Gregg Fraley

The New York Times does a very cool thing every year — they publish an amazing list of innovations about to happen –“32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow.” Not sure which is most interesting, maybe #20, the non-hangover alcohol — now that’s innovation I can appreciate. All kidding aside, beyond the wow factor, this list is an opportunity to do some creative “conceptual blending.” Conceptual Blending is essentially a mash-up of two very different concepts — to create something entirely new. It’s a great shortcut to breakthrough innovation, essentially you “steal” a great idea and make it your own by adapting/combining it to your industry or challenge. You can do it yourself — here’s the drill: Have a challenge

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My partner Indy Neogy at KILN is one of the most brilliant people I know. An MIT trained engineer who is also an MBA from Leeds, he’s both entrepreneurial and a masterful cultural scanner. He’s going to publish a book soon related to cross cultural communication, Where Culture Matters, so, you get he’s a star right? He’s a star — and — he’s an introvert. It’s not a bad thing. We can thank Susan Cain and her recent book Quiet for a new awareness about the value of, and large number of introverts who have a very challenging time with classic group work. Introverts have a great deal to offer the innovation process, and, they tend to be under-utilized resources. On average,

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One of the great things about going to conferences like FEI is the people you meet. Orin Davis might be the most interesting guy I met at the conference. He studied with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — and yes, knows how to pronounce the name. We got talking and he mentioned the piece below, and asked if he would like to guest post on the blogg. Delighted to present this very practical and well thought out piece on employee happiness (an essential key to innovation). Now, Orin, next guest piece is on hypnosis okay? The following is by Orin C. Davis, Ph.D. One major issue that companies face, especially during a recession, is the perception of having to choose between saving money

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Nashville, Tennessee — Saturday May 12, Gonzeaux #6 Nashville is throwing the recession out of town. The building boom cut short by the downturn seems to be back in full swing here. A huge new convention centre is going up, downtown residences, and an extension to the already way cool Country Music Hall of Fame is nearly done. Good stuff, but for me, beside the point — not Gonzeaux Innovation material. The innovation story here has more do do with persistence of effort and entrepreneur’s who simply don’t stop until they make something happen — persistence personifies Nashville innovation — two cases in point: 1. Snappy Auctions: Debbie Gordon had a fairly brilliant idea a few years back to help people

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Elizabethtown, Kentucky — Friday May 11, 2012, Gonzeaux #5. I’m sworn to secrecy. As I sit here in Ruby Tuesday’s enjoying a petite sirloin and free wifi, I contemplate the secretive nature of innovation. Open innovation is all the rage isn’t it? You hear all the time how much it makes sense to have a generous attitude about ideas. The paradox is, some innovations need to be kept secret, or, the innovator loses advantage. Or worse, loses freedom. Do you think Pixar is sharing early rushes of their latest movies with just anybody? Or is Apple giving us any sense of their new strategy? No, it will be a surprise when they announce something really cool. Pixar has never had

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Bloomington, Indiana, Tuesday May 8, Gonzeaux #2 Indiana is the state of Nick Tippmann. Who’s Nick Tippmann? The future of Indiana Innovation that’s who (and not Bobby Knight). More on Nick and Bobby below, but first, Observations: Indiana is very flat. Driving south on I-65 — farms in all directions as far as the eye can see. Farms are small business, in a way, the first small businesses, that tradition lives here. Driving through small towns with the Dairy Queen’s, feed stores, beauty shops and all the other specialties you can imagine…more small business. People work hard here, long and hard. At the hotel I’m staying at I’ve been served by two people who were clearly over 70, doing the

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Three Oaks, Michigan, Monday May 7 — Gonzeau Tour Begins I’ve spent a frantic weekend preparing for the Gonzeaux Tour trip to Florida to attend the FEI 2012 Conference*. Two requests for proposal came over the transom on Friday and they required weekend work, and a lot of it. I had hoped for a bit of peace and thoughtful packing prior to what might be a week of cheap hotels, crashing with friends and family, but it was not to be. So, the first leg begins in an hour and I haven’t even packed a bag yet. I do have piles of stuff to take: KILN IdeaKeg boxes, large mural paper, Post-it’s, iPad, iPod, Garmin, pocket knives, sunflower seeds, water,

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I’ve decided to take the battle of Doing Innovation to the streets. Literally. Okay, it’s not a battle, it’s a conversation, but it’s definitely a road trip, and definitely about the Doing. I’m heading down to Orlando, FL to attend the Front End of Innovation Conference (FEI) taking place May 15, 16, and 17. Instead of doing the boring (and convenient) thing of taking a cheap flight from Chicago to Disneytown, I’m opting to drive through the heartland and a bit of the south — I’m going Gonzeaux (“GAWN zoe”) on my way to FEI. FEI is an amazing event, and, wouldn’t it be great if that innovation “conversation” was happening all over? And online? As I Go Gonzeaux I’m going

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While ordering a grande Americano with room at Starbucks the other day, I noticed a counter display. It had a stack of cards with the title “Let’s Create Jobs for USA” across the top and then below it a red, white, and blue wristband. It’s elastic and not the usual plastic you see in these things, and, it has a coupler made of metal with the word “invincible” engraved on it. They requested a $5 donation.  I read the cards and bought one on the spot. I’m proud to wear it. The answer to my question of whether a wristband can create USA jobs is an emphatic Yes. There are already innovation success stories. I’m a wristband-come-lately — this has been

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I’m in Cincinnati next week to help pitch a recycling business concept to investors. It’s an exciting idea — taking waste plastic and transforming it into high value-add products. This is not a social innovation business, it’s a for-profit venture that just happens to be clean, green, and job creating. The newco is called Integrated Green Technologies (IGT) and the good news is the business plan couldn’t be more clear or exciting. This business could make a great deal of money and in a fairly predictable, not-so-long time frame. In theory, it’s an investors dream, relatively low risk, high return, a chance for explosive growth (this is my opinion, investors get in touch with me — gregg@greggfraley.com — to see

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