Purpose: The purpose of this web publishing series is to help instill the 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering as a habit of everyday living.   The process is inspired by  Ben Franklin’s system for continuous improvement. (details at bottom of posting).

LEADING Established Customers

To realize profitable growth through innovation there are two strategies that reduce risk.

You can LEAD Existing Customers with new offerings or you can ADAPT your existing offerings for New Customers.   In each case – risk is reduced because we are leveraging an existing asset (Current Customers or Current Offerings) while varying the other.

This week’s Innovation Engineering virtue is focused on LEADING established customers.

Relationships with established customers follow the classic product life cycle curve. The following is paraphrased from Savransky’s Engineering of Creativity.

Leading Established Customers LIFE CYCLE Curve

Stage 1. Childhood The relationship exists mostly in sharing information between the companies.  There is development required before it will be ready for its intended commercial audience.

Stage 2. Growth The relationship has become commercial.  Both sides are realizing increasing profitability as they gain experience.

Stage 3. Maturity The invention is highly profitable for both sides and unlikely to see dramatic changes.  Improvements to the relationship consist mostly of small changes.

Stage 4a. Decline The relationship can no longer be meaningfully improved.  The offering is becoming a commodity – continuation of the relationship requires compromises and concessions by the vendor.  Profitability starts a very slow decline then suddenly a dramatic decline if not discontinuation of the relationship.

OR

Stage 4b. Reinvention The relationship can be revitalized by reinventing the offering – by LEADING Established Customers with new offerings thus restarting the product life cycle.   In an ideal world this happens before reaching Stage 4 Decline.

Reinvention requires proactive leadership.  It requires that you think forward – anticipating the future for your customers and or your customer’s customers.

LET’S DO IT – This week your homework assignment is to develop three ideas for LEADING your established customers.  After you’ve Created the ideas – define them by doing a quick pitch sheet and sales forecast on them. Then hold an informal conversation with your current customers to get their feedback.

Use the following as stimulus and diversity sources for ideas for Leading established customers.

• ASK Your Customers:  “If you could wave a magic wand, other than low price, what would you wish for?”  or ask “What would be such a WOW that you’d be willing to pay more money for it?”

• Step back and think WHAT’S NEXT:  THINK what’s the obvious change in technology, demographics, customers that is likely to occur within the next 10 years.  To identify areas – mine trade journals, experts, academics.  Next, if you knew for sure this change was going to occur – what steps would you take today to be ready?

• Mine Trends of Your “Customer’s Customers” & Problems:  At the recent Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute in Ohio an industrial company couldn’t find any trends on the components that they provide.  Eureka! Coach Bruce Vaillancourt of TechSolve suggested they search for trends of their customers customers.  It worked.  They immediately found some hot trends that they were not aware of.

Background on 13 Virtues Project: Ben Franklin identified a set of 13 virtues for living. As he explained, “I conceived a bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He soon found that working on all of them at one time was too difficult.  “I concluded that contrary habits had to be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on improved conduct.” He created a plan where he worked on each virtue once a week.  In 52 weeks he could complete four cycles of the 13 virtues.

Each week I post a writing on one of the 13 virtues. The goal is to provide stimulus to your thinking and to encourage you to take action this week – every week – on thinking smarter and more innovatively about your life and career.  There is no start point.  No end point.  You can start during any week.  You can also feel free to scroll through past postings for additional stimulus.

Want to Improve your team’s innovation confidence by 70%

Have them attend one of the 3 day Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute.

Wyoming – August 25-27
Maine – September 27-29
Arkansas – Nov 15-17

Sign up information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

Contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454 for details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Alumni, U Maine Alumni or for group pricing.

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.844

Experiencing Doug Hall’s Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute brings me back almost 30 years…to the first 4 day Deming Seminar that I attended.  He also reminds me of my father’s Right Way To Manage© workshops….the twinkle in the eye.

The message is much the same:  the imperative to change is now; the tools and methods are here and available; look in the mirror! Doug is determined, energetic, enthusiastic and entertaining.

Although I am quite certain that Dr. Deming and Bill Conway always wore shoes during their presentations, Doug, Bill Conway and Dr. Deming all believed that change is needed and that the time to change was then, and now.

Mary Jane King
President
Conway Management Company

My thanks to pointing me in the direction of this Innovation Engineering class.  I have taken many a seminar in my career and this was by far the best.  Maybe that is because my career has been focused on the factory – something that as Doug Hall puts it – “accounts for only 3% of company’s profits.”  When I saw that slide, my past career flashed before my eyes and I realized that there is still time to focus on the stuff that really drives sales & profits – creating meaningfully unique products & services.

Paul Madix
Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Cintas Corporation

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Purpose: The purpose of this web publishing series is to help instill the 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering as a habit of everyday living.   The process is inspired by  Ben Franklin’s system for continuous improvement. (details at bottom of posting).

TECH MINING

Businesses must make a profit to continue their existence.   Non-profits must make a profit from fund raising initiatives if they are to be sustainable organizations.

For a company or non-profit to realize a profit they must offer a greater value to customers than their competition offers.

There are two fundamental strategies for offering greater value:

Low Cost Value: Offer greater value because of a lower cost than competition.  Profit is realized because of a systemically lower cost of operation.

Innovation Value: Offer greater value because of innovations in the functionality, packaging and or performance of the offering.  Profit is realized because of the flexibility of pricing as a result of the monopoly position the company holds i.e. especially if it’s a proprietary innovation.

Research by Georgia Tech finds that the Innovation Value strategy offers double the profitability (profit margin) of Low Cost Value.

When it comes to Innovation Value the most powerful method of mining for ideas is Tech Mining.   Tech Mining is where you dig for ideas, insights and resources from technologies that are outside your organization.

LET’S DO IT – This week your homework assignment is Innovation Supply Chain Mining. It’s the simplest way to bring technologies into your organization.  It involves mining existing suppliers capabilities.

The goal is to turn your “Product Supply Chain” into an “Innovation Supply Chain”   Instead of conversations focused on adding value from lower cost – the conversation shifts to how the suppliers can add innovation value to your offering.

• Mine Existing Equipment & Software:  Most pieces of equipment and virtually all software platforms offer multiple features that are not often used.  In the rush of business we tend to simplify the function of hardware and software to meet our pre-existing needs.  The goal here is to reverse the process and use the capabilities within your equipment and software as inspiration for enabling innovative products and services. Don’t be surprised to find that you already have technology capabilities you’re not leveraging.  I’m reminded of a commercial baker who invented an idea for a new type of stuffed pretzel.  During his tech mining for production equipment that he could use to insert the stuffing he discovered that equipment he already owned had the capability to do it.  Amazingly, he also found that the adapters for doing the stuffing had come as standard equipment – and were sitting in his storage room never used.

• Mine Existing Suppliers:  Contact your suppliers of raw materials, process capabilities, subcomponents or software for technology you can mine. Ask “What capabilities do they have that you’re not utilizing?”  Ask “what they would do if they were in your position?” Ask, “What technologies are under consideration at their company that they haven’t found a company to partner on development on?”

• Make Cross-Supplier Connections:  Invite two or more suppliers to a half day meeting to cross educate the suppliers and make connections.  The purpose of the meeting is to discover capabilities/technologies that your suppliers have that can help you sell your customers.

Have each supplier present on one piece of paper a list of…

• 3 current capabilities/technologies that they are most proud of
• 3 most underutilized capabilities/technologies by their customers
• 3 capabilities/technologies that they’d like to develop

Then you present again, on just one simple piece of paper – the results of your customer Insight Mining:

• 3 things your customers LOVE about your current offering
• 3 things that frustrate your customers about your current offering
• 3 things that are such a WOW – your customers would be willing to pay more money for them

Then hold a conversation to create new ideas.  For those who’ve attended Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute go to www.InnovationEngineeringTools.com and under the Create Tools tab use: Stimulus Two-Step, Mind Mapping, Mind Dump or my favorite tool -  Stimulus Processing to translate the stimulus presented into practical profitable innovations.   If desired, you can go further with the folks attending and use some of the other Create Tools – such as 666, Check Lists, Don’t Sell Me and Lawbreaker to generate additional ideas.

Background on 13 Virtues Project: Ben Franklin identified a set of 13 virtues for living. As he explained, “I conceived a bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He soon found that working on all of them at one time was too difficult.  “I concluded that contrary habits had to be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on improved conduct.” He created a plan where he worked on each virtue once a week.  In 52 weeks he could complete four cycles of the 13 virtues.

Each week I post a writing on one of the 13 virtues. The goal is to provide stimulus to your thinking and to encourage you to take action this week – every week – on thinking smarter and more innovatively about your life and career.  There is no start point.  No end point.  You can start during any week.  You can also feel free to scroll through past postings for additional stimulus.

Want to Improve your team’s innovation confidence by 70%

Have them attend one of the 3 day Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute.

Ohio July 12-14
Wyoming August 25-27
Maine September 27-29
Arkansas Nov 15-17

Sign up information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

Contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454 for details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Alumni, U Maine Alumni or for group pricing.

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.8443

Filed under: 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering | No Comments »

Purpose: The purpose of this web publishing series is to help instill the 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering as a habit of everyday living.   The process is inspired by  Ben Franklin’s system for continuous improvement. (details at bottom of posting).

BUSINESS MODELS

Jack Welch, retired CEO of GE once said “If the rate of change inside an organization is less that the rate of change outside…their end is in sight.”

Maybe the biggest change that’s impacting organizations today is the change of Business Models.   Business models are the way you get paid.  They are the transaction mechanism that your company uses to make profits or your non-profit uses to raise funds for your cause.

At it’s most basic Business Models are about how you package your product or service and get paid for it.  The advent of the internet connected global economy have shaken many business models and opened new opportunities.  Selling direct to customers is a great opportunity – being a “middle man” is not.   Internet marketplaces connect buyers and sellers while trade shows are challenged to reinvent themselves.

This week your mission is to think deeply about your Business Model.

LET’S DO IT – This week your homework is to randomly select three of the 12 alternative business models listed below and conduct a thinking experiment applying them to your business or non-profit fund raising efforts.

You should select the three choices randomly – so to push yourself – and avoid the trap of “picking the easy ones.”  Select randomly by either asking someone to name three numbers from 1 to 12 or rolling your 12 sided black die you received when attending the Leadership Institute.

After selecting get together with 2 to 4 others associated with your organization for a one hour brainstorming meeting presenting the challenge as a problem solving exercise using the rules of brainstorming.

1. No Criticism
2. Wilder the Better
3. Go for Quantity
4. Fun is Fundamental

Explain the challenge as:    “How could we repackage one or more of our offerings so to leverage a business model of _______________.”

Capture the thoughts on paper – ideally using mind mapping to show connections.   Following the meeting spend an hour doing some quick estimating (Fermi estimating to those who attended Innovation Engineering)  of the economic consequences of the models as brainstormed.

Business Models to Explore:

1. Subscription: Wine of the Month
2. Leasing: Tools & Equipment
3. Marketplace: E-Bay, Amazon
4. Metered Service: Electric Company
5. Free + Upgrade: Skype
6. Membership: Costco, American Express
7. Razors/Blades: Computer Printers
8. Low-Touch: Southwest, WalMart
9. High-Touch: Custom Homes
10. Product to Service: IBM
11. Sell Fractions: Timeshare Condo
12. Bundling: McDonald’s Happy Meal w/free toy

Background on 13 Virtues Project: Ben Franklin identified a set of 13 virtues for living. As he explained, “I conceived a bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He soon found that working on all of them at one time was too difficult.  “I concluded that contrary habits had to be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on improved conduct.” He created a plan where we worked on each virtue once a week.  In 52 weeks he could complete four cycles of the 13 virtues.

Each week I post a writing on one of the 13 virtues. The goal is to provide stimulus to your thinking and to encourage you to take action this week – every week – on thinking smarter and more innovatively about your life and career.  There is no start point.  No end point.  You can start during any week.  You can also feel free to scroll through past postings for additional stimulus.

Want to Improve your team’s innovation confidence by 70%

Have them attend one of the 3 day Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute.

Ohio July 12-14
Wyoming August 25-27
Maine – September 27-29
Arkansas Nov 15-17

Sign up information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

Contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454 for details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Alumni, U Maine Alumni or for group pricing.

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.8443

Filed under: 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering | No Comments »

Purpose: The purpose of this web publishing series is to help instill the 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering as a habit of everyday living.   The process is inspired by  Ben Franklin’s system for continuous improvement. (details at bottom of posting).

For those who have just graduated from the Topeka Kansas Leadership Institute held last week – and are looking to understand how to Get Started click here.

This week’s focus is on PROFITABILITY

The overt benefit of pursuing innovation is increased profitability. Research by Georgia Tech finds that companies who pursue innovation as a core business strategy realize a 50% higher profit margin. This occurs because innovation helps you escape the marketplace forces that seek to make all offerings commodities – that can be purchased at the lowest price.

Profitability has two components – price and cost.  This week we’ll be focusing on what research indicates is the more difficult of the two – pricing.   Analysis of 1,000+ innovation concepts finds that pricing is the most difficult variable to estimate when developing innovations.  I think this anxiety comes from the uncertainty associated with how meaningfully unique our offering really is.

Often pricing starts out simple – you charge “X amount” for “Y product or service.”   However, as market forces become involved the real price often moves as various deals are struck, elements added, terms negotiated, etc.

LET’S DO IT – Practical Learning Tasks This Week:

Do one or more of these or create your own ways to explore profitability.  Either way – Invest at least 2 hours this week on exploring profitability. If you are a non-profit look hard at your “donation requests”.

a.  Reality Check: Review not only what you charge but what you actually receive. Understand what “extras” and “discounts” are actually occurring.  Then think about how you can adapt and adjust to maximize profitability.

b.  Price List and Bundling: Look across your price list and compare how you bundle your offerings and how customers actually purchase.  Explore ideas for packaging your offerings in different ways.  If possible, offer three bundles (good, better, best) setting up the middle one as your most profitable.  Research indicates that when customers are offered three choices they are most likely to purchase the middle offering.

c.  Pricing Head to Head: Dig DEEP into the pricing and bundles that you sell versus your competition.  Don’t assume you know what competition charges.  Find out.  Contact customers, your sales staff and check web published price lists if available.  Look into the “fine print” on contracts and terms that you offer versus competitors.  Based on these – think how you can adjust and adapt to give yourself an edge versus the competition.

Background on 13 Virtues Project

Ben Franklin identified a set of 13 virtues for living. As he explained, “I conceived a bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He soon found that working on all of them at one time was too difficult.  “I concluded that contrary habits had to be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on improved conduct.” He created a plan where we worked on each virtue once a week.  In 52 weeks he could complete four cycles of the 13 virtues.

As part of the Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute we teach 13 virtues that capture the essence of the program.  Each week I post a writing on one of the 13 virtues. The goal is to provide stimulus to your thinking and to encourage you to take action this week – every week – on thinking smarter and more innovatively about your life and career.  There is no start point.  No end point.  You can start during any week.  You can also feel free to scroll through past postings for additional stimulus.

Want to Train Your Team?

Have them attend Innovation Engineering Leadership Institutes – three intense days where they learn how to lead the Creation, Communication and Commercialization of Meaningfully Unique Ideas

- Ideas for Profitable Growth for Companies
- Ideas for Sustainability for Non-Profits

To see Testimonials from the program click here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmrx6yDMTJ4

Upcoming Dates

Ohio – July 12-14, 2010
Wyoming – August 25-27, 2010
Maine – September 27-29, 2010
Arkansas – Nov 15-17, 2010

Further information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

For details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Engineering Alumni  contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch clients and alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.8443

Filed under: 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering | No Comments »

Purpose: The purpose of this writing series is to help instill the 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering as a habit of everyday living.   The process is inspired by  Ben Franklin’s system for continuous improvement. (details at bottom of posting)

INSIGHT MINING

Ideas at their most basic are sparked by making connections.

Insight Mining feeds the brain with customers based stimulus to spark fresh ideas.

At it’s simplest Insight Mining starts with simply spending time with your customers.

• Observing how they use and abuse your product or service.

• Holding a conversation about likes, dislikes and frustrations.

• Asking them simple questions such as…

What would be such a wow that you’d be willing to pay more money for it?

If you could wave a magic wand, other than low price. what would you wish our product or service did for you?

From these observations new ideas are inspired that can make life easier for your customers.

I’m reminded of a company that distributed parts to auto repair shops.  Each month their suppliers provided special offers however few if any repair shops took advantage of the offers.  By physically spending time at their customers repair shops – watching customers open the parts that their company had shipped to the shop – the idea was inspired to put at the top of each package a flyer with the hottest deals that month.  A simple idea – that dramatically increased repair shop purchasing of manufacturer funded special deals.

LET’S DO INSIGHT MINING – Do one or more of these or create your own way to mine for insights from your customers.  Ideally, invest at least 2 hours this week on Insight Mining.

a. See, Hear, Smell, Touch:  Spend at least one hour in person with two of your customers.  Experience the process of then using your product or service.   Hold a simple conversation about likes, dislikes and frustrations. And ask one of the two questions detailed above.

b. Hold a Conversation:  Spend at least two hours ON THE PHONE with your customers.  Hold a simple conversation about likes, dislikes and frustrations. And ask one of the two questions detailed above.

c. Internal Customers & Suppliers:  If your “customer” is an internal customer for example – you work in production”and your “customer” is packaging – then you should spend time in packaging.  Spend an hour with your customer. Then, also spend an hour with your “supplier.”  In the example given above spend time with the raw materials or buying department.   Again, listen and learn their likes, dislikes and frustrations.   Apply what you’ve learned from your internal suppliers and customers to creating Meaningful  Innovations that can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your interactions.

Background on 13 Virtues Project: Ben Franklin identified a set of 13 virtues for living. As he explained, “I conceived a bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He soon found that working on all of them at one time was too difficult.  “I concluded that contrary habits had to be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on improved conduct.” He created a plan where we worked on each virtue once a week.  In 52 weeks he could complete four cycles of the 13 virtues.

As part of the Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute we teach 13 virtues that capture the essence of the program.  Each week I post a writing on one of the 13 virtues. The goal is to provide stimulus to your thinking and to encourage you to take action this week – every week – on thinking smarter and more innovatively about your life and career.  There is no start point.  No end point.  You can start during any week.  You can also feel free to scroll through past postings for additional stimulus.

Want to Train Your Team?

Have them attend Innovation Engineering Leadership Institutes – three intense days where they learn how to lead the Creation, Communication and Commercialization of Meaningfully Unique ideas.

Kansas – June 16 – 18, 2010

Ohio July 12-14, 2010

Prince Edward Island Canada – August 16-18, 2010

Wyoming August 25-27, 2010

Maine – September 27-29, 2010

Arkansas Nov 15-17, 2010

Further information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

For details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Engineering Alumni  contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch clients and alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.8443

Filed under: 13 Virtues of Innovation Engineering | 1 Comment »

The most common question I get when teaching Innovation Engineering® – either at the University of Maine or at Leadership Institutes around the world is….“How do we get started with innovation?

The answer….

To quote Nike — JUST DO IT

To quote Sir Richard Branson – SCREW IT LET’S DO IT

To quote Dr. Ben Franklin – WELL DONE IS BETTER THAN WELL SAID

Innovation is a mindset.  It’s a bias for discovery and adventure.   It’s NOT about pondering, planning or seeking permission.  Quite simply you need to just go for it…thinking about ways to create, communicate and commercialize meaningfully unique ideas.

STEP BY STEP Innovation Acceleration of Established Projects

I believe the best place to start with innovation is with accelerating and improving existing projects as opposed to starting new projects.  Existing projects are already in motion – and thus are easier to get acceleration on.

What this doesn’t mean is – mindlessly executing the projects as defined.  Rather, it’s your job to restart, reboot, reinvent the existing projects making them more impactful, meaningful and profitable.  Here’s the process – step by step…

Step 1: Honest Conversation

Start by asking your self and your team the PURPOSE of the project.   Be brutally honest about why you’re doing the project.

The honest conversation starts with understanding WHO, WHAT and HOW.

WHO is the “customer” for this project (external or internal)

WHAT is the Meaningfully Unique benefit PROMISE

HOW will the promise be accomplished – what PROOF do we have

Recently, I coached two teams working on new services for their customers.  I asked the simple question “why should I (the customer) care?    I asked again and again.  In both cases it quickly became clear that while there was something “unique” it was not “meaningfully unique” for customers.

Both projects then came to a full stop.  The teams are engaging in deep Stimulus Mining to find new insights and ideas. Then, they will use the Innovation Engineering tools (taught at Leadership Institutes and detailed in my book Jump Start Your Business Brain) to diversify their thinking.  In this case, we are coaching them with one-day Eureka! Jump Starts but it could be done more informally.

Step 2: Clear and Simple Written Concept

The honest conversation (with yourself and your team) continues with the writing of a written concept that articulates the customer proposition (promise and proof).   Written concepts clarify thinking and ensure clarity of communication among team members.

Step 3: Every Week Take Steps To Resolve & Dissolve The Biggest Death Threats

With clarity of purpose you next identify the death threats (issues, unknowns, barriers, challenges) that lie between you and success.  You then start problem solving the biggest issues using your Innovation Engineering tool box.  For example you use TRIZ to shake up your thinking, use INSIGHT MINING to identify what are the most meaningful benefits you could offer, use CHECK LISTS to identify fresh ideas for maximizing uniqueness, use DON”T SELL ME to articulate Overt Benefits, etc..

Each week, every week make steady progress resolving death threats.  If your project is an exploratory one for a new product, service, customer, market, or process improvement you should invest 10 to 20% of your time working on the initiative each week for the first 90 days.

Step 4: Once a Month Step Back for a Reality Check

Every 4 weeks step back and assess the entire project.  Honestly assess the Customer Promise, Product/Service Reality and the Profit Formula  Most importantly assess your and your organization’s PASSION for the project.  Formally make a statement YES, NO, YES BUT.  Yes, we should keep going on the project.  No, we should stop it.  Yes But, we should keep going but should change our Purpose, Promise or Method (Proof).

Step 5: Every 100 Days Investment Decision

If your project is an exploratory project it’s now to time to make real decisions.  If the project is a go – it’s time to either provide significant staffing and support or to have an honest conversation about putting the idea on hold temporarily or killing the project.   In large organizations this is where the project becomes someone’s job. The process continues – a) Each week address Death Threats, b) Each month step back for a Reality Check and c) Every 100 days reevaluate the investment decision.

If you don’t have any existing projects to accelerate then the process begins in a more classical fashion:  1) Stimulus Mining, 2) Diversify Thinking, 3) Ideas to Paper, 4) Fail FAST Fail CHEAP Get SMART cycles of learning.

Want to Train Your Team?

Have them attend Innovation Engineering Leadership Institutes – three intense days where they learn how to lead the Creation, Communication and Commercialization of Meaningfully Unique ideas.

Kansas – June 16 – 18, 2010

Ohio July 12-14, 2010

Prince Edward Island Canada – August 16-18, 2010

Wyoming August 25-27, 2010

Maine – September 27-29, 2010

Arkansas Nov 15-17, 2010

Further information available at www.InnovationEngineering.info

For details on special pricing for co-workers of Innovation Engineering Alumni  contact Jesse at the University of Maine, Foster Innovation Center  207.581.1454

For details on special pricing for Eureka! Ranch clients and alumni contact Bruce at 513.375.8443

Filed under: Innovation Systems | 2 Comments »

I did some work with Scottish Enterprise yesterday and they showed me the results of a recent survey on what drives innovation in Scotland and the EU

It’s from a massive survey of SME companies.

Four charts in particular were particularly revealing

WHY INNOVATE – Top 3 Reasons

Sales Growth 72%
Gross Profit Growth 56%
Operating Income Growth 44%

WHY INNOVATE OTHER THAN FOR FINANCIAL PURPOSES – Top 3 Reasons

Keeps products competitive 63%
Increased Employee development and satisfaction 50%
More motivated workforce 47%

WHAT DO GREAT INNOVATIVE COMPANIES DO?

Make significant use of new technology 70%
Collaborate on innovation with others 67%
Continuously improve skills in all factors related to ideas generation, management and follow up 58%

WHAT ARE THE TOP KILLERS OF AN INNOVATION CULTURE?

Tied to routine and past practice 75%
Hierarchy that slows progress 59%
Controlling and negative 47%

Filed under: Doug's Soap Box, Random Wit & Wisdom | 2 Comments »

Yesterday I spent the day in meetings in Washington DC talking to various parts of the Federal government on how to accelerate innovation driven business development in the USA.

As I reflected on the meetings this morning I realized that what I “saw” was very different than my perceptions of Washington and not at all like the perceptions the media gives us.

Here’s a run down of my  meetings yesterday…

Read more »

Filed under: Doug's Soap Box | 2 Comments »

Reading the front page of today’s USA Today business section I found that the key stories tell everything you need to know about innovation.

1. Suzuki has a new Car that “could lift the automaker out of obscurity in the USA”

• Lesson:  The power of innovation to transform sales success

2. Linux Raps harder at company doors

• Lesson:  Open source is a competitor to all industries.  It’s both a tool and a threat.

3. Wall Street feels wrath of man on the street

• Lesson:  The interconnected world makes it easier for customers to find out what you have or don’t have.   Therefore – be REAL – be GENUINE and don’t cheat!

4. Nokia says I Phone infringes on patents

• Lesson: Patents are no longer optional.  Every business person needs to think about them – patent and IP strategy can no longer be “outsourced” to the legal department.   I spent the summer learning about this “stuff” so to teach it in my classes at U Maine this fall.  I was AMAZED at how ignorant I was.

5. McCormick & Schmicks – ad – meals from $19,95

In today’s economy – it’s about VALUE for the money – those that overcharge for “image and design” are dead.  It’s time to do what Apple does – FUNCTION First – design second.

There are more – but I have to get off to a day filled with meetings here in Washington DC.

Cheers

Filed under: Doug's Soap Box, Random Wit & Wisdom, Science of Creativity | 2 Comments »

Just watched Crystal Pepsi Ad – it’s been a long time since we worked on it.

It was supposed to be the “more refreshing cola – because of no sticky caramel aftertaste”  somehow from concept to execution it didn’t quite make it.

Filed under: Science of Sales & Marketing | 1 Comment »