Commentary by Lynda Curtin

On December 7th this lively panel discussion was hosted on CSPAN by Mathew Bishop, Business Editor of The Economist. The panel of excellent innovators includes: Dean Kamen, Inventor, Segway; Kai Huang, Co-Founder, The Guitar Hero; Rob Carlson, Principal, Biodesic; Dwayne Spradin, President and CEO, InnoCentive.

They shared their thinking about the state of the economy, economic and business innovation, and opportunities for growth. Among the topics they addressed were use of technologies, alternative energy uses, and health care. They also responded to questions from the audience.

For those of you who would like to watch the discussion--50 minutes, here is the link: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/290481-3.

Futurist, Joel Barker has a new video presentation--Innovation at the Verge. You may want to view the preview.

I am planning on using it with a client to help them clear out the work pressures from their minds, and to set the scene for learning Lateral Thinking tools.

Here is the link.

You will find more videos at Star Thower if you are interested in Joel Barker's work with innovation.

Until next time ...

Be on the lookout for fresh concepts: sometimes you have to start over. ----- UC Riverside: The Arts and Letters Lecture Series: An Evening with Elizabeth Gilbert; March 12, 2009 Palm Springs, California. -----

Elizabeth Gilbert is noted for her number one best selling memoir Eat, Pray Love published by Viking in 2006. I decided to share with you two thoughts that occurred to me regarding innovation as I listened to her talk about her journey writing this book.

1. Be on the lookout for fresh concepts. Most readers of this book are women. Elizabeth shared a story about a man who would read her book on the subway but would hide the cover by wrapping it in a magazine. He didn't want to be "outed." What a great value screen for some innovations - the concept of being "outed." You can add this concept to your value screen list if you like and use it when it makes sense.
2. Sometimes you have to stop and start over. While writing her next book on marriage Elizabeth kept feeling that her manuscript wasn't good, it just didn't feel right. This feeling wouldn't go away. Two weeks before the deadline to the publisher she finally gave into her gut instinct and told the publisher she wouldn't be submitting her manuscript and returned the advance; a gutsy move. This cleared the air for her. She was sparked with new energy, started fresh and wrote a new manuscript that felt right.

Stopping and starting over can be very difficult to do. The trick is recognizing when you need to stop and start over. Paying attention and listening to your feelings - gut instinct (red hat) can help.

I have since discovered that Elizabeth Gilbert made a presentation at the TED 2009 February conference titled "A Different Way to Think About Creative Genius." Click here to watch it. About 20 minutes.

Until next time ...

Yesterday, I received a marketing piece inviting me to a seminar on "How-to Survive" in a Market Downturn. I deleted it immediately. My intention is to THRIVE, not just to s u r v I v e. I hope yours is too.

This incident got me to thinking about the choice of words that are selected to communicate new ideas and the impact they can have on success. I want to thrive so I'm not going to that seminar. I wonder if the creator of the event thought about the choice of that one word – survive, and the different ways it can be perceived by prospects. The impact on success is immediate, and, it's just a word.

This leads me to share the following two situations that also happened to me this week:

1. I am in my fourth year of learning to play golf; sports of any kind do not come easy to me. I just discovered from another player the markings on my club heads are there to help me align the sweet spot on my club heads with the golf ball. I thought the marks were design elements. So, I went to the website of the maker of my clubs to find out what else I should know that would be helpful to me. Technical golf-speak and lots of acronyms filled their descriptions communicating all the apparently great new innovations their clubs offer. No help to me; just golf mumbo jumbo.

Why do companies spend so much money on innovation and then neglect one of the most important steps in the whole innovation process – communicating the innovation in a clear, compelling, and easy to understand way?

2. A Tide commercial caught my attention. This amazed me because my approach to buying cleaning products is to keep my life simple and to save time by just buying the brands I always buy.

Why did Tide catch my attention? The commercial communicated a compelling easy to understand message about a new innovation. It demonstrated solving a problem that bugs me; having the colors of my clothes fade from washing. Tide showed their new version retaining the color of clothes for 30 washes. I will likely buy it the next time I am shopping.

I share these observations with you because I think now is a perfect time to consider conducting an Innovation Communication Review/Audit. It's such a shame to see a valuable innovation languish or fail because the communication step is weak.

I know it's frustrating for many to be working in an environment when so much effort is focused on cutting budgets. I believe by deciding to complete an Innovation Communication Audit, a very inexpensive and proactive activity, you can actually end up adding to your top and bottom-line this year; not to mention, actually strengthening your valuable innovations.

Until next time …

Driving up the mountain to Big Bear from the desert below I was struck by the stark contrast between the dry sandy desert - plants not quite in spring bloom, and the snow sledding hills filled with families having a ball. The drive was made even more enjoyable because my favorite Roy Orbison CD was blaring - taking my mind to the place it goes when it needs to relax. Answers pop. I got answers during that drive!

My delight of the day came when I walked in to photographer, Timothy Wolcott's gallery. His walls were jammed with the most stunning photos I have ever seen. There was something different about the colors. They were intense. They popped. I just knew I was looking at the work of someone with a rare passion for creating visual experiences for people. I had to go get my husband who was browsing down the street. I wanted to share the experience with him.

One photograph in particular kept calling me back to look at it - Dogwood in the Moonlight; a beautiful dogwood tree in shimmering full bloom, laden with pure white blossoms standing against the dark green forest in the background. I'm not a photographer and couldn't imagine how such a glorious moment in time could be captured. I learned it took 8 minutes for the shutter speed to capture the photo in the moonlight. What patience. What planning. What vision.

I also learned that Timothy Wolcott has been involved in innovating new ways to use technology for printing processes. This explains why his work is so stunning. He pushes the boundaries of old conventions.

I share this experience with you because it speaks directly to the power of well executed creativity and innovation. These are the lessons I have taken away from this experience:

1. Sometimes it helps the creative process when we make time for our minds to relax in order for answers to surface; to pop.
2. When you look at your innovation does it exude a quality about it that draws customers to it; a specialness? Would customers immediately want to share their discovery of it with others? Perhaps this can become a question in the final analysis of the innovations you are working on.
3. Patience pays.

I look up at Dogwood in the Moonlight hanging in my office several times a day now to help me remember these important lessons and to work towards becoming better with my own creativity and innovation efforts. How do you remind yourself?

Until next time ...

I have come across the compelling work of creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson, which I want to share with you via his very funny and dramatic presentation - Do Schools Kill Creativity? He delivered this presentation at a TED conference and you can watch it here: (Allow yourself 20 minutes - you won't be disappointed.)

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

What does this presentation have to do with Real Innovation? Quite a bit in my view. For me, he hits home the importance of cultivating creativity in kids all the way through our education system in order to prepare them for jobs that haven't even been invented yet. After-all, innovation is impossible without creativity, and creativity is impossible without people.

He also made me wonder about the impact our education system is having on our ability to be innovative in the workplace when most of our workers come from our school system, which he describes this way:

"Our education system has mined our minds the way we have strip mined the earth for a particular commodity."

Three ideas for you:

1. Share this presentation with your work group and lead a discussion on how it might help you with your innovation work.
2. Host a discussion dinner party with your family and friends. Show the presentation and then get the discussion going.
3. Watch it once a week for 5 weeks and note different points that strike you each time you watch it and why they do. How can you use these insights back on the job?

I believe innovation relies on people. Tools and techniques help, but, they are not enough. I am hoping to inspire some of you to investigate this work of Sir Ken Robinson. Remember to share with us your innovation insights.

Until next time ...

What are other companies doing to be more innovative? I am often asked this question. To find out, I attended a recent event which hosted two speakers - Rich Vincent (CLO) and Ivars Ozolins (Executive Development) from Nestle U.S.A. to learn the Nestle answer for you. They titled their presentation, "Bend it Like Nestle". Here is a high level overview for you.

Nestle is a very successful global company - $100 billion last year. We all know success can hinder the quest for innovation. So, to reinforce the need for innovation, Rich and Ivars started by researching changing American business trends from the birth of modern organizational science in 1948 to present times - global hyperflux.

In essence they did the background work and created a presentation that painted a compelling business context for product innovation at Nestle U.S.A. They had to grab the attention of senior executives. This took persistence. They wanted top level CEO/President support. They got it.

The Nestle U.S.A. process: A "3 Level Innovation Creation System" which is supported by the business units who hand select high potential employees to participate, and a venture capital (VC) board who review new ideas and approve funding to move selected ideas forward towards commercialization.

Level 1 - 5-Day Introductory Experience: The focus is learning about innovation and working on developing a new idea. Towards the end of the workshop new product ideas are pitched to the VC board.

Level 2 Short Term VC Project: 90-day single person projects start for those whose idea was approved by the VC board in level 1.

Level 3 Explorer Project: For ideas advanced by the VC board to this level, the individual works on a 6-12 month "garage" project. A support structure is in place to provide help with commercialization.

As usual, the toughest part of the system is creating a high performance environment driven by skills, accountability and commitment.

A key learning: Terms can paint pictures of expectations. The Nestle innovation terminology is now making its way through the organization which assists others in becoming more innovative: "change the game", "burn the bridge", "rapid prototyping" are some examples.

The Nestle Approach: create the business case for product innovation, get the support of the top executives, create a VC board that has to fund ideas, put in place a system for innovation, provide support for those individuals whose ideas are advanced through the system, and provide world class innovation training.

Future Forward: What can you learn from the Nestle system? Can you identify gaps in your system? If so, what are you going to do about closing those gaps? Until next time...

From Passion to Prosperity: How to build your business, sell your ideas and change the world...

I believe innovation is a people process; that it requires individual leadership. This professional development conference, sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Speakers Association, reinforced my belief, fed my mind and left me with lots to think about. Below are three ideas that captured my attention.

1. "Emotions are 24 times more powerful than logic." Scott Baily of the Sandler Sales Institute made this statement during his presentation. I don't know if there is a study that supports this provocative statement. It does make me think about the selling step in the innovation process. We can have all the facts lined up; the logic is solid and still experience resistance to a useful new innovation. Who hasn't run up against this challenge? It's very frustrating. Emotions, hunches, gut instincts, feelings play a part in selling.

Emotions are often messy. They don't fit neatly on a graph or chart. They can be unique to the individual. They can appear illogical. Perhaps some good questions to ask each person on the team once the data is established..."What's your hunch right now about how successful this innovation will be?"..."What's your gut instinct tell you about how people will embrace this?"..."What's your feeling right now about what we need to do next to advance this idea?". These questions can help get below the surface of the data to help guide what to do.

2. NO MORE EXCUSES. Sam Silverstein, our luncheon speaker, trademarked this phrase. It's his innovation. I share this with you because I think the phrase "No more excuses" partly answers the question posted by Praveen Gupta - how does one find not-so innovative companies in his article "Least Innovative Companies" posted on July 16, 2007. Look for companies where too many people are failing.

Here is Sam's list - Ten Reasons People Fail

1. Make and accept excuses
2. No space to try new things and grow
3. Surrounded with weak people
4. Abdication of responsibility
5. Don't think strategically
6. Low expectations
7. Ego or emotion
8. Impatience
9. Stupidity
10. Fear

Companies are not innovative. People are. People make a company innovative, or not. Think about the items on this list and how they could be impacting your ability to bring valuable innovations to life. What are you going to do about that?

3. Glenna Salsbury closed the conference with her powerful presentation, "Leaving A Lasting Legacy". She shared this thought, "A legacy worth leaving is founded upon our standard of life, not our standard of living. A legacy worth leaving is founded upon our measure of giving, not our measure of getting...and upon our simple goodness...not our climb to greatness." Doesn't this strike you as a meaningful screen to help determine new idea power?

It's with pleasure I share my musings with you.

Anti-Age: a popular slogan many in the beauty industry use to promote skin care products and treatments. But, hopefully not for much longer … thanks to Dove's new campaign, "beauty has no age limit" promoting their new line of products.

I share this example with you because I see in action an effective innovation technique for idea generation, reversal provocation - going in the opposite direction of what is usual - in this case, "the market", demonstrated in Dove's campaign as follows:

1. Shifting the emphasis from anti-age to pro-age.
2. Shifting the view "beauty has an age limit" to "beauty has no age limit".
3. By featuring "real" older women instead of younger thin models.

Many in the industry would consider each of the above to be a gutsy decision. Dove made three. Innovation requires gutsy, doesn't it?

Let me be clear here. A provocation for the sake of a provocation won't do the job. Each of the above provocations also presents benefits which the target customer understands and appreciates. And, Dove's innovative campaign also attracted Oprah's attention which resulted in an Oprah show featuring the models - great priceless publicity. The stars aligned.

Dove's new trademarked term, "pro-age", is also easy to understand by the consumer, a key ingredient to successfully promote new innovations. I believe the term "pro-age" will be welcomed by a major segment of the market - aging women over 50, and, Dove owns the term. Imagine the impact this will have on Dove's business as the trend to cater to "older" consumers picks up speed in the market.

Innovation is hard work. We all know that. Sometimes we forget an important piece of the innovation puzzle - how are we going to communicate our new message?

Imagine lasting 45 years in your business. What would it take? How would you adjust to dramatically changing business needs? Could you create a loyal following of dedicated customers that span generations?

Seventy-five year old Italian fashion designer Valentino is joyfully celebrating 45 years of success in a cut throat business - haute couture; high end fashion. New ideas are presented and commercialized every season. There is no revenue if there is no commercialized collection. Customers won't buy last season's fashions, or last year's. In fact, as each collection is presented - the press, fashion editors, and fashionistas are quick to comment on its merits - making or breaking the revenue stream.

I share this with you as my first posting because I love fashion and believe we can learn many innovation lessons from successful designers. One important aspect of being innovative is being able to hunt for powerful concepts and then see in what ways they can be applied in your business. As I look at Valentino's accomplishments a few powerful concepts surface that have worked very well for him. I don't know if he deliberately chose to develop his business using these concepts. But, they are there in wide use. Here are five powerful concepts:

1. Ways to ensure fashions are treasured by our children in 25 years.
2. Ways to make your product or service memorable.
3. Ways to make timeless.
4. Ways to instill loyalty.
5. Ways to create the illusion of luxury.

My tip for you when you have time: select a creative challenge you are working on. See what ideas you can generate using these concepts as the spark. Sometimes a new concept can set a direction for strategy development. Wouldn't it be nice in today's time pressed world if all of a sudden timeless became the new vogue.

"By the end of this year we will have doubled our business since our creative thinking session with you, and we are 60% of the way to the goal. It's almost time to raise the bar!" - Dan Weare, National Business Manager

Lynda's practical real-world business experience resonates with busy clients who need to approach their challenges with fresh new thinking right now. She is an expert de Bono Thinking Systems Practioner.

Lynda is the creative force behind the Innovation Instinct concept and program--a personal assessment system used to help clients strengthen their ability to generate, build and implement valuable ideas incorporating de Bono's Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking tools.

With over three decades of business experience that stands the test of time, Lynda

• Is one of only 37 expert de Bono Thinking Systems Master Trainers/Facilitators in the world.
• Led the special project to develop and lead the world-wide launch of Focus on Facilitation, the first de Bono Thinking Systems workshop developed without de Bono's direct involvement. Her facilitation expertise and deep knowledge of de Bono methods were recognized as a strong asset in the de Bono global network
• Presented the business case to Dr. de Bono and secured the rights to develop, publish and sell official de Bono school materials in North America.
• Broke sales and profit records. Delivered over $100 million in sales while Product Manager, Major Appliances.
• Leads Innovation Boot Camps to help clients clarify what innovation is for their business, where to hunt for it, and how to develop it.
• Has professional business experience with product development, packaging design, merchandising, advertising, marketing, market research, forecasting, supply chain, and vendor negotiations.
• Was inducted into the Innovator's Club by de Bono Consulting, the most successful and largest distributor of de Bono Thinking Systems methods in the world.

Lynda's top three talents can be put to work for you when it makes good business sense:

1. Coach and equip you to facilitate meaningful thinking together discussions that will turn your meetings around, save you money, free up your time, and strengthen your business results.

2. Work with your top staff to customize learning and thinking together events that will strengthen their Innovation Instinct - the ability of your group to consistently generate, build, and implement valuable ideas.

3. Creative force, Publisher and Product Development Director of de Bono school materials for the North American market, Lynda takes on special projects.
   
   de Bono For Business website

de Bono for Schools website

The Opportunity Thinker website

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