So, you don’t have a new idea for a wonderful product. Not a problem. Sometimes invention is reinvention. Many successful ideas are new ways of reusing existing ideas or new combinations of existing things. Here are three examples:
Category Archives: Collaboration
The Five Innovation Myths That Destroy Big Companies
Nokia is seen as a company that was innovative but is in decline. It was the company that made cell phones fashion accessories. In 2008 it had a 40% share of the global mobile phone market. Today it has just 3% of the smartphone market and the company is worth just 5% of it’s 2008Continue reading “The Five Innovation Myths That Destroy Big Companies”
Innovation Needs Action – A Quick Approach to Market Testing
Got ideas for new products or services? Will other people buy them? Test this as quickly, and as cheaply, as possible. Then, you can focus your resources on developing your most promising ideas. Here’s a quick approach to market testing ideas, that we used recently with one of our clients.
Loose Connections Stimulate Innovation
How many friends do you have? How many acquaintances and contacts? 5, 50, 150, more? Often innovation is about making unexpected connections. A diverse network of contacts increases our chances of making these connections. Your network is a great asset in expanding your thinking, providing new inputs and generating novel solutions.
Tablecloths for Idea Generation
I recently organised a workshop with Sara Jones of City University, London. Sara wanted to use the Digital Shoreditch Festival as an opportunity to generate new and useful ideas on ‘How to foster a culture of collaboration between universities and industry’. The festival brings together diverse participants from start-ups, SMEs, large companies and academia forContinue reading “Tablecloths for Idea Generation”
Twitter: The Amplifier and the Fishing Rod
I was speaking with the social media director of a large company recently and he described Twitter as the amplifier in the social media system. His company posts interesting content into different platforms (Facebook, Pinterest, blogs etc.) They know it will be read by the users of those platform and reach a significant number of people.Continue reading “Twitter: The Amplifier and the Fishing Rod”
Time your Tweets for Maximum Impact
When you Tweet has a big impact on how effectively you get your message across. If you’re organising a Tweet campaign you have to think about your tatget audience. Ask yourself when they will be most receptive to the message you want to deliver. Then time your Tweets so they have the maximum impact.
Social Creativity = People + Appropriate Technology
Crowdsourcing, collaboration, co-creation – there’s a lot of interest in how to involve more people in creative processes. It is often referred to as ‘social creativity’. But do we really understand how to combine people, technology and creativity to generate new solutions? Here’s a simple four step model that can help commercial organisations, not-for-profits and social enterprises:
Action for Innovation 