Innovation
These essays on innovation cover a wide range of topics, from the basics of innovation to detailed case studies and examples. Each essay is designed to give readers an understanding of the principles that drive innovation while providing practical advice on creating successful innovations. Through these essays, I aim to help readers better understand the process of innovation and use it more effectively in their own lives.
Innovating With Fresh Eyes
I’ve been in the innovation game for more than 30 years. Hard to believe. With that many years comes loads of experience but also some downsides. As with most things, when you’ve done something for a long time, you tend to fall into a pattern – a rut. You use your experience to recognize a […]
Innovate with Fresh Eyes
I’ve been in the innovation game for more than 30 years. Hard to believe. With that many years comes loads of experience but also some downsides. As with most things, when you’ve done something for a long time, you tend to fall into a pattern - a rut.
Constraint Based Innovation
One of the keys I’ve found to successful execution is constraint based innovation. It is exactly what it sounds like. When I’m in the execution phase of the innovation process and assigning teams to various ideas, I’ll ask them, “How long will it take for you to create the product?” Whatever answer
Pitch Your Best Idea
The next stage is to consider how these ideas might be implemented by your organization. Step one is to think about how to pitch your best idea. Look at the top ideas and say to yourself as the leader, “These are great ideas—how can we execute them?” The following questions will help you get to […]
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
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 […]
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 product or service to stay ahead
On October 4, 1957, Russia launched a beach-ball-sized satellite named Sputnik, which orbited the Earth in just over ninety-six minutes. The previous frontrunner in the space race, the United States, was now the runner up. Our only competitor had trounced us, seemingly out of nowhere. A month later the Russians
Who is passionate about my product
I’ve never shopped at the online craft marketplace Etsy.com or even any of its competitors. Not an area of interest for me as I’m not often in the market for hand-knitted iPod cozies, customized guitar cables, or the like. As for my wife and daughters – they are
What is surprisingly inconvenient about my product
What is surprisingly inconvenient about my product? The designers and engineers who work at HP face many challenges in getting their ideas signed off on. It’s a long process from an idea to a finished prototype. Before any product can hit the market, it faces one final test. I