The World Economic Forum held in Switzerland last week announced its new class of Technology Pioneers: 31 of the most innovative technology start-ups from around the world– the companies representing 13 countries. (Interestingly, more than half of these Technology Pioneers are from the United States!) Many of them you’ve never heard of, but they will…
If you still think social media sites like Twitter is a time-waster, it’s time to re-consider this incredible business innovation. Twitter can be a wonderful customer-service tool, IF you know how to use it. Check out what Best Buy is doing to maximize its Twitter impact on its customers all around the world. The company…
I came across a Harvard Business Review article this week about how large corporations can better foster innovation by helping their dedicated innovation team members partner with other performance and core process teams, rather than struggle with conflict. (Culture is one of the key ingredients of a healthy company of any size!) I was drawn…
Is your marketing department engaging in effective social media strategies? A report out earlier this week suggests that one in three corporations is blogging to fill a niche that other forms of social media like Twitter and Facebook cannot. Some of the most popular bloggers who have thousands of readers will tell you that they…
Toppan Printing in Japan has developed an innovative smart label that combines holographic security with RFID technology. The cool thing is that the metallic antenna needed for transmitting and receiving radio signals–normally a metallized spiral or other shape that tends to be unattractive–has become part of the aluminum metal of the metallic holographic label. This…
Cheryl’s article, “Companies expand commitment to innovation; planning becomes a priority,” was featured on pages 32-35 of the July 2010 edition of PDMA Visions. The article provides highlights from the 9th annual PDMA/MRT CoDev conference that was held in Scottsdale, Ariz., in January. Click here to view Cheryl’s full article.
Cheryl is the featured keynote speaker for the 2010 Midwest Chapter Society of Cosmetic Chemists (MWSCC) Technical Symposium. The event’s theme is “INNOVATION: Seeking inspiration from new sources.” MWSCC was founded in 1945 and has more than 4,000 members who work to focus and promote the exchange of ideas and new developments in cosmetic research…
We know that green and clean technology and the “Click Stream Customer” are two of many trends that will impact the way we do business in the future. Trend watching has become a business in itself. Futurist James Canton is one of many business futurists who make a living by interpreting the signs of what…
London may be getting a boost in innovation with an exciting new innovation training program, the “MICL” (pronounced like “Michael”), short for Masters in Innovation, Creativity, and Leadership, a masters degree program offered at City University London. See http://creativity.city.ac.uk/ for details. The program involves the arts, business, law, social science, and informatics. Looks like a…
One can find many interesting lessons for business and innovation in case studies from ongoing experiments in public education. For example, the Summer 2010 edition of American Educator illustrates a lesson we teach in Conquering Innovation Fatigue: metrics to drive performance can have unintended consequences that may hurt rather than help. Indeed, unintended consequences are…
