Gregg Fraley

I find it amazing how much people are absorbed in “the news” and it’s political slant or bias.  All of it is pretty much useless to innovators beyond basic awareness of current events. The news I’m referring to is information that is relayed to us by the mainstream media; the TV and radio networks, and newspapers. Web news, such as you might find on Google or Yahoo also is in this category of general news providers. I’ve got no issue with someone who scans these outlets now and then to see what’s being reported, in fact, I think to be culturally literate, one must. But focusing on this stuff too much will clutter your brain with useless poop. News is

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Briefly noted: The New York Times ran an article this morning about how Starbucks is moving manufacture of pottery mugs to a small shop in East Liverpool, Ohio. This is notable because it’s another example of “reshoring” — that is, bringing manufacturing from China and other cheap (aka slave) labor markets back to the USA. This is how restoring the economy happens, one job at a time. Kudos to Starbucks for being a good corporate citizen, and doing something that is just plain smart as well. Sales from the mugs will help support Starbuck’s Create Jobs for USA Fund. I’ve blogged about both reshoring and the Create Jobs for USA program here before — nice to see it’s an active

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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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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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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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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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Readers of this blog know that I advocated for the passage of  the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) in the USA. This is H.R. 3606. The good news is that the bill has passed the US Senate. It was amended to provide a bit more disclosure and safety for investors, but it’s done, and this is a very good thing. Here’s a nice summary of what’s happened from the New York Times. It still needs signed by President Obama, but he will, he was behind this effort. Can the right please refrain now from calling him a socialist? This is possibly the most “free market” law in recent memory. This is a very pro-business bill and it shows Obama

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Ran across a facsinating article this morning in Mail Online India. It features three inventors who each have responded directly to some market need with a new device or product. The actual products are interesting, but what strikes me about this at a different level is that India might be a hotbed for new innovation. This is an emerging trend. Why? India has a goodly number of educated people with deep interests in engineering and math. It’s a free country, so people can pursue their interests. They have a grass roots innovation program that helps find and fund inventors and entrepreneurs. Think micro loans and such. And most importantly there is desire, a deep motivation to create something new. The

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This mornings Independent brings the story that Britanica is publishing its last set of encyclopaedias — after 244 years of continuous editions. The story strikes a chord. My family invested in those glorious leatherette tomes when I was a boy and I spent many hours delving into those books. This was of course before the Internet — which, by the way, is going to be big. It’s a story of a lack of innovative courage. A hesitancy to ask themselves big, bold, brave, questions (see KILN for how). Britanica is going the way of Kodak. They are being bypassed by a world that is simply doing things differently. A world that is no longer using film to make memories, and

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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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