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Phil McKinney

Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

Be Willing To Be Weird

Below is the video and transcript for my commencement speech at ITU last month. The topic of the speech was on the entanglement of fear, failure and conformity. To be successful, we all must be willing to be weird. Be different. Use our creativity to win in the emerging creative economy. Note: The f

Be Willing To Be Weird

How NASA Technology has Turned Into Innovation for Many

Successful governments look to the future. They innovate. They find ways to make things more efficient, both in terms of time and in terms of money. Sometimes they develop incredible products that work better than they could have ever imagined, and used more widely than originally planned for. The p

How NASA Technology has Turned Into Innovation for Many

Innovation by Design: When Bad Designs Lead To Failed Innovations

Innovation is a process. It’s not just an idea that turns into a revolutionary product and changes the world. It takes work, trial and error, and most of all, design. Design can be the difference between a product, service, or experience that alters the way people live, and something that is forgott

Innovation by Design: When Bad Designs Lead To Failed Innovations

3 Businesses Creating Killer Innovations By Design

Creating solutions for problems is innovation at its core. However, as Einstein said, these solutions require thinking on a different level or in a different way. Sometimes this “different level” is referred to as “thinking outside of the box.” Unfortunately, this gives people the misconception that

3 Businesses Creating Killer Innovations By Design

Innovation by Design: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?

Innovation by design is the utilization of a designer’s methods and sensibility to address the customer's needs. Innovations in design bring new ideas to the design process, allowing designers to be more efficient and cost-effective.

Innovation by Design: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?

Ingenuity in Action: 3 Companies That Inspire Us to Think Outside the Box

Businesses do not become leaders of their industry by sticking to the norm. In order to climb to the top, it takes a little (or even a lot) of creativity and ingenuity. It requires businesses to think outside of the box. Let’s take a look at three companies that have done just that.      1. […]

Ingenuity in Action: 3 Companies That Inspire Us to Think Outside the Box

8 Bad Habits That Impact Your Creativity

Learning to think creatively is a critical part of creating change within your industry that could go on to change the world. If you’ve been chugging along using the same routine you’ve always used and stumbling past opportunities to be creative, make sure that you aren’t engaging in these eight bad

8 Bad Habits That Impact Your Creativity

10 Ways to Unleash Your Creativity Today

If you want to make your business as innovative as possible, you need lots of creativity and ingenuity. But how do you harness these qualities? Many people struggle to come up with creative new ideas or to think in untraditional ways. Here are some clear and actionable techniques to unleash your cre

10 Ways to Unleash Your Creativity Today

Innovation in the Classroom: Why Education Needs to Be More Innovative

Education is the foundation of our economy. What (and how) we learn in school determines who we become as individuals and our success throughout our lives. It informs how we solve problems, how we work with others, and how we look at the world around us. In today’s innovation economy, education beco

Innovation in the Classroom: Why Education Needs to Be More Innovative

The Future of Innovation: Where Creativity Meets Data

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle developed one of the most creative fictional characters of all time, a character that inspires remake after remake in movies, television shows, and books. People can’t get enough of Sherlock Holmes. But the reason that Doyle was able to captivate audiences with Holmes is becau

The Future of Innovation: Where Creativity Meets Data