Developers reinforces Haworth's commitment to solutions. His office, which I peeked at during the tour, could be ripped out of the pages of Wallpaper Magazine, and reflects a European disposition and sensibility to materials and design.

The customer intimacy and partnership runs deeper than identifying with a core group of customers. Solving problems, a key aspect of total solutions, demands a deeper understanding of combination of customer needs, processes, experience, and value adding aspects of their business, day to day lives, and aspirations. I viewed wonderful products as part of the tour including materials and even exhibitions of product not manufactured by Haworth. Julie explained that Haworth is partnering with other companies to show materials that can be used in combination with their lines of products. We looked at countertops. We looked at wall surface materials. We looked at lighting options. We looked at a cork suit, believe it or not. We looked at temperature sensing material. We visited a material sample showcase by Material Connexion, a materials partner. Now visiting architects, designers and developers can explore more than just Haworth products, but how they can interact with other innovative materials at their disposal. Now that is partnering with partners to support customer group partners.

Identify unfulfilled aspects of your customers' needs and if not your competence, ask who can help you out?

House Remodelling sidebar

2008-10-30T10:59:00.001-07:00

We are putting a master bedroom addition on our house. I wanted soft floors in the kitchen. I have had tiled kitchen floors before. It's very hard on the knees if you spend any amount of time standing. I looked at vinyl as an inexpensive option. I went to the commercial flooring store to look at samples. They had hundreds of selections. Hundreds and hundreds of samples of versions of fake stone or fake tile or fake concrete and they were all atrociously ugly.

I took some time to think about why it was ugly. Is vinyl flooring just ugly? Is it fake stone that is ugly? What I discovered is that what really drove my aversion was inauthenticity. If the vinyl would just represent itself as vinyl I think it would be okay. Or if it was such a great duplicate that it would be difficult to tell the difference between vinyl and tile it might be ok. It is just blatantly inauthentic.

A lot of people might thing I am ranting and many people will probably think, "Well what do you expect from vinyl?" So here is link to prove my point. The Swedes got it right. Marie and Annica Eklund. Take a common material, give it a twist (literally) and what do you have? To me, it's an authentic vinyl floor.

"Bolon's objective is to always offer the very latest in quality, trends and tendencies in our unique Swedish design flooring. We currently work with world leading architects and designers who choose Bolon flooring because of its textile feel and appearance combined with all the advantages of vinyl flooring."

http://www.bolon.com/
Begone fake stone vinyl flooring, BE GONE!

Booms and Busts

2008-10-14T06:06:00.001-07:00

Facing another recovery from irrational exuberance in the US economy, politicians taking sides on oversight, and personal portfolio's taking a hit, I wondered what kind of changes will stick. I found an answer in a letter from Rachmaninoff, the famous Russian composer, pianist and conductor, during his first American tour in 1909.

Globalization has some very curious impacts to America. It's wave affect has made some, not all, but some of the inspirational aspects of the US available elsewhere. Technology, education, some freedoms of the entrepreneurial spirit and system. Is there a clear answer to what America aspires to be or is our consistent doing the truer essence of what makes America special?

Rachmaninoff wrote in 1909 during is US tour, "You know, in this accursed country, where you're surrounded by nothing but Americans and the 'business,business' they are forever doing clutching you from all sides and driving you on.....Everyone treats me nicely and kindly, but I am horribly bored."

Keeping the end in mind

2008-09-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

The end of the innovation funnel that is....

Several events complicate the pursuit of innovation in larger organizations.

1) Funding the creative process - its a large world of ideas out there. The time to think, create and evaluate is not necessarily the possible task of a manager who has to be focused on day-to-day operations. This can be considered and investment with expected returns. Or it can be thought of as a grant with expectation applied effort and education with no expectation of returns or at least a lower chance. Either way. Clarity is important for all involved.

Now once a company decides they need this and funds it they face a second challenge

2) Identifying burn rate. Quite often an idea guru, consultant, firm or hired hand will bring great ideas to the table. They talk. They contemplate. They investigate. But the important thing to remember is the fuel of any company is cash. So in building the organization define the goal in terms of activities, deliverable and results. What is the innovation team's measure success? There is a huge difference between a wicked idea and a wicked idea the can make money in a certain amount of time.

If an organization is clear on expectations from an innovation organization and has set the line anywhere from valid ideas to operational possible plans to actual implementation they hit another challenge

3) Organizational value. Who has to implement the plan and then who gets credit for it's failure and success? The end of the funnel is value creation to the end customer and value for the organization - read revenue and cash - and value stream participants. Is it the idea guy who was the enabler, was it the management team that took the ball and ran with it? Is it turf war credit allocation nightmare? Yes yes yes yes.

Let the games begin.

Innovation Mindset

2008-09-10T06:08:00.001-07:00

Picture, if you will, a wagon on the early American trail. Picture the wheels of the wagon turning along the dirt road with well worn ruts. Think about how easy it is to continue on the road as compared to trying to steer the wagon off the track. If you steer off track you risk tipping the wagon. You risk breaking an axle. You risk additional work if you use a lever to push as well as pull the wagon off the trail. It's a rut. We often say we are in a rut, but do we think critically about how to get out of the rut. Rut = worn in habit.

Innovative ideas = change. Introducing something new. Something not in a rut. Opposing forces. It is difficult at times to change perspectives. Having facilitated vision work (or ideation or innovation or whatever term you use) meetings to draw new ideas out of people and found myself staring at an audience in a rut (actually I have been on both sides of the equation). They default to the standard answer as they glance casually at their watch as they imagine all of the things they need to be doing back at their desks, calls they need to make, groceries they need to pick. The rut is easy. It allows for other distractions such as entertainment and self back slapping congragulatory activities.

To snap people out of the rut, tools and techniques are essential. I've written about problem solving as a tool to anchor people's thoughts and create a single topic that everyone can work towards. Recently I am reading a book that talks about mental locks in a very entertaining way. I recommend "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech. Take a read and see if those mental locks ring true to your situation.

Innovation Partnering

2008-09-03T07:05:00.001-07:00

Innovation is difficult in a vacuum. Beyond the idea of killer products, the realities of marketing in an information overloaded world, distribution with rising transportation costs, crossing the chasm of product and service acceptance, and the rising criticality of trust as a factor in consumer experience demands an approach that evaluates end-to-end value chains.

Finding partners to help with the shaping, birthing, and placement of a crazy powerful new idea can be crucial to success.

Think about recent moves by Apple to open up their platform for 3rd party developers. Why? Because the power of application and applicative ideas in an open market can fuel value for iPhone users which in turn reinforces loyalty and stimulates new customer aquisition that ultimately drives sales for Apple. Altruism aside, of course.

Think about the entire path of your product and service; think about who can help in areas that you may not be strong; think about how you could draw lines in the sand effictively and still maintain mutual benefits.

Channel Innovation

2008-08-22T08:32:00.001-07:00

I like paper in my day to day work life. I do a lot on my computer, but many times I jot todos, notes and observations down. The Franklin Planner, my original time management paper planner resulted in signing up for and completing an MBA program. Somewhere along my paper journey I found Levenger for pens and notebooks and later Circa. Circa is a binding system for notebooks based upon discs and specially punched paper that allows you to pull out and reposition the paper. I was thrilled. I shared with colleagues and friends and eventually, I needed to find out where they came up with this idea.

The idea came from someone else! Shock! A company called Rollabind. They made products for schools, notebooks and scrapbooking. They weren't the greatest looking products at the time. You could buy a bag of multicolor discs but what would I do with the pink ones?

Levenger found a great idea and introduced it to a new channel as an even better idea. Black discs, various high quality ruled papers, clean planner-competing sizes and leather covers. Black, brown red. It fit very nicely into their offering of the finest office products around. Their prices were also a bit higher than the purple discs of Rollabind.

Understanding channels characteristics and insights are important part of innovation. How you introduce, shape, price and manage your product offering in particular channels are essential for success. Yellow discs may not have brought Levenger the same level of success.

Pickle Process

2008-08-18T10:49:00.001-07:00

I came across an Vlasic Pickle advertisement from over a year ago. It caught my attention because it was a process innovation for their customers. It seems food service customers would often have to pour the pickles from the jar into a square container that fits on a buffet line. This of course would mean a pickle jar to dispose of and a square buffet container to wash. So Vlasi packaged their sliced pickles in square container that would fit into the buffet tables. Saving thier customers labor costs and material costs. They had pickle charts (instead of pie charts) to prove it.

Thinking critically about how your product is used can bring insights into improvements and innovation that can be implemented around the product. These typed of ideas in a homogenous trade can bring competitive advantage.

Barriers to Innovation and the Importance of Pilot

2008-08-09T22:55:00.001-07:00

The New York Times recently wrote about going green in the hospitality industry. The Hilton Palacio del Rio in San Antonio replaced more than 400 toiles with dual-flush models saving an estimated 600,000 gallons of water per month without a single complaint about the toilets. The hold up for other hotel chains is a perceived or expressed concern that consumers aren't sure if they would work.

Journalists write, bloggers blog and consumers when asked to have an opionion will be sure to have one. Testing in context is important. Gaining reaction in an experiential environment can bring closer perspectives than a survey. Granted measure toilet usage can be a bit tricky. Installing in test rooms or locations can be a small step. Dual flush gives consumers an option to save water and solving water usage problems is something US consumers can live with.

New Product to Market

2008-08-04T11:21:00.001-07:00

Bringing innovative new ideas to market can be a humbling experience. At Mindscape we recently launched a new web offering. We answered our clients' problem of keeping up with the velocity of change on the internet with a managed environment that we could leverage across our base to keep them cutting edge up to date. We assumed cost as an issue and focused on a managed services model, where we could pass savings on to the client. We save them money; they stay up to date - a win-win.

We overestimated thier concern about costs, undervalued the solution and at first missed the mark. Cost wasn't the main issue so focusing on total cost of ownership only confused our message. Clients felt we had underestimated their needs because of our passed on savings. Price did not meet expectations for the level of expected quality and comprehensiveness. Their worries zeroed in on the technology itself.

A new business partner summed it up best for us. Tell them they "never have to worry about hardware or software again"

Being smart doesn't mean there's a need. Even in supply side innovation, matching customer needs is as important as the invention. Find the pain, find the worry...

Solution Finding

2008-07-28T06:01:00.001-07:00

Some years ago, while working on Supply Chain innovations, I visited a Molex plant in Lincoln Nebraska. The purpose to study process implementation, became overshadowed by fascination with a two story manufacturing facility. When molex decided to build an additional plant in Lincoln their plant management team drove the design ideas. The two stories allowed the movement of raw material is on the bottom level, manufacture and movement of finished goods on the upper level.

That alone is innovation, but they ran into a glitch. The raw components came on reels. They had trouble loading the leader from the reel, located on the bottom floor, to the manufacturing machine on the upper floor. While running the leader up to the top floor snags were happening and causing material loss. Not a good situation.

Someone had innovative idea. They connected 2 distinct yet divergent experiences. They would try a garage door opener. It has a sensor in case something is in the way of the door that could be set to varying degrees of sensitivity. Instead of running it horizontally they would run it vertically and even better -- the price -- a trip to Home Depot. It did the trick. They would load the leader and then the garage door opener would pull the line up to the top floor. If the leader caught anything the sensor would trigger and the leader would be sent back down.

This teams openess to new ideas enabled creative solutions. How open is your team to new ideas?

Innovation Mindset

2008-07-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tony Robbins talks about human psychology and the need for both certainty and uncertainty. Sounds mutually exclusive, but that's what makes it human. To embark on any level of innovation means change and change means uncertainty. We quite often cling to the same way of doing things to ensure we face certainty, or what we feel is certainty, when in an ever changing world with increased velocity, that is not necessarily true. How do we shift peoples energy towards facing uncertainty?

In the Tour de France this year, Mark Canvendish a UK cyclist represents Team Columbia, a US team. At the moments as a sprinter his explosive power seems untouchable. At stage 13 the peloton (main group of cyclists) headed towards the finish line. Mark Cavendish positioned himself in the front but found himself boxed in as speed started to get revved up. Robbie McEwan a veteran sprinter of world renown was making a run for the line and Cavendish shifted himself out of his boxed in position and just rocketed past McEwan at astonishing acceleration to win the stage. Of course I was on the edge of my seat. Okay, so the world's greatest race doesn't neccessarily excite you.....

Sport of any kind is a game of teams or individuals where the uncertainy drives chears and boos and all kinds of emotions. Can you build that passion into your work environment? Think like a coach, build the dreams of your team.

Untapped Innovation and the Gift of Time

2008-07-17T09:04:00.001-07:00

One of the most abundant source of ideas for your business reside hidden deep in the recesses of your own employees. Usually they are too busy to know it themselves because we are busy people in a busy world doing busy things. Quite often, we are busy fighting fires and fixing things that may not have so easily broken if we had taken an opportunity to think creatively and proactively about improving management of day to day business.

Be bold and find a way to give your people the gift of time to step back and think about solving problems in their daily lives, improve experiences for your customers and make things easier for everyone.

I believe in anchor points for activities such as 'a day offsite' or a 'time out to think' on a Friday afternoon. It is easier for people to think creatively if they have a starting point or reference. Paint a picture of how things could be easier. Use examples or case studies from other companies. Use a facilitator who can help walk people through a thought building exercise. Have a goal! and celebrate the results!

Total Offer - An innovative product doesn't always win

2008-07-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Business innovation extends beyond product innovation. When you have a great innovative product start thinking about marketing innovation, business model innovation, sales innovation. Don't stop with the tangible.

I own 2 Dutch ovens from a company called Kitchen Fair. I own them because a friend of mine went to a factory closing and picked them up for me. They claim to have a superior non-stick surface and from my experience, it could very well be absolutely true. I hadn't heard about them before my purchase, nor after. They still manufacture in Wisconsin and have corporate offices in Fort Worth, Texas. Great product - generally unheard of(at least to me). If it weren't for the factory closing, I would just think they were happy with their slice of then non-stick cookware pie, but then why the closing? Perhaps it's time to initiate online viral marketing to start. Maybe a movie on You Tube.

Highly caffeinated sugar water company Red Bull on the other hand has spent as much as 30% of revenue on innovative marketing techniques including extreme sport and event sponsorships. Differentiate the product and innovate around it. Build a billion dollar brand.

Think about your whole business when thinking about innovation.

Incremental Innovation

2008-07-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

In “Five Common Mistakes in Innovation” by Dev Patnaik recently wrote that companies over-rely on pilot initiatives. Certainly a companies scale, cash flow, funding and strategic intent determines appropriate implementation options. Innovation doesn't always bring short term results, however there are ways to test and measure changes considered in your business. A recent article recently reported GE considered sale of it's kitchen division. The kitchen division's iconic image in the GE conglomerate seems outweighed by it's flat profitability. Perhaps GE has a way to measure public opinion by releasing this information pre-decision.

Test geographically, by customer segment, by channel or using classic marketing tests of focus groups or surveys. The Internet is also a great way to test and refine product or service innovations before making a full force launch of it.

Fear not testing, measuring and refining.

Asking questions to gain insight

2008-07-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a button on my Lucky Jeans popped off. Not fun considering the original price of the jeans, so I decided to glue the button back on. What would I try? Krazy glue of course --- binds most surfaces, metal perhaps? Krazy glue has a great packaging innovation. Single use packets. Reusing a classic Krazy glue tube a second time usually ends in a minor success (after a bout of dry glue wrestling with push pins and needles) and a third time in complete frustration. Single use packets' practicality and ease of use make sense for the wallet and mindset. A happy customer is more likely to be a repeat customer.

Take some time to understand your customers' grievances. Not just the core functional aspects of your product, but ancillary and seemingly minor annoyances.

Customer insights can lead to innovation and all you need to do is ask.

Problems before Opportunities

2008-07-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

I've been asked why I focus on problems instead of opportunities. I feel every problem is an opportunity but not every opportunity solves a problem or at least not an immediate problem.

As an example, I recently read an article about Amtrak. The story is about a wonderful 3 day journey. Travel for travel's sake. 3x cost & 3x time. This would solve my problem if I time on my hands.

When I read about the Deutche Bahn in Germany, I read about ICE (even the name sounds slick) trains with glass doors that swish, speeds to envy and business travel amenities. When I read about Japanese trains, I read about Internet connectivity and work space.

If Amtrak wants to solve their customers problems, they could target the same buyers airlines target, find the routes that make the most competitive sense and look to play their strengths, which have potential. My immediate problem is to get from place to place as quickly as possible, as economically as possible, with the most comfort and the least hassle. Trade-offs need to be made. Maybe when I retire I will take the opportunity to enjoy a nostalgic Amtrak route reliving the multi-day adventures of our ancestors.

Why the Innovation blog?

2008-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

Innovation's mystique seems to have clouded the simplicity that jump-started so many successful businesses in the US. I just returned from Silicon Valley, the birth place of technology as we know it today. The tech museum in San Jose illustrates the level of creativity that drives one of the history's most profitable wealth generating epicenters.

A simple approach to Business Innovation does not require a PhD, a basement lab, or a team of techies. It requires a seed of creativity and a link to economic value.

To me, business innovation means solving problems.

Whose problems? Customer problems, management problems and even supplier problems are good places to start. Introducing change through new methods, new ideas, or new products drives innovation in everything from toilets to financial investments to iPods. Mathematicians keep negativity out of the term 'problem'. They consider problems to be questions; Questions that need answers.

Overcoming and solving problems has intrinsic economic value.