Here is a prototype from the Netherlands, where riding your bike to work or school is the norm. These inventors are taking the bike idea to the next realm: Public transportation. Here is a story of the “bicycle school bus” from Fast CoExist: World Changing Ideas and Innovation: The Dutch are bicycle fanatics. Almost half…
If you want to start creating a culture of innovation, try getting rid of the time clock. According to Inc.com, business supervisors should stop trying to track their employees’ work hours. The result they say is that employees will be more productive. Read on: “What time do you want me to start work?” That’s the…
I’m now on the exciting two-week countdown to the February CoDev2012: Achieving Higher OI Returns while Managing Risk, Cost and Uncertainty. There’s still time to join me, as I team up once again with Management Roundtable and PDMA for the upcoming 11th annual event. If you need a little convincing, check out this FREE PODCAST…
I love working with inventors. I don’t work with Dave Foster, but I’m sharing his interesting (and much welcomed) idea: using solar power to charge our electronic devices. Foster came up with a case he calls the LilyPad which does precisely that. The LilyPad uses new solar ink technology to convert outdoor and indoor light…
The winds of change may be unpredictable, but forecasts are improving. New partnerships between energy companies and government agencies are helping to predict wind speeds far enough in advance to save energy companies billions of dollars. Power companies, grid operators, and energy traders often pay close attention to the nightly forecasts on television news, but…
I’m passing along some ideas from Harvard Business Review that emerged in 2011 as powerful “innovation invitations.” HBR says these seem certain to intensify in global power and influence, and I do agree that they will spark innovation differentiation in the months ahead: 1. The Slacktivism Co-Opt As much a term of derision as global…
Here is an interesting idea sparked by a man who recently entered the U.S. from Canada without his passport. Instead he presented the border authorities with his iPad, which contained a scanned image of his passport. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come? Read on: Martin Reisch said Tuesday a slightly…
Imagine using human and livestock waste as a source of green energy. Many companies have explored this, but one in particular is getting the go-ahead to make some headway in Kenya with the development of biochar. Fast Company recently featured Jason Aramburu, the CEO of re:char, who is working with the emerging area of…
Thanks to urban sprawl and auto & factory emissions, Milan is one of the most polluted cities in Italy. But Italian architect Stefano Boeri is greening up Milan with a “Vertical Forest.” The project took inspiration from traditional Italian towers covered in ivy. Boeri simply multiplied that effect on two soaring apartment towers. Can you…
Throughout the year I will continue to blog about trends I see in innovation. Here’s a few of them I saw today in a Washington Post article, and how they’ll impact the business landscape in the months to come. Do you agree? 1. Strategy and entrepreneurship will have ever-greater interdependence. A trend I’ve been watching…
