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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.

Why Do Questions Matter For Your Success?

One day when my kids were still little I was sitting in the car with my daughter Tara. She was about four years old at the time, and as we drove down the street she noticed the curb along the side of the road and got curious about it. Suddenly I was fielding question after […]

Questions Matter

The Innovation Nursery: Technology Growth in the Midwest S14 Ep15

Download The_Innovation_Nursery-_Technology_Growth_in_the_Midwest.mp3 What brought a successful Wall Street investor and a lauded entrepreneur to Central Ohio?  Flavio Lobato and John D’Orazio, Ikove Capital Co-Founders, saw amazing innovation where few were looking.  To cultivate technology growth in the Midwest, Ikove Capital developed

innovation nursery

Who is using my product in a way I never intended and how

Once a product has sold, it’s pretty much out of your control. You may have an idea why people will buy it, and what they’ll do with it, but the most you can ever do is guess. So why are you assuming that you know what your customer

Who is using my product in a way I never intended and how

Is The Current Innovation Refresh Rate A Good Thing?

As the retired CTO of a major technology company, I was surrounded by visual clues that clearly indicate when a tech product is headed to the gadget graveyard. Most of the time, it’s hard to ignore these clues, because they are pretty obvious. I see them in meetings with my coworkers or customers wh

refresh

Look in New Directions to Create the Unexpected and Spark Innovation S14 Ep14

Download Look_in_New_Directions_to_Create_the_Unexpected_and_Spark_Innovation_S14_Ep14.mp3 At the Innovation Boot Camp, I had a chance to talk with Kym McNicholas.  We’ve both been traveling.  Kym’s made stops in Europe and Asia to promote medical innovations.  I’ve driven 12,

innovation

Inspiring Innovation: A 5 Minute Challenge

Inspiring innovation seems more like an art than any kind of skill or science. The sudden spark that results in an exciting new idea seems random – like it came out of the blue. Studies have shown what seems random was actually inspired by something your did, read or saw in the past. Inspiring Innov

New Podcast 5 Minutes To New Ideas with Phil Mckinney

Can I recombine existing components to create new products for customers I don’t currently serve?

Magazine publishers are in the same predicament as the book-publishing and recording industries before it. How do you keep your customers believing that your content is worth paying for when there is endless free content available on the Internet? Some fashion magazines are experimenting with making their print issues feel

Can I recombine existing components to create new products for customers I don’t currently serve?

Are There Bad Questions And Good Questions?

The more I started to look at questions and how essential they are to fostering creativity and innovation, the more I realized that there are bad questions and there are good questions. And within those good questions, some just aren’t relevant to the process of ideation. The key is to develop the a

Are There Bad Questions And Good Questions?

Non-Obvious Innovation, Non-Obvious Location S14 Ep13

Download Non-Obvious_Innovation_Non-Obvious_Location_S14_Ep13.mp3 Take a look in an unexpected direction and discover non-obvious innovation.  One entrepreneur is building solutions to meet basic needs in rural and urban slums of India.  Hasit Ganatra is founder of ReMaterials.  His company designs and produces the ModRoof, roofing for

Non-Obvious Innovation

Can I create an on-demand version of the product?

Do you need to have a finished product in order to make a sale? Is there any way that not offering a finished product would actually give you an advantage, or even become a selling point? My children have long since outgrown toys, but my grandkids have more than once

Can I create an on-demand version of the product?