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The recent successes of the dramas War Horse and Birdsong have revived interest in World War I and probably reinforced some stereotypes. The Great War of 1914 to 1918 was an extremely bloody conflict with more than 9 million combatants killed. It was characterised by static lines of defence and attacks which were repulsed with [...]  Necessity is the mother of invention. And pain can be the father of innovation. Whenever you or your customer has a problem, an inconvenience, a difficulty or a pain there is an opportunity for innovation. A new product or service is called for to alleviate the pain. Nick D’Aloisio is a 16 year old London [...] Many CEOs and leaders talk about the importance of innovation in their organisations. But often their words are bland and vague – just a form of management-speak. If you want people to really believe then why not explain exactly what you mean with a Declaration of Innovation. The Declaration of Innovation is a statement of [...] When consumer spending falls, as it has recently, retail becomes a desperately competitive business. The natural reaction is to compete on price with sales, customer discount coupons and special offers. However, there is always scope for innovation and as we walk down the high street we can see imaginative retail approaches to the business of [...] Edwin Land (1909 – 1991) was an American inventor who had studied Chemistry. On holiday he took a photograph of his three year old daughter. She asked why she could not see the result straight away and she kept asking why. Land pondered this question and an idea formed in his mind. He went on [...] A common complaint that I hear when I run innovation workshops is this, ‘I have plenty of really creative ideas but my boss just isn’t interested in trying anything new. What can I do?’ Let’s leave aside the possibility that this view is itself distorted and take it at face value. It is a tricky [...] Companies that want innovative and imaginative new ideas are increasingly working with outside scientists or even students says Carly Chynoweth in this article from the Sunday Times. Builder’s Breakfast crisps, Olay Regenerist skin cream and Red Lake gold mine in Canada have one thing in common: they are all based on ideas developed by outsiders. [...] Very often a business problem turns into an opportunity for innovation. A good example concerns Japan Railways East, one of the world’s largest rail carriers. During the 1980s they constructed a new high-speed railway line running north of Tokyo. This involved drilling a long tunnel under a huge mountain, Mount Tanigawa. Once the tunnel [...] The traditional top-down structure in organizations can be a powerful inhibitor to innovation. It is a reflection of a command and control style of leadership where orders are issued at the top and followed by the ranks. People lower down the organization who have great ideas can feel inhibited about promoting them. They feel it [...] Try this exercise. Draw a flow chart diagram of your organisation’s approval process for innovations. Pick an example for a theoretical new idea. Suppose it is a good idea to improve customers’ satisfaction that would involve significant spending and the co-operation of several departments. What levels of approval and authority would it need to see the light [...] |
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