Category: Uncategorized

Pioneer and Innovator Steve Shirley

Born Vera Buchthal in 1933 to a Jewish family in Dortmund, Germany, Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley’s life began amidst rising persecution. She was the daughter of a Jewish judge who lost his position under the Nazi regime. In 1939, aged five, she and her nine year old sister, Renate, were sent to Britain on a Kindertransport train, escaping the Holocaust as unaccompanied child... Read More--

The Most Innovative Large Companies in Europe

It is clear that Europe lags the USA in producing high growth innovative large companies. Europe does not have rivals to Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Nvidia, Netflix, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla. However, there are many small companies that are doing surprisingly well and some large ones which are more innovative than you might think. Identifying the “most innovative” large companies in... Read More--

Famous for being Anonymous

Here is a lateral idea – become famous by remaining anonymous. Banksy, an elusive street artist whose identity remains unknown, has left an indelible mark on the global art scene with his thought-provoking and often politically charged works. Emerging from the graffiti subculture in Bristol, England, Banksy gained international acclaim for his distinctive stenciled artworks that... Read More--

Ask an Absurd Question

Why would you ask a question that everyone knows the answer to? The great thinker and astronomer Carl Sagan asked this question, ‘Is there life on Earth?’ But he asked it from a different perspective; from the viewpoint of an unknowing observer far outside the Earth. In December 1990, NASA’s exploratory space probe, Galileo, was due to fly past Earth. Sagan persuaded NASA to point... Read More--

Lateral Thinking in Business Strategy

How can you differentiate your business from the competition? Let’s look at some examples of lateral thinking in business strategy and innovation. Nintendo Wii’s Motion Controls: What radical feature can we add? Nintendo introduced a major innovation with motion controls in the Wii gaming console, revolutionizing the gaming industry. This approach was creative and unexpected,... Read More--

Five Lateral Thinking Hacks

…..that you can make you a smarter problem solver Image by Elisa Riva on Pixabay   Edward de Bono was a thinker and writer whose recent passing is a great loss.  He coined the phrase lateral thinking in contrast to the conventional, routine thinking that we use every day. Lateral means coming at the problem from the side rather than head on.  It involves crafty approaches and is also known... Read More--

Treat Your Innovation Pipeline just like your Sales Pipeline

Managing the Sales pipeline is a well-developed executive skill in any company selling large ticket items to business customers.  Each sales person has to gather data and input their reports and forecasts.  Some of the key actions in managing the pipeline include: Qualification questions have to be answered.  Does the customer need our product?  Do they have a budget?  Are we in contact with... Read More--

Insights for Innovators from the Founding of Google

In 1973 Carl and Gloria Page, who both worked at Michigan State University, were blessed with a son.  Carl was a Professor of Computer Science and Gloria taught programming.  They called their son Lawrence though he was known as Larry.  At the age of six the boy was given a home computer, one of the very first models, and soon he was programming.  Larry was a precocious child and went on to study... Read More--

Everything that can be made can be made better.

Every man-made thing you use or see can be redesigned.  Every design can be improved upon.   The force and benefits of innovation can be applied to every thing, process, method or product that you can imagine. Take the humble egg carton that we are all familiar with.  It was designed 100 years ago by Joseph Coyle and it is such a good and practical design that we take it for granted.  The BBC... Read More--

Has the Innovation Engine run out of Steam?

The Economist recently ran a feature entitled, ‘Has the Ideas Machine broken down?’   The front cover showed a Rodinesque figure sitting on a toilet and pondering the question, ‘Will we ever invent anything as useful again?’ There are many pundits who think that the innovation engine which has powered the growth of the world economy is running out of steam.  Peter Thiel, one of the founders... Read More--