Itinerant Innovation or Traveling TRIZ

Ellen Domb

There are two meetings this week.  See    http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/nakagawa/TRIZ/eTRIZ/ for the full final program of the Japan TRIZ Symposium.  We’ll have reports later in the week from traveler Paul Filmore. 

I’m reporting this week from the Business Innovation Conference … Read More

What’s Your Sign (Of Innovation)?

Jack Hipple

How many of you have seen one of Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy monologues? You know one of his favorite spots is his description of a certain behavior (usually not all the flattering, but funny), and then saying, “Here’s your sign!”, … Read More

Olympic TRIZ

Ellen Domb

Thanks to BusinessWeek for doing all the research for this article, Olympic Innovation (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/08/0807_olympic_innovation/index.htm), they have a great slide show and article about the innovations in Olympic equipment, whether non-Olympic athletes can buy it, and if yes, the details.  … Read More

BCG Innovation 2008 Report

James Todhunter

The Boston Consulting Group has released their latest report on innovation, “Innovation 2008: Is the Tide Turning?” As always, the BCG report provides some great insights on the state of innovation in business.

There are plenty of very interesting … Read More

The Mother of Invention?

Cass PursellI’m new to working in Supply Chain and am finding it extremely interesting, challenging, and critical to the long-term success of the organization. One thing that I’ve noticed in particular is that, more than for any other business function, … Read More

PDMA’s 32nd Annual International Conference

Katie Barry

The Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) is hosting its 32nd Annual International Conference September 15-17 in Orlando.

Why should you attend this event? Keynote speakers from companies including MIT, iRobot and IBM. Guru roundtables: small roundtable sessions with thought-leaders … Read More

Holiday TRIZ

Ellen Domb

It is holiday/vacation time for our northern hemisphere readers and authors, and that can be a great opportunity for TRIZ learning and practice.  

Many of our columns on how to learn TRIZ emphasize the need to practice, and … Read More

What Business Are You In?

Jack Hipple

With my activities in TRIZ, I am constantly thinking about function rather than jargon or business description. What function does my product allow someone to do? Not what do I sell them or what do they need. The function … Read More

Eat Soup With a Fork to Learn Innovation

Ellen Domb

My colleague Jim Belfiore at the Invention Machine Company has a great blog, with a mix of personal stories, professional observations, and just plain good writing.   

This column is a reprint of his recent blog, which is the … Read More

Perspective

Jack Hipple

$140 a Barrel –

By the time you read this, it may be higher. If you’re in Europe, the price has also gone up, but no where near as much. Why? Because we currently price oil in dollars and … Read More

The Hidden Innovator

Praveen Gupta

Recently, I came across the Invisible Employee book written by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. I read some statistics such as 25% of employees being driven to tears and 50% being verbally abused. My experience has taught that almost … Read More

Seven Killers of Innovation

Praveen Gupta

Corporate leadership understands innovation is important for success, employees understand how to innovate, and innovation occurs in every business. However, the extent and rate of innovation have been insufficient. I believe that following seven killers innovation suppress our innovation … Read More

Bad News Is Good!

Jack Hipple

Using Negatives as Positives for Innovation Strategy —

Frequently, we get caught up in “reacting” to what we believe is bad news or negative trends. We spend huge sums of money and divert resources from other activities to head … Read More

Can Innovation Be Learned?

James Todhunter

Reader Tim de Jardine raised the perennial question of “Can innovation be taught?”  It’s a question that comes up from time to time because of the persistent myth of the great thinker in the back room who is singularly … Read More

It’s Innovative, But Is That a Good Thing?

Cass Pursell(Or, Your metrics don’t go with those shoes)

Innovation Popcorn

James Todhunter

There are parallels visible in all aspects of life.  Recently, my personal experiences in the kitchen served as a reminder of how even small changes can have hidden complexities.

Years ago, based on concerns over the possible connection between … Read More

Why Is Innovation a Competition?

Ellen Domb

Business Week’s annual list of the top 25 innovation companies came out the same week (April 28, 2008) as the Fortune 500 list.  Big difference:   the Fortune 500 has an explicit algorithm involving revenue, profit, and other measurable factors.  … Read More

All Solutions Are Not Equal

Michael S. Slocum

Regardless of how extensively you deploy TRIZ, or some other systematic innovation engine, one of the first steps you take is to define your ideal state. In TRIZ, this is your Ideal Final Result (IFR), a philosophical construct … Read More

The Customer-Centered Innovation Map

Ellen DombHarvard Business Review’s “Tool Kit” article this month (May 2008) is “The Customer-Centered Innovation Map” by my colleagues Lance Bettencourt and Tony Ulwick.  With all the soft (squishy?) “how to be innovative” articles and books getting published these days, … Read More

Dogwood in the Moonlight

Lynda Curtin

Driving up the mountain to Big Bear from the desert below I was struck by the stark contrast between the dry sandy desert – plants not quite in spring bloom, and the snow sledding hills filled with families having … Read More