My co-author, Mukund Karanjikar, suggested this demonstration of the principles of combining elements in new ways as a basic building block of inventing. It’s not explicitly discussed in the book, for the material most relevant to inventors already assumes skills in inventing, but it is a good reminder of some ways to strengthen whatever innovations …
Quick Demo on Combining Elements to Create Inventions Read More »
Entrepreneurs, start-ups, and inventors seeking to bring a new product or service to a corporation for licensing or acquisition face many barriers. Open innovation can be much more difficult than people think, partly because many companies that may talk about open innovation actually practice fairly closed innovation and shut out outside ideas. There are good …
In dealing with many innovators and companies in our work at Innovationedge, we sometimes hear complaints about leaders who seem to be anti-innovation. You know, the kind who supposedly “wouldn’t touch innovation with a 10-foot pole.” Sometimes these leaders aren’t really anti-innovation, but anti-waste and especially pro-results. That’s not a bad thing! Maybe their past …
While giving a pseudo-explanation for the “physics” behind our last video post, a new tongue-in-cheek demonstration is provided that launches a brief discussion of disruptive innovation and the role that intellectual assets can play. The physical demonstrations occurs in the first 4 minutes, then there are 3 minutes of further discussion. (Sorry about the lighting …
Salt from Water: Getting Granular with Disruptive Innovation Read More »
Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen a post last night pointing to a newly published resource about the US patent system from Wisconsin’s leading newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In addition to a fascinating interactive resource at JSOnline.com, John Schmid and Ben Poston, two outstanding reporters, have prepared a valuable two-part …
A heavy-handed or micromanaging approach to handling a community of innovators in a corporation often has an unintended chilling effect that can put the freeze on innovation. Avoid this innovation fatigue factor by respecting your innovators, listening to them, and giving them the freedom to apply their talents within the constraints required for the project. …
Avoid the Corporate Chilling Effect on Innovation Read More »
As part of my “Magic and Innovation” series, here is a 3-minute video blog, “Transforming Nickel Ideas to Dollar Innovations: The Danger of Excessive Valuation of an Invention.” In it, I discuss one of the innovation fatigue factors that stem from the innovators or inventors themselves when they think their early-stage invention or embryonic innovation …
In this 4-minute video clip, I illustrate some of the principles from our book, Conquering Innovation Fatigue, using one of my favorite magic tricks, a version of the cut and restored paper trick. It speaks to the need for the innovation community in a corporation and other elements to be aligned with the true objectives …
In our newly released book, Conquering Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009), we offer guidance for innovators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and policy makers. Today I’d like to speak to leaders of teams or organizations where innovation matters but seems to be less effective than it should be. Innovation fatigue can set into an …
The Analogy of the Soda Can: Overcoming Innovation Fatigue in Your Innovation Community Read More »
Some tremendous products don’t reach their potential in the marketplace due to inattention to packaging. Smart entrepreneurs in consumer goods, medical products, and other areas understanding that packaging not only governs much of the response of shoppers to your product on the shelf, but also can affect its value and function after purchase. Child resistant …
Innovative Packaging to Alleviate Competitive Threats: Lessons from Aleve® Read More »