Category Archives: Innovation

Innovate or “Play it Safe” to Avoid Risk

Posted on December 8, 2005 by John Hunter

The Xooglers blog has some really interesting posts. In one, “But, but, that’s just crazy talk!” [the broken link was removed], Doug Edwards discusses a great example of what true leadership is about. In my defense, my background conspired against me. Past public relations debacles had taught me always to evaluate worst-case scenarios before considering the possible benefits of any new initiative. “First, do no harm” had become my mantra. This is the reality of many people. There are many … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Google, Innovation, Management, quote | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Google: Ten Golden Rules

Posted on December 5, 2005 by John Hunter

Google: Ten Golden Rules [the broken link was removed] by Eric Schmidt and Hal Varian: At google, we think business guru Peter Drucker well understood how to manage the new breed of “knowledge workers.” After all, Drucker invented the term in 1959. He says knowledge workers believe they are paid to be effective, not to work 9 to 5, and that smart businesses will “strip away everything that gets in their knowledge workers’ way.” Those that succeed will attract the … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Innovation, Management | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Gary Hamel’s Idea Hatchery

Posted on December 4, 2005 by John Hunter

Gary Hamel’s Idea Hatchery [the broken link was removed] by Whitney Sparks: Q: So how do you hope to change the standard approach to management? A: Sometimes innovation is about creating a whole new class structure. Hierarchies are not very good at getting the best out of people. Communities are where people are most likely to give their gifts, bound not by economic dependency but [with] dreams. I’d like to make business more humane. How do you create organizations where … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Education, Innovation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Not the End of Process

Posted on November 27, 2005 by John Hunter

The End of Process by Ross Mayfield If a knowledge worker has the organization’s information in a social context at their finger tips, and the organization is sufficiently connected to tap experts and form groups instantly to resolve exceptions — is there a role for business process as we know it? Yes. There are some interesting comments spurring by this post but essentially I think the post is in no way a compelling argument that process management is not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management Articles, Process improvement | Tagged ,

Google: Experiment Quickly and Often

Posted on November 25, 2005 by John Hunter

Google Thinks Small by Quentin Hardy, Forbes: Brin and Page have created a corporate organism that tackles most big projects in small, tightly focused teams, setting them up in an instant and breaking them down weeks later without remorse. “Their view is that there is much greater progress if you have many small teams going out at once,” Schmidt says. The mission overall: to collect “all the world’s information” and make it accessible to everyone. “It’s a cause.” … Hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Data, Google, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote, Software Development | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Innovation and Research and Development

Posted on November 20, 2005 by John Hunter

Innovation and R&D [the broken link was removed] by John Hagel: From a competitive viewpoint, what matters is the relative rate of productivity improvement. R&D spending and patent filings will matter little if they do not translate into faster productivity improvement -– in fact, they can be a significant distraction. Those who understand this will have a significant edge as competition intensifies in the global economy. I would argue innovation can be related to productivity improvement or it can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Innovation, Management | Tagged ,

Managing Innovation

Posted on November 16, 2005 by John Hunter

TQM, ISO 9000, Six Sigma: Due Process Management Programs Discourage Innovation? [the broken link was removed – so many organizations show how unable they are to act with a concern for anything but the very short term] “In the appropriate setting, process management activities can help companies improve efficiency, but the risk is that you misapply these programs, in particular in areas where people are supposed to be innovative,” notes Benner. “Brand new technologies to produce products that don’t exist … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

Posted on October 16, 2005 by John Hunter

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor, and Scott D. Anthony in Harvard Management Update: Companies have two basic options when they seek to build new-growth businesses. They can try to take an existing market from an entrenched competitor with sustaining innovations. Or they can try to take on a competitor with disruptive innovations that either create new markets or take root among an incumbent’s worst customers. Our research overwhelmingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Innovation in Organizations

Posted on October 10, 2005 by John Hunter

Assessing Your Organization’s Innovation Capabilities [the broken link was removed] by Clayton M. Christensen: Three classes of factors affect what an organization can and cannot do: its resources, its processes, and its values. When asking what sorts of innovations their organizations are and are not likely to be able to implement successfully, managers can learn a lot about capabilities by sorting their answers into these three categories. Innovation is one of the areas of management improvement that is not given … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Management, quote | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Innovation and Creative Commons

Posted on October 2, 2005 by John Hunter

Creative Commons is a license that lets the creators of intellectual property clearly define how that property may be used by others. Partially this license is a reaction to the poor way copyright law is being viewed today (see links below). Partially it is tool that gives creators a way to provide for more interaction with their ideas. And this interaction is a great way to market, in the right circumstances. More managers should be thinking about how their organizations … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Economics, Innovation | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Car Navigation Systems

Posted on September 7, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement Thinking About in-car Navigation Systems by Robert Scoble: What’s frustrating is there’s no way to report a mistake. So, everyone who has Toyota’s system is doomed to repeat the same errors. While Toyota is doing great things they still have things to learn. As the quote above indicates they don’t think like software companies. Software companies have learned to take every advantage of the internet to collect feedback. And those used to such system will find fault … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, IT, Management

Fast Company Interview: Jeff Immelt

Posted on July 14, 2005 by John Hunter

Fast Company Interview: Jeff Immelt, CEO, GE. What makes a growth leader today, and how does that differ from the sort of leader who was effective at GE in the past? GE has always been a believer in leadership development. When the economy was growing 5% a year, when oil was $14 a barrel, and when the world was at peace, the science of management was all about the how-to. That was the how-to generation. You didn’t have to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote, Six sigma, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Statistics for Experimenters – Second Edition

Posted on March 8, 2005 by John Hunter

The classic Statistics for Experimenters has been updated by George Box and Stu Hunter, two of the three original authors. Bill Hunter, who was my father, and the other author, died in 1986. Order online: Statistics for Experimenters: Design, Innovation, and Discovery , 2nd Edition by George E. P. Box, J. Stuart Hunter, William G. Hunter. I happen to agree with those who call this book a classic, however, I am obviously biased. Google Scholar citations for the first edition … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Data, Design of Experiments, Innovation, Management, Manufacturing, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments