decision making

Local Motors: Successful Crowdsourcing as a Design Tool for Innovation

2 Comments / business models, collaboration, creativity, decision making, green innovation, innovation, leadership, sustainability / By

During the CoDev 2011 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, I was impressed with a speech given by a local CEO, John (“Jay”) Rogers of Local Motors in Chandler, Arizona. This small company designs exciting new vehicles using design contests that are open to the public. Their rapidly growing community (12,000 participants so far) contributes designs and …

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Trust and Sound IP Systems: An Essential Component for a Nation’s Innovation Success

Asia, collaboration, creativity, decision making, government / By

For years, China has been making progress in creating laws and systems that enable protection of intellectual property. Respect for IP rights is essential in creating a culture where innovation and collaborative partnerships can succeed. If individuals and companies lose trust in a government’s ability to respect such rights, the incentives to innovate are reduced …

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Fighting Past Fatigue, Venture Capitalist Style

corporate, decision making, investment, leadership, licensing, management, valuation / By

I was reviewing some information from one Venture Capital firm that described their annual efforts. Far from the laid-back lifestyle that some people imagine, this successful VC firm spent much of their year traveling to meet with over 6,000 companies. A few hundred would be selected and screened more carefully, and then a dozen or …

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Innovation Fatigue from Improper Use of Metrics: Lessons from American Education and the Trouble with Testing

2 Comments / decision making, external fatigue, fatigue factors, leadership, management, metrics, NIH (not invented here), theft, vision, will to share / By

The Summer 2010 issue of American Educator (a publication of the American Federation of Teachers) ably illustrates one of the lessons we teach in Conquering Innovation Fatigue: metrics to drive performance can have unintended consequences that may actually hurt rather than help. Indeed, unintended consequences are a major theme of our book, as we explore …

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Deadly Metrics: What We Can Learn from a Wisconsin Grocer

1 Comment / corporate, decision making, incentives, management, metrics, Wisconsin / By

One of the lessons of Conquering Innovation Fatigue is that the choice of metrics business leaders use to track and drive innovation can contribute to innovation fatigue when the metrics drive bad decisions and poor behavior. A recent example of how metrics can actually achieve the opposite of the intended results comes from a Wisconsin …

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Idea Cancer: The Danger of Good Ideas (Growing Out of Control)

corporate, creativity, decision making, innovation, inventing, leadership, management / By

Nussbaum on Design (BusinessWeek) has a though-provoking column that mentions several innovation principles from designer Diego Rodriquez. One of these is “Killing good ideas is a good idea.” That’s the kind of counter-intuitive blasphemy that merits reflection. Of course, developing good ideas is essential, but without the killing phase, good ideas can lead to “idea …

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Brasília: Lessons from a Brilliant Economic Experiment

2 Comments / decision making, external fatigue, government, South America, video / By

Below is a Pixetell recording to share some new information about the economic revolution in Brasília, Brazil, wherein a government in tune with the “voice of the innovator” has worked to get out of the way of business success and to do provide the infrastructure and educational opportunities needed for long-term success. Amazingly, the local …

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Beware Unintended Innovation Killers from Laws, Regulations, and Corporate Policies

corporate, decision making, external fatigue, government, incentives, innovation, regulations, risk / By

In the game of chess, experienced players know that a move that looks tempting can often open up fatal weaknesses that deliver swift defeat later in the game. With experience, discipline, and solid strategic skills, good players can look several moves ahead and be aware of broad patterns and principles that can give one an …

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Beware the Unintended Innovation-Killing Consequences of Laws and Policies

decision making, economic factors, economics, excerpts, external fatigue, fatigue factors, government, regulations, start-ups / By

The road to innovation fatigue is paved with good intentions embodied in laws, regulations, and even corporate policies. Leaders at all levels must be aware of uninteded innovation-killing consequences that may follow from their good intentions. Staying in touch with the “voice of the innovator,” as we advocate in Conquering Innovation Fatigue, is vital in …

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Death Panels for Innovation: How Are Your Corporate IP Review Boards Doing?

corporate, decision making, Intellectual Assets, voice of the innovator, will to share / By

Death panels have been a hot topic for speculation from some folks worried about health care reform, but in the world of innovation, genuine death panels have long been in place in corporations. Innovation death panels, disguised as intellectual property review committees or IP review boards, have been sending great inventions and great business concepts to …

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