Tag Archives: business

Invention is Reinvention

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:

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”

Your Adjacent Possible – It’s Bigger Than You Think

Why didn’t  Leonardo da Vinci invent the helicopter? In the 1480’s he drew a vertical flight machine. His notebooks reveal that he built small models of it. So why wasn’t he the first person to make a helicopter?

Innovation – Where Should You Invest?

Recently I visited a company that wanted to invest in innovation. They wanted to act, yet they were hesitating. They were thinking of innovation as the creation of totally new, game changing products that radically change the marketplace. They were reluctant to invest all of their innovation budget in such high risk projects. A veryContinue reading “Innovation – Where Should You Invest?”

The Benefits of Innovation – The 20:20:20 Rule

When I talk about innovation I usually start with an explanation of why innovation is important. To do this I use two reports, one published in 2000 by PWC, the other published in 2010 by DeBooz. Although the surveys were published 10 years apart they provide a remarkably consistent view of why we should innovate.Continue reading “The Benefits of Innovation – The 20:20:20 Rule”

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”