Comments

This thread made my day! I needed those hearty laughs! I, too, recently got my first MacBook and I love it. I'd been pretty happy with my Gateway XP desktop but got stung by a virus last year and since then had to wait for AVG and Norton to load at boot up, wade through several Norton warning screens to go to websites and get frustrated when pop-up blockers stopped me from playing certain games. Have experienced the wireless issue with Airport but everything else Mac is beautiful, functional and just plain WOW! Now I only go on my desktop once a week.....

Posted by suemosher at March 27, 2008 10:16 PM

Cathy,
Thank You very much for this book, it is just what I need. I am owner of PCT patent application and work on this area in company.

It is very important in postcommunistic societies to transform minds of people on more innovative and self thinking employees.

Ina

Posted by Ina Matijevic at March 28, 2008 2:35 AM

This is such a great interview! I love the questions that address the how-to's, moving ideas to action. I also love the idea that ideas need structure and implementation and that this can be learned. Ideas are actionable! Thanks, Erik!

I'm sure it was an oversight to omit credit to TP for the premise of the ideas espoused. Great minds most certainly think alike and these guys are awesome! (I can't wait to read the book!) But it is always good to acknowledge those who have thought of such ideas well in advance, the senior viable relevant statesman, as it were. Immediately, I could think of many of TP's quotes from In Search of Excellence that are well initiated in the TPC working FSW model. (My knowledge is very fresh as I have read most of TP's books within the last four months, though his Brand You article in Fast Company over 10 years ago was transforming for me.)

My aunt married a Liberian diplomat and my three cousins were born in Liberia, though they are American citizens. One cousin has returned to to Liberia upon the election of their new president to claim thousands of acres left to them by their dad. As he grew up in Liberia, as well as other countries, he had gone to school with the current President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard graduate.

I cannot imagine a country that could use market creation and innovation more than Liberia. As other African countries that are rich in natural resources, there are difficulties with historical instability. The long civil war has taken its toll in Liberia. The current president seems to be doing a fine job, but the history is such that market creation and innovation is a daunting task. While creating markets are needed after years of civil war, the people are basically starting from stratch yet once again. But there is greater stability now and greater hope. I'd actually like to go to Liberia and do work there myself. Any general suggestions in working in such an environment?

Posted by Judith Ellis at March 28, 2008 4:33 AM

Erik - a great interview but your guests were not convincing....

Innovation to the core....... It should be a very short book. It should be a very exciting book. Your guests made it sound long, pompous, and boring. But maybe these guys just do not interview well?

Innovation is an Action. It is hard to talk and to write about Actions so these two talked about Strategy, Process, etc, etc.... all the things that innovation is not about.

Innovation is a Disrupter. It is extremely difficult to enact innovation without being disruptive to Strategy, Process, etc, etc....

Innovation is an action that disrupts with purpose. It is almost impossible to take an action that disrupts with purpose unless and until you have funds - Gary Hamel knows all too well that Silicon Valley is funded by venture capital and thus each start-up venture has a 'burn rate' that most mature businesses can not sustain. In any start-up the resultant innovations have a clear and present purpose - usually that is to disrupt a whole industry or at least a market leader within an industry.

Innovation is a tolerable Action if, and only if, it is not at odds with the prevailing revenue model. This is why most innovators fail - they end up butting their innovative genius up against the business strategy and process that underpins their revenue model.

Google attracts innovators not because the ideas are so much better at the Googleplex in Mountain View than elsewhere but because Googlers are generously funded both in time (free time at work) and money (liberal burn rates for projects) to innovate, to disrupt, and to find a new purpose (within the confines of Search).

Why is Google so good at sponsoring innovators? Simple question with a simple answer. Google has detached it revenue model from its core activity - the more you innovate Search at Google or iGoogle the more opportunities you will garner for its passive income from click through advertising.

Finally, today's organisations are transmogrifying into digital networks with clusters of workers who form natural beehives of innovation. If the workers in these clusters understand their current revenue model and have an ample burn rate and enough free or unencumbered time they will take actions that will disrupt their industry. In other words they ensure that innovation exists at the core of their business entity.

Richard.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at March 28, 2008 4:35 AM

Hi Erik I enjoyed the interview and thanks for mentioning the key role of front liners in your discussion. I agree with the authors that seeking innovative ideas from front liners must not be seen as some ‘marginal’ activity that we do when we think it would be a good idea to do this thing called 'innovate.’ Needless to say I am with them 100% that front line involvement should simply be ‘the way we do things here’ and not some marginal activity or an annual project! Let’s be honest innovation is actually another word for capturing the ideas in the heads of people doing the work (and leaders) about how stuff can be done better. If we see asking front liners for ideas as a ‘task’ then of course we will run out of ideas after a year or two. I don’t advocate seeking ideas from front line employees as some sort of ‘project’ but as the regualr pulse and lifestyle of the entire organisation.

Posted by Trevor Gay at March 28, 2008 7:29 PM