In the latest Harvard Business Review, Edmund S. Phelps and Leo M. Tilman have a short essay calling for government action to better fund innovation. In “Wanted: A First National Bank of Innovation,” they paint a picture that agrees with what we describe in Conquering Innovation Fatigue, where we review some of the “innovation fatigue” …
“Who’s mining the shop?” This is a question that needs to be asked for every university, company, and organization capable of creating inventions. In my corporate and academic experience (am the former Corporate Patent Strategist at Kimberly-Clark Corp., and was a professor before that), numerous inventions never get the protection they deserve because nobody was …
Who’s Mining the Shop? The Need to Mine for Inventions in Companies, Universities Read More »
The North American paper industry suffers from a largely undeserved image problem. Many view it as an antiquated smokestack industry, when it has been a leader in exciting areas in technology and business practice. Fans of biofuels and green energy, for example, should know about the pioneeing efforts from the forest bioproducts industries, including many …
The Forest Bioproducts and Paper Industries: The Need to Conquer Innovation Fatigue Read More »
One of my favorite inventors from my days at Kimberly-Clark, Fung-jou Chen, recently visited Taiwan and shared with me the news of an exciting innovation hailing from that innovation-rich island. Thin films have been used to create flexible speakers that can deliver reasonable sound quality from an inexpensive, flexible sheet. The sound quality is worse …
Disruptive Innovation: Music to My Ears, Especially When Flexible Speakers Are Used Read More »
Crazy Foods, an intriguing spot I photographed in a small and actually very innovative town in Veracruz State, Mexico, represents the wild and crazy ideas of prospective innovators that, like most innovative concepts, end up in failure. Brilliant ideas deemed crazy by others often really are, and those that have potential for crazy success can …
In the game of chess, experienced players know that a move that looks tempting can often open up fatal weaknesses that deliver swift defeat later in the game. With experience, discipline, and solid strategic skills, good players can look several moves ahead and be aware of broad patterns and principles that can give one an …
Beware Unintended Innovation Killers from Laws, Regulations, and Corporate Policies Read More »
Guy Kawasaki correctly notes that a lot of innovation success can be achieved in small baby steps. A few minutes a day of effort can lead you to innovation success if you know what you are doing. On the other hand, it’s important to note that would-be innovators face some very dangerous streets that must …
DUI (Don’t Understand Innovation) Accidents on the Busy Streets of Innovation Fatigue Read More »
Ultimately, innovation in an organization works best when people are intrinsically motivated to innovate. The spread of an innovation–which is what innovation success is all about–also requires that target customers have an incentive to adopt and spread the innovation. FUN can be one of the most exciting incentives. Is your innovation sytem fun? Is your …
The road to innovation fatigue is paved with good intentions embodied in laws, regulations, and even corporate policies. Leaders at all levels must be aware of uninteded innovation-killing consequences that may follow from their good intentions. Staying in touch with the “voice of the innovator,” as we advocate in Conquering Innovation Fatigue, is vital in …
Beware the Unintended Innovation-Killing Consequences of Laws and Policies Read More »
One of the hottest trends for modern innovation is customization of products and services to meet the unique needs of individuals. Classic examples of business model innovation based on customization include Dell computer, who developed a suite of patented supply chain advances to assist in rapidly delivering customized computers at low cost, or Netflix, whose …
The Long-Tail of Innovation: Customizing Health Care Based on Patient Genetics Read More »