Georgia Needs a Revolution

I should clarify the Republic of Georgia needs several revolutions related to innovation to build its economy.

Currently Georgia is focusing all of its attention on tourism. There is a challenge here, the only tourism that Georgia has to offer is small niche tourism. One of the current initiatives is to develop their tourism related to wine. This is perfectly fine but will not generate the revenue required to rejuvenate or invigorate Georgia's economy.  Although it is a great starting point for building the local economies. 

Challenges Facing S-Curve Analysis

S-Curve analysis is an incredible tool for determining which strategy a company should use when developing new products or determining which types of innovation are required to make your products competitive. Although in a changing world the S-Curve is facing new challenges that it lacks the capabilities to accommodate.

Finding Balance between Profit and Geopolitical Social Responsibility

Generally speaking western organizations are geared towards one main goal and that happens to be making profit regardless the cost. This shareholder driven lust for profit can have a significant and detrimental impact on the world at large and on the organization itself. This leads us to an important question, is there another way? Could companies maintain good profit while at the same time focusing on sustainability and social responsibility? Do organizations need to chase profits recklessly and often at the expense of the people that they are supposed to be serving? In my opinion this is not the only way; this is a very narrow minded and short sighted means of conducting business that inevitably leads to unsustainability.

When we think of social responsibility we think of tangible aspects that we can see and touch. Ones that have visible results and are geared at maintaining better brand images aimed at sustainability. One great example of this is organizations making a dedicated effort to go green or become eco-friendly. After all when an organization reduces it greenhouse gas emissions it is highly visible and can be shown to the public. 

The Importance of Communication in Innovation

Innovation is synonymous with change. Needless to say, change for most people is something terrifying and much harder to accept than the status-quo. Since in the end innovation is basically change you must expect the result to be fear and resistance is inevitable.

One of the leading causes of failure in any change process is the lack or vagueness in regard to communicating change. When people are kept in the dark it leads to an even greater fear related to change, the fear of the unknown.

When it comes to innovation this is particularly true due to some of the functions that your change such as innovation of internal processes, business models, or organizational restructuring. In these situations people could perceive threats where the are none. In these situations you must communicate every aspect of the change in detail and show the benefits of this change to the employees.

Importance of Innovation in Emerging Economies:The Republic of Georgia

The Republic of Georgia is a small country just east of the black sea. Bordered to the north by Russia and to the south by Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It is known for its rich heritage of wine making and has started developing a tourist industry that revolves around its expertise in wine making.

Innovation Management Aimed at Sustainability

This is a more personal post for me due to the fact that it relates to how my specialization has changed me. When I was younger I had a tendency to be quite idealistic. As I aged, like many people I migrated from being idealistic to being significantly more cynical. This conversion is not hard to explain due to the burdens put on us by life in general.

In reflecting on the process I just went through for my specialization,  I realized that it had awakened a piece of me long thought lost. That is the concept that by understanding innovation and innovation management  people do have a means of changing the world. Now this doesn't mean that I have completely given up cynicism, it means that by understanding the innovation process we can work towards sustainability. It also encompasses the concept that doing so is not necessarily mis-aligned with the needs of business.

The Embedded Innovation Paradigm

The Embedded Innovation Paradigm

The embedded innovation paradigm takes a new approach to how an organization develops geared at creating sustainability. This new approach focuses on the concept mentioned in my last post regarding business intimacy. The whole purpose of this model is to integrate the organization within the community being targeted.

By integrating into the community the organization adds a significant competitive advantage in the sense that it builds consumer trust and a long term relationship.

What is Business Intimacy?

For this post we will be examining the concept of the business intimacy.

So what is business intimacy? At its heart business intimacy is a relationship in which the identity of the community at large is fused with that of the organization. The organization not only defines itself by the bottom line but includes factors structured around providing a better life for the community it serves.

The Importance of Incremental Innovation

When people think of innovation they think of the concept of the breakthrough. Everybody loves a breakthrough. Just look at what digital imaging did to film. A breakthrough technology that completely disrupted an entire industry in a relatively short period of time. When breakthroughs take place the fact of the matter is that people take notice and it can have a significant impact on the world at large. This is why breakthroughs are important and recognized.

Needless to say people generally don't recognize incremental innovation as a part of innovation. After all if you create a new technology that only improves upon existing technology what is there to take notice of. A great example of this would be making minor improvements to the reception of a cellphone antenna.

Emerging Trends in Innovation Innovation of Business Models

Innovative Business Models are Fascinating

In my honest opinion, there is just something about creating a new way of doing things that appeals to me. In turn the question becomes why are innovative business models so appealing. Quite often it stems from the fact that once implemented the change seems almost obvious and one begins to wonder why didn't I think of that. It is this concept of noticing something obvious that others never thought about that gives such a sense of satisfaction.

Appealing Innovation 3:Urban Automated Flight

This post is all about automated flight in urban environments. Although I would like to take this chance to put forth the idea of integrating these to concepts into one system. After all this is what innovation is all about seeing an idea and wanting to make it better.

The first is a spherical flying robot that flies in such an interesting manner I couldn't help but fall in love with the design. Hovering around the room in a manner that one could only associate it with science fiction.

The second is a system for automated flight in tightly confined urban environments the doesn't require GPS as a means of navigation.

Appealing Innovation 2: Google's Self-Driving Car

The Future of Driving

Google is bringing driving into the future. My next appealing innovation post is dedicated to the Google's Self Driving Car. When one thinks of innovation the concept of a car that drives itself takes the cake. As this technology is perfected it will completely change our daily lives. Just imagine a small car designed to take children to school and activities, or the ability to reduce the number of deaths related to drunk driving.

The possibilities are endless and as you can see from the video below this technology is already improving one person's life in a completely fundamental way. The first owner of the Google Self Driving Car is blind. This car will give him the freedom to travel as he likes without relying on others.

Appealing Innovation Lego Mindstorms NXT

Introduction to Appealing Innovation

This is my first in a series of posts about innovations that I find enjoyable and very appealing.

This series is dedicated to products, services, and processes that either inspire innovation or have the possibility of changing the current world in some fashion. I must admit this series is inspired by a project that I was assigned for my Innovation Management specialization. I was tasked with choosing a product that I personally found appealing in the sense of innovation. For this project I chose the Lego Mindstorms NXT due to its ability to inspire Innovation.

The S-Curve

I would like to take the time to explain the concept of the Innovation S-Curve. As you can see below the concept of the S-Curve is used to determine performance in regard to time or effort. These are extremely important due to the fact that understanding where you are in regard to this system determines how you should proceed in regard to innovation strategy. It can also assist you in understanding your current risks and how to avoid certain pit-falls common to products or services in certain phases of maturity.

What Exactly is Innovation & Innovation Management

Innovation management is quite a confusing concept for many people. After all how can one manage innovation, not to mention what exactly is innovation? What makes these questions interesting and even more confusing is the fact that if you ask twenty different innovation managers the same questions you will get twenty different explanations as to what innovation is and any number of methodologies to manage innovation.