Gregg Fraley

Birmingham Alabama — Monday May 14th, 2012, Gonzeaux #7 It’s an image that was so arresting and shocking at the time that I’ve never forgotten it. It stained my memory like indigo on fine white linen, never to be washed out. I was nine years old. I’m talking about the sight, on national television, of black people being attacked by German Shepard’s in the Birmingham, Alabama race riots of 1963. The high-pressure water hoses were cruel, but the dogs, those vicious dogs, made my skin crawl, and it flipped a switch in my head. From that point forward I was a social progressive. I’ve not ever visited Alabama. I’ve been to nearly every state in the USA, but never had

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Visiting with Mike Bott, General Manager at The Brandery accelerator in downtown Cincinnati, you actually see what the “Front End of Innovation” looks like — two or three people, over-caffeinated and urgent, clustered around a couple of basic desks working out the details of a business plan, or creating a brand new product. Due to the training they’ve been given at the accelerator, they know a bit about innovation process, branding and fund raising — and the focus is still entirely on the doing. It’s small, it’s uncomplicated, it’s informal, and yet, wow, things are happening. In the spirit of expanding the FEI 2012 conversation, I asked Mike what question he would like to pose to the group which will

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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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I get letters. A colleague of mine, Lisa Baxter, alerted me to an article recently published in Fast Company’s online Design section. The article, titled “Do Innovation Consultants Kill Innovation?” suggests that in fact, innovation consultants do indeed kill innovation. Authors Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen argue that innovation is too messy to be captured in any process. So how can big firms innovate? I could write 5000 words in response to the article, but let me keep it simple: BS. In their defense I would agree that an over emphasis on process is often a failing of an average innovation consultant — and even those very high priced firms who do innovation consulting. I also resonate with

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You have to love a guy who walks his own talk. Stefan Lindegaard (@lindegaard) is a well-known advocate for Open Innovation. I’ve been following him on Twitter for ages and have read several of his well written articles. We’ve actually met In Real Life at the Front End of Innovation conference in Berlin. Lindegaard has made his new book, Making Open Innovation Work available free to anyone who wants it. I’d call that open, and, an innovative way to market his expertise. He’s invited people like me (i.e. other gadflies in the innovation space) to help him distribute by letting people know. I’m happy to do this because it’s great content. So, below you’ll see some links to where you

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I listen to the radio when I’m in Michigan. Thank goodness because I’ve got no cable here and my web connection is pokey. It’s sort of a self-imposed news blackout. Radio is my one solid connection, so, I had NPR in the background yesterday when I heard a show that had Everything to do with Innovation — This American Life. Ira Glass hosts this eclectic show, and as many times as I’ve heard it in the past, and enjoyed it, I’ve never really thought of him as even remotely concerned with business.  So all the more amazing when his program was an Innovation business mind-blower. Listen to it: it has to do with “Patent Trolls” and their huge negative impact

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A holistic approach to innovation is often missing in organizations that can’t create break-through new offerings, or innovate consistently. I’ve rapped about “holistic innovation” before, it’s one of my keynote talks. When audiences ask what I  mean, I explain the “4 P’s” of organizational creativity: People, Process, Product, and “Press” (code for internal culture or environment).  The 4 P’s concept was developed by Mel Rhodes many years ago. If an organization can gets its arms around the 4 P’s they’ve got a pretty good start on holistic innovation. But it’s only a start, there’s more. And many won’t like to hear it, but the additional things required to be more holistically innovative boil down to touchy-feely, artsy, trendy things. Things like

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The Front End of Innovation 2011 conference was last week in Boston. A few comments and impressions for your consideration. * It would be hard to imagine a more serious group with regard to innovation. This is probably the most concentrated group of pure corporate innovators you’ll find. These are the folks who are working hard to make innovation happen at the biggest organisations in the world. And they are desperate to find ways to improve. I don’t have a count on numbers, but it’s not Mac World, it was a focused group. In a way, this group is almost an ad hoc innovation industry association. * Which is not to say these folks are “too serious” — there were

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