Creativity. Via:brook. CTO Blog | Can’t Innovate, Won’t Innovate. Invention, innovation and entrepreneurs. It struck me recently that there's a lot of overlap between what I think of as "invention", "innovation" and entrepreneurship. I think many people confuse these terms, so I'd like to compare and contrast them, at least as I see them. This came about as a result of the Business Innovation Factory conversations - a great program run by the folks in Rhode Island. I am interested in trying to replicate some of what they are doing in Rhode Island here in North Carolina, and want to bring together the state, local universities, large companies and an organization for entrepreneurs and startups called the "CED - Council for Enterpreneurial Development".
Talking with some friends, it became clear that they thought the CED was completely responsible for innovation in the area, since many inventions are commercialized by entrepreneurs, which many people think of as "innovation". Well, I'll stipulate that entrepreneurs are part of the innovation ecosphere, but just a part. Zap! Pfffft! Mind the Bubbles. A highlight of Mary and my recent trip to London was a visit to the Institute of Cancer Research where son-in-law Hugh Morris is looking for better ways to use ultrasound to kill tumors. The Institute shares building with a cancer hospital so they are in no danger of having their work become too theoretical. Cancer sucks and it’s good to be where people are doing something about it. Ultrasound is both used diagnostically to locate tumors and surgically to attack them without invasive surgery.
To over-simplify, multiple beams of ultrasound converge on a tumor. None of the individual beams has enough energy to damage the skin and other tissues it is passing through. But, at the convergence point, pfffft!. But, in real life, nothing is quite this simple. These are the issues Hugh is working on with cow livers fresh from the butcher. Being around young scientists (I’m old; I’m allowed to age-discriminate) is fun. Another scientist asks: “who says bubbles are bad?” » The verdict is in: ‘rogue’ IT is cool | Service-Oriented Archi. "Empower the mavericks, turn them into sensory receptors and change agents for the business, and let them know that the leaders are listening.
" -Marc Rix We like a bit of rogue in our entertainment figures. We root for the anti-hero who bends and breaks rules -- and defies the bureaucratic order -- to achieve the greater good. 24's Jack Bauer never followed a protocol he didn't like in ridding LA of the latest threat. (Perhaps Chloe O'Brien would be a better example within an IT context.) Perhaps that admiration for rogue extends to IT as well. My recent post on whether "rogue IT" and "rogue services" should be contained generated some interesting discussion, and it seems the consensus out there is that a little rogue IT (or services) isn't just something to be tolerated; it's actually a positive force.
About 93 of you completed the poll that went with the post. One reader, Dr Zinj, observed that "top-down implementation of anything will always fail to meet the needs of the bottom level. Please call your Senator... Innovation Immersion - Open Innovation Model. We've just finished lunch and I had the opportunity to sit in on a great presentation by Chris Ertel from Global Business Network and Matt Marcus from Gucci, looking at open innovation and its various forms. They've presented a very nice framework for thinking about the different forms or types of open innovation. Their framework breaks out factors of innovation along two axes. The vertical axis is customer interaction - from completely internal innovation to completely customer driven innovation. The horizontal axis is expertise - from industry or specific experts to receiving ideas from "anyone".
This creates, like all good MBA analysis should, a four quadrant matrix, which GBN labeled: Star Chamber - which is in the internal, expert quadrant. Networked Innovation - which is the external, expert quadrant. Thousand Flowers - which is the "anyone", internal quadrant. DIY - which is the "anyone", external quadrant. There is at least one significant challenge with each approach: Innovation grants slashed to save $707m: Budget 08: News - Busin. Commercial Ready, a SME grants program that subsidised innovation and commercialisation, was scrapped in this week's federal Budget — a move that will save AU$707 million over four years. Companies used to be able to claim 50 percent of innovation project costs under the program, with a grant ceiling of AU$5 million. According to Tammy Halter director of grant recipient Absolute Data Group, it was one of the only programs where grants could be obtained for spending on lodging patents or marketing activity.
The decision to cut the program was met in reference to a report completed by the Productivity Commission, which found that Commercial Ready supported too many programs that would have gone ahead without public support. Absolute Data Group's Halter strongly disagreed. Roger Martindale, business development manager at software developer The Distillery, which has an ongoing Commercial Ready grant, also voiced his disagreement. The Distillery's Martindale had faith in the review. Innovation Weblog - Why innovation efforts fail. Yin Yang Innovation blogs (and lawyers) Harnessing Collective Innovation with Web 2.0 @ WEB 2.0 JOURNAL.