Field Notes - November 2009

James Todhunter — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:51:09 -0500

Coming off my company’s global user conference, I started November with a two week, round the world trip visiting clients and partners in nine cities and six countries (France, Germany, U.K., China, South Korea, and Japan). Trips like this are great because they provide the opportunity to touch a broad cross section of industry, geography, and culture in the context of business and

Obama and Innovation – What You Said

James Todhunter — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:42:26 -0500

The old saying goes “Better late than never.” So while the Innovating To Win poll on governmental economic intervention and innovation closed two months, the results of the poll are at the bottom of this posting.

Reflecting On The Open Innovation Summit

James Todhunter — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:18:20 -0500

Last week I spent a few days at the inaugural edition of the Open Innovation Summit. Considering this was the first year for the event and that December is not a great month to host conferences in, I think it was well attended.

The conference had a single track of speakers, and most of them were very high quality. Some of the speaker that I most enjoyed were: Phil McKinney of HP, Russ Conser of Shell, Pramod Reddy of P&G, Moises Norena of Whirlpool, Helene Rutledge of GSK, Ed Rinker of Clorox, and Greg Fox of Cisco.

A Nose for Innovation

James Todhunter — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:17:30 -0500

Before leaving on my current world-wide innovation tour, I packed Robbie, my two year old Bernese Mountain Dog, into my car and drove to Top O’ The Hill Farm in Ayer, Massachusetts, to participate in a two day tracking workshop. It made for a fascinating weekend as Robbie and I learned the methods of tracking and observed our classmates in the process. Of course, I am always on the lookout for innovation lessons in everything, and this event provided many. Here are a few innovation lessons I took away from Robbie’s first foray into the world of tracking.

Report From Power To Innovate 2009

James Todhunter — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:13:37 -0400

What a week it was! Last Thursday and Friday Invention Machine held
its annual Power To Innovate conference. The event was well attended
and drew international representation of users of Invention Machine
Goldfire innovation software platform.

Finding New Market Opportunities Through Systematic Innovation

James Todhunter — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:57:48 -0400

It has been more than a year since the bottom fell out of the financial markets, and companies around the globe are still struggle to figure out which way is up. There are some early signs of hope, but the future is still is still masked by the murky cloud of uncertainty. Companies must find ways to not just survive but thrive. A return to growth is demanded by shareholders who feel the pain of depressed share prices. But where to turn for growth remains the question of the day.

Looking For Innovation? Try Looking In The Mirror!

James Todhunter — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:28:11 -0400

There are too many "innovators" around and not enough innovation... -- @dduhamel

Deloitte Poll Highlights Weak State of Innovation Practice

James Todhunter — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:06:49 -0400

In case you missed it, a recent on-line poll conducted by Deloitte
confirms the dismal state of innovation practice in companies. At a
time when companies need to produce more vehicles for value delivery to
climb out the financial doldrums, innovation is a vital force that can
be brought to bear on the challenge. Yet, most companies are not
prepared to meet the challenge. In the Deloitte poll, 31% of the
executives surveyed indicated that innovation happens by accident in
their company, and only 14% said that innovation is clearly defined
within their company.

Towards Automated Innovation

James Todhunter — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:49:40 -0400

There are many pleasures that innovation practitioners get from what
they do. The satisfaction of creating and delivering a high value
solution where others had failed to see the opportunity, the knowledge
that what you do is changing the lives of those around you, the thrill
of shaping the future are among a few of the things I have heard other
innovators talk about. However on a more mundane level, it has always
seemed very satisfying when another talented innovation practitioner
acknowledges your efforts. So, I was delighted to see Drew Boyd’s

Harnessing Knowledge for Innovation – What You Said

James Todhunter — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:59:36 -0400

Knowledge is the raw material of innovation. When an opportunity is recognized, when the underlying challenge is understood, we leverage our knowledge and experience to synthesize the new concepts that are the core essence of our innovations. The knowledge we use in this process comes from a variety of sources, both internal to our community as well as external. Many companies are facing a serious challenge to developing their innovation edge. Some of the most valuable knowledge they have is inside the enterprise represented in inaccessible documents and undocumented worker knowhow.