A Graphene Revolution?
The discovery of graphene has not only won two scientists the Nobel Prize, but its extraordinary properties have triggered a boom in research, investment and superlatives. While the list of potential applications continues to rise, and the race to invest and research speeds up, a major challenge remains making graphene cheaply and easily.
Water, the Oil of the 21st Century – Pressure is Rising
As the world welcomes its 7 billionth inhabitant the pressures on water supplies continue to rise, often ignored and underestimated. The pressures on water supply present huge challenges, but also opportunities to improve capture, conservation and management.
How to use Systems Thinking to Unearth Innovation Opportunities
It used to be that "systems thinking" was a specialty reserved for a select few intellectuals. Now that it's clear every element of our work is part of a larger system that visibly and invisibly shapes our individual and organizational opportunities and risks, it's time for all us, and especially those looking towards innovation, to become systems thinkers. Why? Understanding system dynamics provides insights into where innovation will have a high payback, explains Kay Plantes.
Biomimicry: How Business Solves Problems by Looking to Nature
Sometimes, talking about new ways of approaching business benefits from looking at some of the world's oldest ways of doing business. Biomimicry is a practical methodology to solve problems by looking to nature. Learn more from some examples of biomimicry on social media and co-creation.
Not so Rational Decisions
Recent research into power, status, stress and aspirational gadgets reveals the extent to which decisions are anything but rational. Investment decisions and governance could be subject to new forms of scrutiny.
The Challenge of Relative Values
Two new research studies examine on the one hand personal values among young adults on the other the realities of corporate values and culture. Both have some harsh truths to tell. The two forms of ‘relative values’ these studies discuss, have implications for strategic flexibility and devolved decision making for market success. Coupled with greater transparency they may also mean that companies need to take a long hard look at their corporate cultures.
Joe Pine: Economic Value Creation Through the Experience Economy
The Experience Economy is accelerated by the current global crisis according to Joe Pine. People don’t want more stuff, in this post-growth global economy people start questioning what they really value and that is experiences with others, loved ones, colleagues, friends, etc. There’s more demand for experiences and this will create job opportunities, moreover because commoditized services are being outsourced and offshored.
Expensive Rubbish (where there’s muck…)
Resource prices are rising which should be good for waste reclamation and recycling: it increases economic viability, encourages new processes and behaviours. And provides new opportunities. Even the humble toilet may get a makeover into a power source. The War on Waste is hotting up.
Social Media Reinforce the Competitive and Innovative Abilities
Last week, the Dutch Financial Times reported that the Netherlands moved up to the seventh place in the yearly competitiveness index by the World Economic Forum (WEF). To close the gap with the top five, social innovation needs to be tackled. Not only raising R&D budgets, but also better innovation management and work smarter.
The Power of Thought
Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) enable people to control things by thought and nerve signals: they are emerging from the medical research arena. The technology of BCIs is becoming less invasive, sleeker and more powerful, with a growing number of applications from health care to gaming, smart homes to typing, medical research to market research. While not yet a mass market by any means, the potential for interacting with our surroundings in radically new ways is arriving.
Trend Alert: Hard Times to Help Sustainability?
While consumers continue to profess a desire to do the right thing, in reality they often do not – choosing convenience and product performance over higher prices and/or ethical and sustainable production and products. But the values shift accompanying the recession in the west, may be the background against which new approaches to sustainability could flourish by creating win:win strategies and greater clarity.
Coca Cola Is Accelerating Its Social Maturity
Coca Cola is taking its Social Media efforts one step further. The brand is going to hire an agency that will mine Social Media data to understand what customers are saying about the brand and looking for. It’s an attempt to consistently understand the Social Web and benefit from it for the different brands, supply chains and so on.
Lincoln’s Crowdsourcing: Allowing Consumers to be Designers
At the Pebble Beach, Calif. Concours D'Elegance Ford Motor’s Lincoln brand introduced a new tool “Virtual Voice of the Customer” to test design concepts on consumers. Lincoln asked attendees of the classic car show Aug. 20-21 to look at three design concepts based on vehicles from the '60s, '70s and '80s.
Develop a strong business model portfolio – or risk Kodak’s fate
Do you have a strong portfolio of business models? One business model that is currently succeeding isn't enough, warns Kay Plantes.
Open Markets and their Implications for Business Model Strategy
Kahn Academy is in the process of disrupting the long-staid textbook publishers market and K-12 education. This school is a stellar example of how any business today can thrive by capitalizing on trends that are opening markets for non-traditional competitors.
Why Business Model Innovation is Critically Important Today
One of the few ways left for companies to protect their margins is through business model differentiation. According to Kay Plantes, business models have become the new basis of competition, replacing product features and benefits as the playing field on which companies emerge as dominant or laggards.
This is no time for ‘idea tourism’
Seth Godin recently published a blog post about a concept called "idea tourism." In it, he warns that we can't just be spectators when we come in contact with big ideas that could potentially transform our businesses. Rather than superfically reading about this big idea, I decided to dig deeper into it, to understand what it really means to you and I.
7-1/2 steps to innovation
Over the past year or so there have been more and more lists available online on how to "do innovation." Since the world is becoming extremely sound-bite driven and people are trying to perform multiple jobs simultaneously, this is probably the inevitable result. If you are charged with, or interested in approaches to delivering new value to the market, you may want to consider these following thoughts.
Predicting the future of innovation
A number of emerging trends, if extrapolated into the future, provide hints on the future of innovation.
Improvisation is key to building a culture of innovation, says Doug Stevenson
By adopting the behaviors and principles of improvisation, organizations can achieve significant and robust cultural change in the direction of innovation, says creativity and improv expert Doug Stevenson.
Creativity is at the heart of 21st century work, says Dan Pink
NYT best-selling author Dan Pink shares some valuable insights into the new paradigm of creative work in this Business Thought Leader interview.
How to use Twitter as a Powerful Idea Discovery Tool
Twitter can be a powerful tool for developing breakthrough ideas. In fact, it's one of the best tools for exposing you to new ideas, insights and trends. Unfortunately, it has gained a reputation as a place where narcissistic people talk about the glorious minutiae of their lives - such as, "Guess what I'm having for breakfast?" There is some of that, of course, but it is also a vibrant community where people share some amazing ideas and resources.
Innovation Strategy: Matching What is Possible with What is Needed
Corporate innovation has traditionally been driven from the technology side; from departments like R&D and engineering. It’s an approach that can be very successful. Indeed, it has often led to great breakthroughs. But if a company wants to win in today’s value-based economy, this is no longer the best way of doing things.
Creativity is a vital part of the new business paradigm, says Russ Schoen
Creativity in business: An interview with Russ Schoen.