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INNOVATION | Comment

A Nose for Innovation

BY James TodhunterMon Nov 9, 2009 at 10:17 AM

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.READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Report From Power To Innovate 2009

BY James TodhunterMon Oct 26, 2009 at 3:13 PM

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 ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Finding New Market Opportunities Through Systematic Innovation

BY James TodhunterWed Sep 16, 2009 at 9:57 AM

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 ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Looking For Innovation? Try Looking In The Mirror!

BY James TodhunterThu Sep 3, 2009 at 11:28 AM

There are too many "innovators" around and not enough innovation... -- @dduhamelAs I was discussing the intricacies of defining a semantic processing engine for a language which has no formally defined morphology this morning, I ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Deloitte Poll Highlights Weak State of Innovation Practice

BY James TodhunterTue Sep 1, 2009 at 5:06 PM

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 ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Towards Automated Innovation

BY James TodhunterWed Aug 19, 2009 at 10:49 AM

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 ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Harnessing Knowledge for Innovation – What You Said

BY James TodhunterTue Aug 4, 2009 at 11:59 AM

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 ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Know Your Innovation Course

BY James TodhunterWed Jul 15, 2009 at 10:06 AM

Flying was huge part of my father’s life. He was the mechanic and navigator on a good will flight from New York to Bogota in the early days of flight. That’s him on the left in the photo of the two man crew just before leaving ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Reasons To Block Innovation

BY James TodhunterFri Jul 10, 2009 at 1:28 PM

“Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer.” – Sun-Tzu The momentum behind innovation continues to build at companies around the globe. Everywhere I go, I hear and see great things about new initiatives and ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Leveraging Institutional Wisdom Poll Closing Soon

BY James TodhunterTue Jul 7, 2009 at 11:35 AM

One of the biggest worries I hear from different organizations is the concern over the loss of institutional memory as we continue through the largest generational turnover our businesses have every experienced. Across the globe, companies are faced with the prospect of their most senior contributors retiring and taking valuable implicit knowledge with them.READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Driving Growth Through Innovation

BY James TodhunterTue Jun 30, 2009 at 4:43 PM

As I was perusing Chuck Frey’s Innovation Weblog this morning, I noticed a recent post by Charlie Alter titled “Demand innovation step 3: Finding new growth opportunities.” In this article, seven principles are highlighted. As I pondered the points, it struck me that the advice put forth in this article was actually pretty poor. Let’s dissect the suggestions made by Charlie Alter and understand what a good innovation driven growth strategy should look like.READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

More Than Meets the Eye

BY James TodhunterTue Jun 30, 2009 at 8:52 AM

On his blog, Thirty Minutes from Andromeda, my friend Jim Belfiore writes about Michael Jackson. But Jim’s post points out a side of Michael that goes beyond the iconic King of Pop image. Did you know Michael Jackson ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Sustainable Innovation at Boston Scientific

BY James TodhunterTue Jun 23, 2009 at 3:46 PM

Here’s a very interesting podcast with Dan Kussman, R&D Manager for Boston Scientific’s cardiovascular group. In this podcast, Dan talks about the role of sustainable innovation and the importance of making innovation ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Innovation Chess

BY James TodhunterTue Jun 23, 2009 at 8:26 AM

When I’m not deeply engaged in innovation, I enjoy chess. Earlier this year I started a chess blog as part of my own chess self-improvement plan. Well, I got a comment last week reminding me that I have not posted on my ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Reflections on My Spring European Innovation Trip

BY James TodhunterWed Jun 17, 2009 at 9:46 AM

It was a whirlwind trip, covering six countries over eleven days. During the trip, I had the chance to sit with fourteen companies, twelve of which are Global 2000 players. I also squeezed in an interview with the senior editor of a French PLM publication. All in all, it was a fascinating and exhilarating two weeks.READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Field Notes – June 2009

BY James TodhunterThu Jun 4, 2009 at 12:22 PM

I am in the middle of a jaunt through Europe visiting with many Global 2000 companies to discuss the state of their innovation practices and how they can accelerate their pace of value creation. In the past three days, I met ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Tapping Into The Innovation Information Ecosystem

BY James TodhunterWed Jun 3, 2009 at 12:21 PM

In response to my recent post, “Innovation Lesson From Ratatouille”, Bill Bennett replied indicating that I had made a compelling case for unfettered access to the internet. I think Bill is on the right track with his ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Innovation Lesson From Ratatouille

BY James TodhunterThu May 21, 2009 at 10:59 AM

The animated movie, “Ratatouille”, tells the tale of a most improbable hero who dreams of being a great chef. This hero is a rat named Remy. Inspired by the great chef, Gusteau, this unlikely protagonist wends his way to ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Twitter Take Two

BY James TodhunterThu May 21, 2009 at 10:52 AM

As any CTO, I have to explore new technologies and market trends on a daily basis. Operating in the worlds of software and innovation makes this imperative and even more essential. With the role of social networking and media still ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Promoting New England’s Innovation Mojo

BY James TodhunterThu May 21, 2009 at 10:48 AM

I just read an interesting post over on Innovation Economy relating the discussion at a brainstorming session on how to better communicate New England’s contributions in the area of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

The Price of Innovation

BY James TodhunterWed May 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM

Recessions are always tough, and during a recession it’s hard to avoid talking about it. I see a lot of innovation practitioners pondering the question of whether a down economic climate is good or bad for innovation. The ...READ»

INVENTION MACHINE | Comment

Don’t Be Afraid to Start Innovation

BY James TodhunterWed May 13, 2009 at 12:38 PM

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” – Franklin Delano ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Obama & Innovation – First hundred days assessment

BY James TodhunterTue May 5, 2009 at 1:33 PM

As President Obama reaches the first milestone of 100 days in office, many pundits are evaluating how he’s doing. I don’t really care about most of these assessments which seem to be focused more on how Presidential he has ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Open Innovation - What You Said

BY James TodhunterTue May 5, 2009 at 1:30 PM

As companies are looking for ways to fuel innovation without burning cash and other resources, one method of idea generation that has been garnering a lot of buzz is open innovation. In pursuing open innovation, companies ...READ»

INNOVATION | Comment

Gleaning Innovation Insights From The News

BY James TodhunterSun Apr 26, 2009 at 7:01 PM

If you live in the world of innovation, you know that stay current on things is important and not just those things that are directly related to your work. You need to look around at everything and ask yourself some key ...READ»