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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.

The Wine Bottle: Ripe for Packaging Innovation S14 Ep38

Download The_Wine_Bottle_Ripe_for_Packaging_Innovation_S14_Ep38.mp3 When delivery fails, it costs in more ways than one.  In today’s show, I talk with Santiago Navarro, founder and CEO of Garçon Wines.  Santiago shares his unique solution to a constraint that caused major problems for his

packaging innovation

Don’t Let the Funnel Dry Up! Create an Innovation Challenge S14 Ep37

Download Dont_Let_the_Funnel_Dry_Up__Create_an_Innovation_Challenge_S14_Ep37.mp3 For innovation leaders, one of the hardest tasks is keeping the innovation funnel full.  Yet, this is key to sustaining an innovation effort. What’s worked for me is to create an innovation challenge.  Today’s

Innovation Challenge

Idea Ranking

Once you’ve generated your ideas the next step is idea ranking to determine the potential to become innovations. So, how do you decide which ideas to work on? The typical innovation process leaves that decision to the senior-level managers, which seems like a logical choice. They’re senior, so they

IDEA RANKING

A Change Maker in the Innovation Game S14 Ep36

Download A_Change_Maker_in_the_Innovation_Game_S14_Ep36.mp3 Big corporate innovation or startup getting off the ground, the challenges are similar.  Amy Radin knows something of both. She went from direct marketing to becoming the first Chief Innovation Officer of Citibank.  Now she advises startups. Her latest

change maker

Cell phones and the value chain

Your customers will change the way they use your products in ways you don’t currently anticipate. Do you remember when you got your first cell phone? I was living in Chicago when the city was selected for the first FCC trial of a cell-phone network in 1984, and I jumped at the chance to try […]

value chain

Six Practices of Successful Innovators

Innovations surround us.  Things we enjoy and rely on everyday are thanks to successful innovators.  These are people who had an idea and, through hard work and creativity, turned it into an amazing innovation.  In what ways did these people think differently? What practices made them successful? Ma

successful innovators

A Future Look: Top Innovations, Teaching the Future, Tomorrow’s Healthcare S14 Ep35

Download A_Future_Look__Top_Innovations_Teaching_the_Future_Tomorrows_Healthcare_S14_Ep35.mp3 Today we delve into the future.  I discuss topics in three areas: top innovations, teaching the future, and tomorrow’s healthcare.  What innovations will have the most impact on our future? What can we do today

top innovations

What Products Could I Create Out of Unused Assets

I’m an innovation guy. It may not say so on my business card, but that’s what I do.   I encourage people, whether inside HP or in my meetings with customers around the world, to accept that they and their product are going to have to change.   No matter

What Products Could I Create Out of Unused Assets

Gray wave and assisted living

So, how do you determine where you, as an individual or a business, will be in five years? You can’t say where exactly you’re going because you can’t predict what’s going to happen in the world. However, you can challenge yourself to change. In 2001 Apple’s sales figures were in decline. The company

Gray wave

Weak Signals

“Weak signals” are the equivalent of a canary in a coal mine. They are the unspoken needs and wants of your customers, and they are also the arrows pointing to what your customers are going to need and want in the future, even if they themselves don’t know it yet. If you pay attention to […]

Weak Signals