Exploring Innovation

The Trip

 Setting Context. Background, Historical perspective, Needs.

 Inno’What? The what, why, where, who of innovation.

 Innovation Myths. & truths.

 Innovation Types. & levels.

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 Exploring Innovation
The Path

 It’s all about purpose. You can do it with Commitment & Passion.

 Learn to unlearn! or unlearn to learn! Psychological inertia.

 Purposeful play. Innovation is a game of ideas & resources; when it’s fun it’s
better.

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 Big Picture
Context & Needs

 Knowledge age NOT Information age!

 Multiple intelligences.

 Winners imagine the future NOT predict it.

 STEM-based skills alone not enough to be competitive.

 Innovation as capability.

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 Innovation
Historical Perspective

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 Innovation
In the beginning there was fire...

 Breaking news: man domesticates fire! Circa 50,000 years ago.

 Innovation is integral to the human story. As is evolution.

 Evolution of knowledge. Stone to metal, language, writing, art, numerals,

mechanization, electronic revolution, integration, knowledge-based economies.

You are Here!

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 Innovation
Framework
Understand
Problem
Practical Commitment Successful
&
tools Purpose Innovation
Context

Elements Elements Elements Elements

• Problem as System. • Frameworks. • Knowing ourselves. • Measuring success.
• Powerful questions. • Business processes. • Managing change. • Environment.
• Big picture & Context. • Creative tools. •Worthy goals. • Incentives.
• Whole-Brain thinking. • Nurturing creativity. • Leadership. • Sustained innovation.
• Analytical tools. • Discontinuities. • Passion & Vision. • Strategic innovation.
• Alignment. • Idea Generation. • Bravery.
• Resources. • Idea Evaluation. • Challenging convention.
• Idea Implementation. • Perseverance.
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 Innovation
a thought

Is innovation all about filling our world with stuff?

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 Innovation
Growth

Or
ga n
iz a
tio Personal
n al

m u n it y
Co m
Global
Aw a r e n e s s
Innovate to grow…
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 Innovation

 Innovation sustains human development & evolution through time.

 Desire to create and improve. But not all innovation is good.

 Value Creation. Monetary, value-added, non-value-added. Symbolic. Brand Equity. Connection. Spiritual.

 Improving the human condition. Positive impact on everyone & everything involved.

 Becoming the best we can be. It’s about purpose, goals & self-expression. Self-actualization.

 If necessity is the mother of invention, then Innovation is the mother of

necessity.

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 Innovation

 Innovation is neither invention nor creativity. Creativity is Innovation fuel.

 Innovation is a directed & collaborative process. Active participation.

 Innovation is a skill. Can be developed & improved through instruction & practice.

 Innovation is a journey. Strong sense of purpose & direction; destination not

predetermined.

 Innovation is about imagination NOT prediction. Informed by the past but

looks to the future.
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 Innovation
Where

 Your life! All aspects of your life are open for improvement & change. Innovate your life!

 Companies, schools, organizations, homes, institutions.

Basically anywhere there are people and things to do. Provided there are people thinking!

 On a sole tiny planet called Earth. Awareness. Global perspective.

Interconnectedness. Sustainable living economies.

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 Innovation

 It all starts with You. But ends with Us!

 Human Element. Corporations & Institutions can’t innovate, only people can!

 Communities. On-line & off-line. Crowd-sourcing. Distributed workflows/spaces.

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 Innovation
Great Innovators

Einstein Edison Da Vinci

Newton sustainovate.me © zoOZ 2011 Archimedes

 Innovation

 Reserved for special people. That’s true …YOU!!

 It’s an a-ha magical moment. Requires purpose, passion, vision and perseverance.

 The romanticized epiphany story. Newton & the Apple, Einstein and the clock, etc… absolves
us of responsibility and effort.

 The process is organized and predictable. It’s explorative, sometimes chaotic, uncertain,
with dead-ends, failures & laughter.

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 Innovation

What people
remember
A-Ha

What it actually Effort, exploration,

takes mistakes, dead –ends,
perseverance, failures

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 Innovation

 Google. Larry Page, Sergey Bin. No money in search

 Flickr. Serendipity.

 Youtube. Hot or Not!

 3M and post it notes. From mining to Post it.

 Apple. Steve Wozniac, entrepreneurship as last resort. Steve Jobs, connecting dots.

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 Innovation
What we know so far

 Innovation is not creativity. Innovation feeds on creativity to progress.

 Innovation is a creative process and learnt skill. Anybody can learn it and
become better at it.

 Innovation is a synergy of many sources and people. Collaboration, we not I.

 Innovation is big picture thinking and context-aware. Requires active

learning, engagement and thinking.

 Innovation is being ahead of the game. Anticipating & creating change not reacting to
it! Imagine & re-imagine the future.

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 Innovation
What we know so far

 Innovation should create positive value for all. Voice of stakeholders,

including the rivers, trees and all that shares this planet with us.

 Innovation is breaking some rules. Sometimes all of them!

 Innovation is applied knowledge. Moving towards an idealized result.

 Innovation is dreaming up the future not predicting it. Imagine the

future without hindrance by the past and precedence.

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 Innovation
loosely Defined

Innovation is a directed, collaborative, creative process of knowledge

application that solves challenges and creates value for all stakeholders.

It is a skill that can be developed by instruction and practice, and it

spans a continuum from personal creativity to innovation-based
economies and communities.

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 Innovation
Types

+  Fundamental. Radio waves. Telegraph, Theory of relativity, first flight,

Electricity, Transistor, Space flight, decoding the genome, Spintronics.

 Platform. Television, PC, Internet, semiconductor electronics, MEMS,

Value Interstate Highway system, Digital Signal Processing, PCR, Social Networking,
Web-video.
Difficulty
 Derivative. GPS enabled phones, Cloud computing, Software as Service,
Online education, TiVo, GMO, Viral Marketing, Art-psychotherapy

 Variation. Appliances with internet connection, tweets & re-tweets, mash-

ups, Flash memory key chain, Sofa beds,, Tablet PC’s, Bluetooth enabled devices.

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