Generational Cycles – Imagine

Darrell Mann

Let’s play Spot The Baby-Boomer. Specifically those born in the ‘cusper’ period between 1961 and 1964. Some fell on the Boomer side of the fence, some ended up Xers. One way to spot the difference is look to … Read More

Patent of the Month – Nanowire Motor

Darrell Mann

We delve down into the micro-scale world for our patent of the month this month, and another lovely looking patent from the University of California, this time in San Diego. US 9,698,708 was granted on Independence Day. The … Read More

Does Innovation Capability Improvement Make Sense?

Darrell Mann

Here’s the kind of innovation data guaranteed to make me smile:

Figure 1: Data And Crackpot Rigour (Reference 1)

Not so much because of the original intent – which was, I think, to establish possible correlation … Read More

Evaluation principles of innovative products based on TRIZ algorithm

XIAO-DONG REN, HUI-MIN LI, YONG-MING LU,YAN-CHI WANG Engineering Practice Center ,University of Tongji,China

Abstract:

As a systematic method of innovation, Triz speeds up the process of people’s invention greatly and can obtain high quality innovative products. But it has’t … Read More

Case Study: Of David’s And Goliath’s

Darrell Mann

This is a true case study relayed to me at a recent workshop.

TRIZ/SI was not explicitly used during the definition or solution of the problem.

Rather, the case study is intended as an illustration of how Systematic … Read More

Case Study: Nationalisation Versus Privatisation

Darrell Mann

Politics depresses me. For the most part I try and stay away. I blame TRIZ. Or possibly Edward de Bono. Or possibly Socrates. He was the one that forced politicians into thinking the world had to be either … Read More

Biology – Cuckoo Eggs

Darrell Mann

The main attribute of the cuckoo is that it lays its eggs in other birds’ nests in order that other birds raise their offspring for them. We’ve mentioned this story in Issue 147 of the ezine. What we … Read More

Case Study: The Italian Job

Darrell Mann

The Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. For Brits of a certain age, it has become a cultural icon. In 2004, the … Read More

# Landscapes

Darrell Mann

A few months ago we introduced the concept of #-shaped people (Issue 183, June). The main idea was to start a discussion about the sorts of skills that the world needs in our post-truth, ‘had-enough-of-experts’ times. The world, … Read More

The Fence Paradox

Darrell Mann

The Fence Paradox: the safer the (human-built) world tries to make itself, the more dangerous it becomes. It’s a tough problem that seems to be getting tougher. It’s a problem that, when mapped into Systematic Innovation terms, looks … Read More

Divergence, Iteration & Operational Excellence

Darrell Mann

The Operational Excellence world abhors waste. Consequently, everyone working within such an environment is trained to sniff it out and eliminate it. When people have their waste-radars switched-on they can be pretty relentless when it comes to finding … Read More

Generational Cycles – Mid-Life Crises

Darrell Mann

I know not everyone reads this part of the ezine. It nevertheless follows the same philosophy as all the other parts of our research activity. And that includes the idea of constantly challenging what we find rather than … Read More

The Right Leader?

Darrell Mann

A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end… but not necessarily in that order. – Jean-Luc Godard (Film Director)

Who makes the best leader?

If you had to choose between JFK, Jack Welch, … Read More

Not Promoter Score

Darrell Mann

If you ever need to see evidence of how the Operational Excellence world optimizes itself into a cul-de-sac from which it can never seemingly return, you need look no further than the world of the Net Promoter Score … Read More

Patent of the Month – Target Neutralization

Darrell Mann

I love obvious. Sometimes a solution can look so obvious, you have doubts that it is real. Then you notice that the owner is Lockheed, so you realise, hmm, maybe there’s something interesting happening here. The solution in … Read More

Getting The Best Out Of The Contradiction Matrix

Darrell Mann

In light of the publication of the new version of the Contradiction Matrix for Business & Management problems, it felt like a good time to review different ways of using the various different Contradiction Matrix tools. We’ve had … Read More

Glass Half-Full And Half Empty

Darrell Mann

After a while it can get quite wearing. Either-or questions. Are you a glass-half-full person or a glass half empty person? Yes.

It depends. Right? But for some reason we love to put people in pigeon-holes. Anyone that … Read More

Command-And-Control Versus Self-Organising

Darrell Mann

One of the most frequent questions we receive regarding the TrenDNA book is, ‘why are you predicting the demise of command-and-control organisations?’ The prediction appears counter-intuitive, especially, perhaps, in light of the current economic and political turbulence which … Read More

Managing The (4H) Unknowns

Darrell Mann

A few years ago, I had the dubious fortune of working on a research project looking at laminar-flow wings for aircraft. The basic idea – the brainchild of a group of long-time bored aerodynamicists – was that if … Read More

Who Moved My TRIZ?

Darrell Mann

Once upon a time there was a land where everyone kept losing their keys. That’s everyone as in everyone. People lost their keys all the time. No matter what they did to try and make sure they didn’t … Read More