Beyond The Obvious Translations Available in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese
When I signed my book deal with Hyperion to publish my book, Beyond The Obvious, it also included global rights. What this meant was that Hyperion purchased the right to have Beyond The Obvious translations in any language they choose. As an update, Beyond The Obvious has now been translated and rel
The Impossible Project: Take something old and make it new again.
What if your best new business idea is simply a way to make an old idea new again? That is the question asked by the drivers behind The Impossible Project, a leap of faith effort to bring back analog instant photography invented by Polaroid. In 2008, Polaroid announced it would dismantle all product
Having Engaged Employees is an Essential Part of Innovation
It is hard to imagine that a company can be truly successful if its employees are not adequately motivated and engaged. When you have engaged employees, they take a personal interest in the success of their company. Otherwise, they are likely to do what is expected but lack the motivation to go much
5 Steps to Avoid Burnout and Complete Your Project
As much as we may eagerly anticipate the completion of a project, we would probably be lying if we did not admit to some burnout or fatigue along the way. Even in the event of a killer thesis, a dynamite business proposal, or a practical play-by-play game plan, there still remains the actual work re
Post-It Notes: 4 Lessons for Innovators
I love the behind-the-scenes story of Post-it notes. How many of these little, yellow sorta-stickies are flagged around your house or your office? Did you know they were originally a mistake? A very fortunate mistake. As the story goes, Spencer Silver was a skilled chemist and a very smart man. In 1
Technology and Invention: The Smart Wheel Promises Big Impact for Congested Cities
Previously, I introduced you to the invisible bicycle helmet, a creative safety concept out of Sweden that tucks an inflatable helmet inside a fashionable collar and deploys in a crash. Bicycling enthusiasts have another game-changing invention: the FlyKly Smart Wheel. FlyKly Smart Wheel: The smark
A Moment of Inspiration
A wonderful piece on Inc.com highlights how a moment of inspiration — extracting a cork from a wine bottle — resulted in The Innovation Story of the Year — a new way to safely extract babies stuck in the birth canal. Also reported in the New York Times last month, the story of Argentine car mechanic
Ingenuity in Africa Is Alive and Well
We’ve finally arrived in Rwanda and settling in. In the first few days, I’ve been getting familiar with the fish farm, the business we’ve invested in so that the profits can fund the Rwanda child rescue home. The image is of the staff catching and moving fish from one pond to the another. My first [
4 Ways To Find Motivation in Times of Burnout
Some days, we wake up raring to get at our day, fueled with passion and creativity to do the work we know sets us apart from the crowd. No need to go on a search and find motivation. Its just there! Other days…not so much. There are times when even the most inspired and resilient […]
What are the innovations emerging from Africa?
I don’t know (yet) what innovations are emerging from Africa but as part of the Pay-It-Forward Project, we will be spending the holidays in Africa (Rwanda specifically). We will arrive in Africa on December 14th and return to Colorado on January 3rd (just in time for CES) – with regular updates/pho
