Gregg Fraley

Yes, I’ve updated my website and blog. It’s been a surprisingly fun project due to having a great technology and brand innovation partner in the firm Reuben-Hunter. Not only does it look better, it will be easier to change — and I can do it myself! I’m confident it’s more engaging, and will achieve higher rankings, sell more books and speeches and lead to more business. As an innovation expert (God love me) doing my own house cleaning and updating my brand brings me back to some basics. In other words I should listen to my own advice. Anyway, allow me to share two simple thoughts: 1.) If it ain’t broke, break it — my old website worked in the sense

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Innovators need to keep an eagle eye on new technology trends. Things are developing so quickly now and in so many areas that keeping tabs on what’s happening is daunting. These new developments offer a constant stream of opportunities (if you think and take action on them), but it’s a bit like that famous clip of Lucille Ball on the chocolate line — all that tasty stuff can quickly overwhelm you. You need a radar screen — a wide view of what’s inbound. Today’s post is to provide you with a great tech watching tool — Gizmag — and a few other tech watching resources. But first, a word or two on why and how. In the most obvious way,

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It’s March 5th 2012. Nearly 20 Percent of 2012 is already behind us. How are your 2012 Innovation efforts going? Are you “hanging-ten” or barely hanging on? The only purpose of this post is to have you look at your operation and simply admit to yourself whether you’ve wasted two months or you’ve got a good start. Of course, if you’ve wasted two months I would urge action, now! I’ve been reminded as of late just how much companies get in their own way. They spend so much time fussing over the Four Pessimist P’s* of Non-Innovation: Process — “We’d love to start an innovation project but we haven’t made up our mind how to move forward yet, we must

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I don’t plug a lot of videos on this blog — how many video’s are all that relevant to creativity and innovation? This is the exception, I have one I’d really like you to watch, after you read this Jay Leno style “set up”. Growing up in anti-communist America the world was black and white. You were either pro-democracy capitalist, or a commmie pinko. There was no middle ground (gee, not so different than now). The “Domino Theory” had the USA fighting a communist insurgency in a tiny country in south east Asia that had no strategic value. The Vietnam war tore the country apart. I’d also rather forget the McCarthy era and blacklists. Which is what makes this new

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I posted not to long ago about organizations that don’t stay fit with regards to innovation. This, I said, would lead to an innovation infarction when an emergency crops up. Consider this post a “Yes+AND” as I’ve spotted a great piece by Scott Anthony that looks at that problem through a slightly different lens. Do read his excellent piece Negotiation Innovation and Control. Anthony’s point, in essence — leaders are geared towards minimizing mistakes. Nothing wrong with that, but it does run counter to the need for experimentation if you’re trying to build an innovation culture. Leaders have to allow mistakes, encourage experimentation if they want an innovative environment. In some areas of operation “no mistakes” is just where you

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The Huffington Post published this 40 second video featuring every Apple product ever made. It’s worth taking a look at this 36 year, 40 second history of innovation. First impression — while they’ve made some really beautiful products, looking back, they’ve made some butt-ugly ones as well. And there were some marketing duds sprinkled in with the winners. Their current success helps you forget the mis-steps, see pic of the Apple Newton. The lesson to be learned here isn’t about perfection it’s about persistence. Say what you will about Apple, they keep making things, they crank out products. That persistent “practice” of innovation is part of why they are so damn good at it. Can innovation be as simple as

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I’ve been reading Steve Faktor’s Econovation, The Red, White, and Bllue Pill for Arousing Innovation. It’s been out since November, but I’ve avoided it because Steve’s an economist and I have bad memories of nursing hangovers in my 8:00 am Economics class at University of Cincinnati. I wish I had picked it up sooner because it’s a fascinating, erudite, bitingly funny, well researched, and I think important book. Americans — Buy one now and send it to your Congressman. Tell him or her that if they don’t read it you’ll lash them with wet Chinese noodles at the door to their office. European readers, there’s plenty to learn from Faktor’s manifesto about how to reinvent an economy. As the title

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I was invited by Tanner Christensen, author of the blog Creative Something to contribute a short piece to a free e-book on creativity. The assignment was to write a short response to the question “Why Creativity?” This is the first piece in ages that I wrote long hand first; maybe I should try that technique more often. See my answer below. I’m joined in Why Creativity by the likes of Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, Patrick Algrim, Matthew E May, Mike Brown, and Frank Chimero. The e-book has just been made available for free download on Tanner’s Aspindle page. I’ve read the other bits and I think you’ll enjoy them, very inspirational — so download a shot of creativity espresso!

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Thank God for Susan Robertson. Susan is a friend and colleague, and a principal at the innovation firm Ideas To Go. I’m happy Susan took the time to respond to yet another article in a respected publication that downplays the value of collaboration in idea generation. I’ve written several pieces in this blogspace defending the value of well executed brainstorming, for once, somebody else wrote a rebuttal — and I’m so glad, thank you Susan! I can’t resist adding an additional two cents. The article, “The Rise of the New Groupthink” appeared in the New York Times Sunday Review — impressive eh? Author Susan Cain is a good writer — her piece flows like a hawk gliding on an updraft.

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As in-flight entertainment luck would have it, I’ve now seen the film Moneyball twice within a week. On the surface Moneyball is a true-story film about baseball — but it’s really an innovation story. I enjoyed the film but nothing about it struck me as profoundly good in terms of story, or character development. I always like the charming Brad Pitt, and he’s good here in a tailor-made part as Oakland Athletic’s General Manager Billy Beane. He keeps you interested, but this doesn’t feel like an Oscar worthy role. Same with Jonah Hill as the nerdy statistician and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the disgruntled coach — good work — and not notably so. We don’t quite see enough about what

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