At TEDxSydney, Rachel Botsman says we're "wired to share" -- and shows how websites like Zipcar and Swaptree are changing the rules of human behavior.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Rachel Botsman: The case for collaborative consumption | Video on TED.com
Monday, November 29, 2010
Design Thinking for Mobilists
Today at 4pm Ahmet (http://ingosu.de) and I are holding a Design Thinking workshop for attendees of Mobile Monday 2010, a mobile industry conference. Managers from telcos, free spirits from some of Berlin's hottest mobile startups and other interested persons will ask themselves "how, where and why people connect", possibly invent the next big mobile service or product and have lot's of fun making "some crazy (new) shit".
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Hamburger Philharmoniker plays concert while spread out all over the city!
WOW! Great idea and what a way to "get in touch" with the people!
Over 10,000 of Hamburgs citizens were out on the streets to experience the performance by 100 musicians.
BTW - I know I am a bit late on this one (the event happened in spring of 2010) but I thought it was worth posting all the same.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Story of Eames Furniture
If you're into design, this one's for you. And if your into Eames, then check out the new book by Marilyn Neuhart.
Source: Gestalten.tv
Video: The Story of Eames Furniture
by Core77 on 16. November 2010
Today, gestalten.tv presents an exclusive interview with Marilyn Neuhart, author of the newly released The Story of Eames Furniture, and her husband John in their Los Angeles home. They both worked in various capacities with the Eames Office for over 30 years and describe their personalities and working processes, including an idiosyncratic hatred of the word "creative" and the lack of official job titles in the workplace. Watch the video above, or look over the new release here.
Plantastic to replace petroleum-based plastics one day?
Research breakthrough opens possibility of plant-grown plastics
found on Core77 on 16. November 2010
You need petroleum to make plastic. But as reported in Plastics News, researchers from Dow AgroSciences and the US Department of Energy have managed to develop a plant that can grow fatty acids that could potentially be used to produce plastic, perhaps reducing the need to drill down for the goopy stuff.
In theory, plants could be the ultimate 'green' factories, engineered to pump out the kinds of raw materials now obtained from petroleum-based chemicals, according to the researchers...."We've engineered a new metabolic pathway in plants for producing a kind of fatty acid that could be used as a source of precursors to chemical building blocks for making plastics such as polyethylene," said Brookhaven biochemist John Shanklin, who led the research.
Perhaps the resultant material will be called Plantastic.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Swoodoo and Wanderfly solve online travel search's most pressing problems
I just read this article on Core77. As someone who is passionate about travel, I am always looking for that next great website that helps solve some of the most "pressing" problems in online travel search and booking. In my opinion a few of these are:
- the ability to search for flights based on prices (not destinations),
- the ability to compare prices across both multiple locations AND months,
- the ability to search for countries, regions or states as destinations,
- the ability to search for whole itineraries based on price,
- the ability to search for a cheap weekend get-away,
- and the ability to combine travel information from many different sources (e.g. facebook, foursquare, blogs, etc...).
I found Swoodoo (a German travel website) a couple of months ago and planned my trip to Greece using it. In fact, I only went to Greece because I had searched all warm European countries and found the best prices for a flight to Athens - which happened to return one day later than I had planned but saved me almost 200 Euro!
Swoodoo solves the first couple of "problems" in the list above - esp. their PowerSearch yields incredible results.
Wanderfly seems to top this with integration of social media, new information sources and a great trip planning interface.
Read the article below or check them out directly at Wanderfly.
Much has been made of improving the design of the travel experience, typically focusing on the actual transportation part; but when it comes to the planning phase of a leisure trip, user experience design has been notably absent.
A new website called Wanderfly aims to change that with a well-designed interface that considers the way people plan trips. Equal parts travel agent, ticket-seller, world-traveling friend and source of travel inspiration, Wanderfly seeks to get you and your suitcase out of the house with minimal hassle.
Sometimes you want to go away, but don't know where you want to go. Wanderfly makes you aware of the possibilities with a simple welcome screen that lets you punch in what you do know: Where you're leaving from and a budget range, letting you set bookends anywhere between $200 and $5,000. Then you enter a rough time window of travel, i.e. mid-November for two days, or next January for 3 weeks.
(more...)
Why ideas spread!
by DesignTaxi
8. November 2010
I spread your idea because…
Ideas spread when people choose to spread them. Here are some reasons why: 1. I spread your idea because it makes me feel generous. 2. …because I feel smart alerting others to what I discovered. 3. …because I care about the outcome and want you (the creator of the idea) to succeed. 4. …because I have no choice. Every time I use your product, I spread the idea (Hotmail, iPad, a tattoo). 5. …because there's a financial benefit directly to me (Amazon affiliates, MLM). 6. …because it's funny and laughing alone is no fun. 7. …because I'm lonely and sharing an idea solves that problem, at least for a while. 8. …because I'm angry and I want to enlist others in my outrage (or in shutting you down). 9. …because both my friend and I will benefit if I share the idea (Groupon). 10. …because you asked me to, and it's hard to say no to you. 11. …because I can use the idea to introduce people to one another, and making a match is both fun in the short run and community-building. 12. …because your service works better if all my friends use it (email, Facebook).
Monday, September 20, 2010
Web-video causes crowd-accelerated innovation (face-to-face communication goes global)
I just finished watching this TED-talk by Chris Anderson (curator of the TED conferences) on sharing, learning and innovating via (web) video. It is a must see (!) - but here's a quick summary of the core message:
Humans are hard-wired to share, learn and innovate by millions of years of face-to-face communnication. With the introduction of the printing press, written word became scalable and thus the "preferred" mode of communication (and especially for teaching, learning and the innovations that result).
However, now web-video is set to change the game. Sites such as youtube, vimeo, and TED are changing (back) the way we learn. Web-video has made "face-to-face" communication scalable (and nearly free). Individuals and organizations can share their knowledge leading to what Chris calls "a cycle of improvement" where each iteration of the (production, watching, learning and emulating) cycle leads to improvements and innovation! And this is a phenomenon anyone (organisations or individuals) can tap into!
What do you need to kick off the cycle of improvement? - three elements must exist for it to kick into gear:
- you need a crowd (a group of people who share a common interest) and a place for them to gather,
- you need clarity about what the best people int he crowd are capable of (he calls this the light),
- and you need desire. Teaching, learning and innovation are hard work and desire makes people spend the time it takes to contribute.
The current video platforms provide these conditions, future platforms will go even further (especially regarding the light and desire) through new ways of interacting and providing feedback, praise and admiration.
Check out his video. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. The video inspires me to think about the power of video, the future of user generated content and what all this means for media companies (especially television) - what will TV look like in 5 years, what about in 10?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Inspiring quote of the day
“You must be the change you want to see in the world”
–Mahatma Gandhi
A simple, yet impacting statement.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Music for all: Hypoerscore unlocks the musical creativity in anyone!
Tod Machover of MIT's Media Lab is devoted to extending musical expression to everyone, from virtuosos to amateurs, and in the most diverse forms, from opera to video games.
Here, for example, is the hyperscore from a song titled "Creepy Raindrops " and composed by 10 year-old Chelsea O'Hara.
Listen to the piece here:
And if you really wante to be moved, watch Tod Machover's TED video below.
He and composer Dan Ellsey shed light on what's next. Make sure to stay with it until the end.For lack of words all I can say is WOW!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
Last week I received a great book tip from a new friend and design thinker, Ahmed Acar. The still very new book is called "The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home". The author is Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist who explores the effects of visual and other illusions on how we make "rational" decisions.
(thanks to Amazon for the grafic)
Dan Ariley's first book "Predictably Irrational" was a big success. I've only just begun reading "The Upside" and have to say it is amazing.
Some short examples of irrational decision-making from a talk Dan Ariely gave:
- The rate of organ donations within a country is very strongly influenced by the way the question concerning participation in the organ donor program is posed on the form at the department of motor vehicles. In countries where people have to check a box if they want to sign up for the organ donor program, the rate of donation lies between 4 and 30% (for example in Denmark, UK and Germany). When posed differently (i.e. check the box if you do not want to sign up for the organ donor program), the rate of signup is close to 100% (for example in countries such as Austria, France and Sweden). As Dan says, this means that our decision in this case actually resides with the person who designed the form and not with the person “making” the decision.
- In another great example, Dan surveyed students on subscription purchases of "The Economist." When presented with the three choices of (a) web edition for $59, (b) print edition for $125, and (c) print & web edition for $125, 16% chose web only, 0% chose print only and 84% chose to receive both. BUT when option (b) was removed, 68% chose web only and only 32% chose to purchase the combo-deal! What do we learn from this?: Although no one opted for option (b), it was in fact not useless but "helped" people with the purchasing decision.
Check out this TED talk here:
Thursday, July 29, 2010
U.S. job growth driven entirely by startups!
Several weeks ago, the Kauffman Foundation (a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation) released a study showing that from 1977 to 2005, startups (firms younger than one year) accounted for on average 3 million new jobs per year while existing firms shed 1 million jobs net per year. Interestingly, while older firms downsized during a recession, job creation at startups remained stable.
The findings underline the importance that should be placed on creating an environment highly favorable to entrepreneurship (including favorable immigration policies – see the website for the Startup Visa for more on this).Download the report here. Or read the press release below.
-------------------------------
U.S. job growth driven entirely by startups, according to Kauffman Foundation
New firms add an average of 3 million jobs in their first year, while older companies lose 1 million jobs annually
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.), July 7, 2010 – When it comes to U.S. job growth, startup companies aren’t everything. They’re the only thing. It’s well understood that existing companies of all sizes constantly create – and destroy – jobs. Conventional wisdom, then, might suppose that annual net job gain is positive at these companies. A study released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, however, shows that this rarely is the case. In fact, net job growth occurs in the U.S. economy only through startup firms.
The new study, The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction, bases its findings on the Business Dynamics Statistics, a U.S. government dataset compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. The BDS series tracks the annual number of new businesses (startups and new locations) from 1977 to 2005, and defines startups as firms younger than one year old.
The study reveals that, both on average and for all but seven years between 1977 and 2005, existing firms are net job destroyers, losing 1 million jobs net combined per year. By contrast, in their first year, new firms add an average of 3 million jobs.
Further, the study shows, job growth patterns at both startups and existing firms are pro-cyclical, although existing firms have much more cyclical variance. Most notably, during recessionary years, job creation at startups remains stable, while net job losses at existing firms are highly sensitive to the business cycle.
“These findings imply that America should be thinking differently about the standard employment policy paradigm,” said Robert E. Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “Policymakers tend to focus on changes in the national or state unemployment rate, or on layoffs by existing companies. But the data from this report suggest that growth would be best boosted by supporting startup firms.”
Because startups that develop organically are almost solely the drivers of job growth, job-creation policies aimed at luring larger, established employers will inevitably fail, said the study’s author, Tim Kane, Kauffman Foundation senior fellow in Research and Policy. Such city and state policies are doomed not only because they are zero-sum, but because they are based in unrealistic employment growth models.
And it’s not just net job creation that startups dominate. While older firms lose more jobs than they create, those gross flows decline as firms age. On average, one-year-old firms create nearly one million jobs, while ten-year-old firms generate 300,000. The notion that firms bulk up as they age is, in the aggregate, not supported by data.
Contact: Rossana Weitekamp, 516-792-1462, rossana@weitekamp.com | Barbara Pruitt, 816-932-1288, bpruitt@kauffman.org , Kauffman Foundation
Note: This post is based on the July 7 Press Release by Kauffman Foundation
Friday, July 23, 2010
What is the Difference Between Innovation and Creativity?
Check out this great post that highlights the differences between innovation, creativity, and invention. Worthwhile thinking more about. I especially like the bit about "We tend to think of an innovation as a new product but you can innovate with a new process, method, business model, partnership, route to market or marketing method." Although these could fall under process/method - I would add "new ways of thinking" or more specifically, a new way of arriving at answers. Feel free to expand on this list in the comments!
What is the Difference Between Innovation and Creativity?
by Paul Sloane via Blogging Innovation
Discussions about innovation are often made difficult because people are unclear about the exact meanings of some key terms. In particular there is confusion about the difference between creativity, innovation and invention. Let us start with some definitions:
- “Creativity is the capability or act of conceiving something original or unusual.”
- “Innovation is the implementation of something new.”
- “Invention is the creation of something that has never been made before and is recognized as the product of some unique insight.”
If you have a brainstorm meeting and dream up dozens of new ideas then you have displayed creativity but there is no innovation until something gets implemented. Somebody has to take a risk and deliver something for a creative idea to be turned into an innovation. An invention might be a product or device or method that has never existed before. So every invention is an innovation. But every innovation is not an invention. When your company first published its website that was a major innovation for the company even though many other websites already existed.
Read the whole post here.
Go Miniman Go
This one is for all of you out there who, as I did, built whole new worlds (and immersed themselves in them for weeks on end) with nothing more than little plastic building blocks. I'm talking about the kind that required do-it-yourself imagination and skill, not today's pre-designed sets (although I always wanted to have some of these!).
One day - maybe sooner than later - I will dig out the Legos and rebuild all those worlds and explore many still unknown ones ... this video certainly inspires to do so. Oh the memories!
Check out the full story on 30 years of Lego on the GoMinimanGo website.Or, go vintage with classic Lego commercials (now that's the "real" Lego!)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Extreme environments, behavior changes and being able to do more when allowed to do less
Interesting blog post by trackchanges that looks into how new environments, especially when extreme, lead to changes in behavior. Continuum sent a Programm Development Associate and a Principal in Human-Centered Design to West Point to undergo day one of basic training. Read the full report and watch the video below.
Another thought: At West Point the recruits are subject to extreme situations and extreme constraints. As a result they change behavior and perform at or above their maximum. Likewise, a designer or innovator is at their best / most creative when working under constraints. As Charles and Ray Eames said "Design is all about constraints." I would consider this when interpreting the findings the two designers had at West Point.
Check out the full article and video below.
Designing from the Trenches
Posted by Alanna Fincke
Recently, Continuum staffers Devorah Klein, Principal in Human-Centered Design, and Caitlin Toombs, Program Development Associate, braved a day of basic training at the famed West Point military academy in Hudson Valley, New York. Why, you ask, would these two subject themselves to such torture? They were lucky enough to attend a practice R-Day.
R-Day is the first day of training for the new class of recruits, done each year in the summer. The real R-day is run partially by the more senior cadets, so for a rehearsal, West Point opens up their doors once a year to a select few brave civilians, who allow themselves to be the guinea pigs for a dry run.
The Continuum team wasn’t just in it for the extraordinary stories they’d get to tell us when they got back. Klein and Toombs were interested in how R-Day—so tough that you are supposed to fail and fail fast—could affect behavior change. After all, change is hard. And the military knows a thing or two about effectively managing behavioral change.
How can going to extremes, beyond your personal limit, help you make dramatic changes in your life? What could they teach us about adherence and compliance—and, more importantly, about human behavior?
Find out what they learned in Devorah Klein’s video.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Most interesting blogs (in my world)
Today I sat down and went through my Google Reader account to make a list of all of the blogs that I regularly read. Turns out it is quite long. Each of them inspires and excites and definitely makes for great reading.
The topics range from design, design thinking and innovation to entrepreneurship, startup financing, and management advice. Also included are several personal blogs from friends of mine.
Have a look at the new page on my website for the complete list and a chance to check out each of them in detail. I'll be updating as my reading list changes.
Sneak preview in form of a word cloud:
Credits go to Wordle
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sailing the Hanne-Marie (Intelligent Design Meets Wind)
This past weekend, a group of friends and I chartered the Hanne-Marie, a large wooden sailboat, for two nights and two days of sailing on the Baltic Sea. The Hanne-Marie was built 1919 in Denmark as a fishing boat. An interesting feature were a number of tanks with different sized holes going directly into the ocean. These allowed water to circulate into where the fish were held, keeping them alive until the harbor was reached. In the early 1980s she was renovated to accomodate guests and has been in posession of a nonprofit since mid 2000. She is almost 20 Meters long, 4 Meters wide and has 140 square Meters of sails.
We had perfect weather, great wind and an amazing time. See a few of the images below one from the Hanne-Marie's website since we couldn't take pictures of the whole boat under sail). Find out more the Hanne-Marie and plan your own sailing trip here (in German).Aside from being one of the best weekends I have had in a long time, I fell in love (all over again) with sailing and have decided to finally go for my sailing license this August. With some luck, I should be able to do another week of sailing in the Masuria lake region, Poland, in September. This would then be just a friend and I chartering our own little yacht.For those of you who have not been on a sailboat (no matter what size) - It is such a very beautiful way to travel - incredibly aesthetic (not just in a visual sense) and fascinating how silently, actually quite magically, sailboats cut through the water propelled only by intelligent design and wind.There really is nothing like the moment when the sails have been hoisted, the wind starts taking over, and the engine is cut off. Suddenly all is quiet and the boat begins to glide.
Many thanks to Nadia Cone for most of the pictures!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Say Yes to Not Saying No!
Ryan Jacoby from IDEO makes a great point in his latest post "Leading Innovation: Ignore your instincts, say "yes."
Namely: If you want to be an outstanding innovation leader that generates revolutionary ideas ... then get out of your routine -- say yes to the unknown, say yes to getting out of your comfort zone, say yes to entertaining new ideas, and definitely say YES to not saying no.
My thoughts on this: I couldn't agree more! Since moving to Germany several years ago, I've thought a lot about the differences between the German and American culture. Although this might be boiling it down to a stereotype, I've noticed that while Americans tend to say yes (i.e. entertain an idea) first, Germans take the more conservative route of a skeptical no before coming around (if the idea warrants it).I for one have taken this observation to promote “yes-behavior" in my thoughts and actions -- in my opinion quite successfully. Some of the best things that have "happened" to me, happened because I started off by thinking and saying yes.
However, there are some forms of yes that may need to be excluded, such as:
- In some cultures no is seen as impolite, leading to a yes even when no is meant [confusion ensues]
- Many people say yes because they are unable to say no.
- Yes, but .... / Yes, maybe ....
So, say yes first. And mean it! This makes the thinking that follows more open. Feel free to think about why an idea will work. Play with it. You can always arrive at no later. Benefit from a big portion of pure and open YES in your life”!
I’m looking forward to your comments ....
I’m looking forward to your comments ....
[@Ryan Jacoby - don't you mean "When in Doubt, Do!?]
---------------------------------Leading Innovation: Ignore your instincts, say "yes"
by Ryan Jacoby via do_matic
by Ryan Jacoby via do_matic
(From Dean Terry's Flckr photostream shared herewith under the auspices of Creative Commons which says "yes.") When in doubt, don't.
Almost every organization in the world struggles to design and bring new, valuable and cool stuff into the world. With their success, organizations evolve towards consistency and away from variance. As individuals, leaders follow suit. We develop all kinds of strengths and behaviors that help us to perform well at "consistency tasks".
To avoid being too smart, leaders looking to encourage innovation have to learn to catch themselves and overcome the urge to say "no."
Great innovation leaders learn to start with "yes." They see the possibility of new options, give the gift of emotional support for those bringing them new ideas and provide the instrumental support to help these new options progress. The strong ones survive anyway.
See Chapter 16 of Oribiting the Giant Hairball ("The Office of the Paradox") for more on this.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Learn more about The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010
A couple of weeks ago, FastCompany released their list of the 100 most creative people in business for 2010. It is interesting (and cool) that they chose some unexpected candidates such as Lady Gaga (like her or not she has taken the entertainment world by storm), Jamie Oliver (originally a chef from the UK, now revolutionizing school meals), Fred Wilson (one of my favorite bloggers and co-founder of Union Square Ventures), and Andrey Ternovskiy (founder of Chatroulette).
Or as Fastcompany says: "This year's 100 Most Creative People offers our own, idiosyncratic perspective on business. The selections reflect the breadth of news ideas and new pursuits at play in our business landscape. From interface designer Yugo Nakamura to HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins to futurist Ray Kurzweil, we can attest that creativity is alive and well in 2010."
Check out the whole list at FastCompany.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
How to become and stay a leadership brand (and not be a follower)!
Today I came across an interesting article (Brand Leaders and Sex: The Untold Story) from FastCompay on what differentiates leadership brands from follower brands.
The general gist is: Leadership brands wake the same emotions and reactions in their customers as a great relationship does ... follower brands dont!
Going along with the idea, I added some more thoughts to help make sure "your brand ends up on top!".
Feel free to have some fun and add to the list in the comments!
Brand Leaders and Sex: The Untold Story
By David Brier
Love, lust and sensuality have been around as long as fire. Who knows, maybe they created the first spark that made fire seem desirable.
While that’s conjecture, there’s one thing we know is true. Our passion for brands, branding and “stuff that works” can be as insatiable and hot-blooded as any romantic fling. And brand leaders know that a killer product launch [1] is one of the greatest aphrodisiacs there is.
Honestly, now. Is it any wonder that the whole subject is often referred to as “positioning?” How innocent is the bite taken out of Apple's forbidden-fruit logo? Is Dyson's "no loss of suction" really about vacuum cleaners? And let us not forget that great copy line from the Cadillac CTS commercial, "When you turn it on, does it return the favor?"
So how can you ensure that your brand ends up on top? Well, here you have it.
- Leadership brands find new and unique positions. Follower brands do it the same old way, just like everybody else.
- Leadership brands make customers happy they’re doing it and eager to do it again. Follower brands leave them wishing it were over.
- Leadership brands make sure their customers are satisfied. Follower brands are in it only for themselves.
- Leadership brands revel in their customers’ obsession. Follower brands would be thankful for the occasional stalker.
- Leadership brands shower their customers with attention. Follower brands drown them in indifference.
- Leadership brands care about their image and are a pleasure to be seen with. Follower brands are concealed in a brown paper bag.
- Leadership brands earn respect and devotion. Follower brands get the “friends with perks” treatment: I don’t really love you but you’ll do for now.
- Leadership brands enjoy a level of customer monogamy. Follower brands merely have flings.
- Leadership brands routinely incite desire for the C word: Commitment. Follower brands are often subjected to the F word: Fleeting.
- Leadership brands can proudly be brought home to meet the family. Follower brands provoke apologies for getting caught in “Brands Gone Wild.”
- Leadership brands get the ring. Follower brands are left in the aisle.
- With a leadership brand, it’s a joy waking up to it, day after day. With a follower brand, the honeymoon is over before the first bag is unpacked.
--------- added ---------
- Leadership brands understand their customers’ needs and meet them. Follower brands ask for permission.
- Leadership brands love their products or services completely and are in return loved by their customers. Follower brands waiver.
- Leadership brands are adventurous. Follower brands stick to what always worked.
- Leadership brands are sure of themselves and the pleasure they bring their customers. Follower brands change their minds half-way through.
--------- added ---------
So never be afraid of the L word.
Leadership = Lust... Love… Loyalty…
Lead on.
David Brier [2] is an award-winning brand identity designer, author [3] and branding expert. His firm's work [4] has won the admiration of peers and organizations but, more importantly, has helped clients jump-start their brands in new and innovative ways, even (and especially) when they've failed in previous brand makeovers. You can follow him on Twitter here [5]. Marlene Hamerling [6] is an award-winning copywriter who has given voice, in every medium [7], to clients that run the gamut from geek to glam.
Feet image credit: © Andrzej Podsiad [8] | Dreamstime.com [9]
Links:
[1] http://web.mac.com/davidbrier/iWeb/FamousNapkin/Blog/7FF08A94-515F-4E41-A23D-...
[2] mailto:david@risingabovethenoise.com
[3] http://risingabovethenoise.com/thebook
[4] http://risingabovethenoise.com/
[5] http://twitter.com/davidbrier
[6] mailto:marlene@hamerlingassociates.com
[7] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcdYwFubHP4
[8] http://www.dreamstime.com/Produkszyn_info
[9] http://www.dreamstime.com/
Monday, June 21, 2010
If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission
How are you using social networking sites?
Great little video by The Economics - yes The Economist(!). It's a quick 4 minutes 30 seconds about the changing media landscape, and very much worth watching. For example, did you know that Dell claims to have earned $3 Million since 2007 using Twitter?!
The Genius of Design
Today I watched Episode 1 (of 5) of a new BBC Series "The Genius of Design". The BBC Website describes it is "A documentary series exploring the history of design".
This first episode tells the story of industrial design, from its birth during the industrial revolution up to today. I was particularly interested in and impressed by the interviews with legendary designer Dieter Rams and J Mays, head of global design for Ford Motors. They both shared their views on what design is. In a nutshell, Dieter Rams believes that "design should be as discrete as an English butler" - he wants to make things quieter. J Mayes, on the other hand, believes that design is simply a communication tool with which a brand's values are communicated to pull the customers in and generate a sale. He says that "design is not an analytical process, it is an emotional process."
All in all a great episode - stay tuned for highlights from the other four!
If you're interested in watching them yourself - check out this blog post by Core77, if you're lucky, they are still online.
What do you do? What are your recipes? -- What can you tell the world (about you)?
Am currently re-reading some of the parts of "ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever" by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson.
It's a great book that shows how time and time again in business (and life in general!), the way it "should be done" or "has always been done" might not be the best way. It is a very fast read with great insights and some smart lessons to be learned, for anyone building a business - or really anyone, period. Maybe it's just because these days I'm spending a lot of time developing and promoting new products and services and am thus thinking a lot about how to use social media marketing, but I've now read through the three chapters "Emulate Chefs", "Go Behind the Scenes", and "Don't Out-Spend, Out-Teach" several times and found some of the thoughts to be very inspiring.The general gist is this: You might have a lot to say or one of the best ideas/products in the world, but you won't get anywhere without telling the world about it - the whole world. BUT whereas traditionally firms (and individuals) have spend large amounts of money doing this, e.g. through advertising and public relations, there are smarter and more effective ways. As Jason and David state:
It's a great book that shows how time and time again in business (and life in general!), the way it "should be done" or "has always been done" might not be the best way. It is a very fast read with great insights and some smart lessons to be learned, for anyone building a business - or really anyone, period. Maybe it's just because these days I'm spending a lot of time developing and promoting new products and services and am thus thinking a lot about how to use social media marketing, but I've now read through the three chapters "Emulate Chefs", "Go Behind the Scenes", and "Don't Out-Spend, Out-Teach" several times and found some of the thoughts to be very inspiring.The general gist is this: You might have a lot to say or one of the best ideas/products in the world, but you won't get anywhere without telling the world about it - the whole world. BUT whereas traditionally firms (and individuals) have spend large amounts of money doing this, e.g. through advertising and public relations, there are smarter and more effective ways. As Jason and David state:
- Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or out-sponsor your competitors, just out-teach them. Individuals and small companies can teach, but bigger competitors can't (or don't!). Teaching is your chance to outmaneuver!
- Emulate famous chefs (who readily share nearly everything that they know, e.g. recipes). They use recipe books, cooking shows, etc... to promote themselves, their restaurant, and/or to build "their" brand!
- People want to see behind the scenes, and not only the big happenings, but even the daily work that is being performed. Allow your customers to see what you are up to and form a bond with them!
So teach, share your recipes, create an audience --- be an evangelist and turn your customers into evangelists.
Ask yourself what you do that you can share, what you're about, what you can tell the world - because the world will listen!As Jason and David ask "What is your cookbook?"----Interested in checking out the book? Here's a link.
Ask yourself what you do that you can share, what you're about, what you can tell the world - because the world will listen!As Jason and David ask "What is your cookbook?"----Interested in checking out the book? Here's a link.
HackFwd - a new kind of pre-seed investment company
I'm very interested in design thinking / IDEO and startup financing / entrepreneurship. Great to see them coming together in this way!
Europe needs more startup financing and enablers. Bringing together two powerful forces in this way is a great step to achieving this.
And with a heavy user of analytics (Lars Hinrichs is founder of xing - which builds on innovative uses of analytics to drove it's business) at the head, an explosive mix is bound to result.
Will be following HackFwd with great interest.
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HackFwd
A post by Tim Brown of IDEO
I don’t usually write about things IDEO is directly involved in but I am making an exception here.
Lars Hinrichs, founder of the social networking site for professionals XING, launched his next enterprise today. It’s called HackFwd (Hack Forward) and it aims to be a place where European technology talent can develop new ideas. It’s a pre-seed investment company that offers ‘passionate geeks’ the investment and support they need to develop their ideas and get them out into the world.
Living where I do in Silicon Valley it is easy to forget that this kind of entrepreneurial ecosystem does not exist everywhere and is particularly weak in Europe. Lars’ venture is special not just because it is offering European tech entrepreneurs the chance to get local funding (and so not be forced to make the trek to California) but also because the whole business has been designed to deliver an experience that is tailored for geeks. Check out the great video animation with the voice over from Stephen Fry on the front page of the HackFwd site.
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And a Video I found on VIMEO about HackFwd.
Seven Words to Transform Your Sales
So I've now been in business development and sales for 1.5 years (or my whole life if you ask many of my friends) and I've learned a great deal about sales, marketing, innovation, using the internet to generate business, the theater of client meetings, etc... - most of which I would sum up under the term business development. Since day one though, my closest co-worker and friend has been teaching me some of the most important concepts that drive business (sales) today (and always). I was thrilled to find so many of them here - so true! Much of what we do every day is based on these concepts - thanks Christian!
Matt Heinz is principal at Heinz Marketing, a sales & marketing consulting firm helping businesses increase customers and revenue. Contact Matt at matt@heinzmarketing.com or visit www.heinzmarketing.com.
by Matt Heinz via Blogging Innovation
You can get lost in the never-ending stream of suggestions, advice and best practices to improve your sales & marketing performance. And although much of it is great, we still need to boil things down to simpler direction that can be quickly & easily folded into the work we do on a daily basis to close new business.
Here, then, are seven words to live by. Seven words that individually represent important concepts in accelerating sales & marketing performance, but together encapsulate a strong strategy and roadmap for improving results.
1. Give: Give freely, early and often. Give away ideas, training, best practices and insights that can make your customers more successful. Publish articles featuring your “secret sauce”, prospects will run back for more. Give free samples of your product or service, free access to your smartest people. Deliver value early and without pretence. It’s a quick way to develop trust, rapport and credibility with your new customers and prospects.
2. Benefits: Don’t talk about features. Don’t talk about solutions. Talk about benefits, results, outcomes. What you sell is a means to an ends. Focus on the ends. Your customers don’t want to buy solutions, they want to buy what happens after putting the solution in place. Talk about those benefits, those outcomes at the beginning, middle and end of your sales process. Constantly remind your prospects that you represent more than just a purchase, you represent the achievement of something bigger that will improve their business and/or their lives.
3. Partner: You’re not in this alone, and you’re not the only company addressing the needs of your target customer. No matter how important you are to your customers, you’re merely a part of the puzzle they need to piece together to achieve their ultimate end-goal. Find the other puzzle pieces in the market, and work closely with them to deliver a bigger, more valuable outcome to your customers and prospects. Pool resources, campaigns, marketing budgets and more to collectively and individually capture even greater market share than you could on your own.
4. Listen: Don’t talk so much. Ask questions. Understand your customer – their needs, their pain, their dreams, their objectives. Listen to them before they’re ready to buy, before they even know a solution to their problem exists. Use social media & listening tools to keep watch for signs of the pain, signs of trouble, signs that your prospective customers have a problem and are seeking a better path to the outcome they desire. Spend more time listening than talking, and your prospects will tell you exactly what they want, and exactly how to help them to buy (from you).
5. Stories: The best salespeople don’t pitch. They don’t present. They tell stories. Stories of success, stories of redemption, stories of pain and problems that are converted to results and achievement. Your customers would prefer to listen to stories, especially stories that resonate with their situation, featuring companies or individuals they want to emulate. They want to hear stories of what their future can and should look like. Pitches and presentations are often dull. Stories bring ideas and outcomes to live. They inspire and drive action.
6. Appreciate: Never take your customers or prospects for granted. Look for ways to remind them, every day, how important they are to you. Do big things and little things to make them feel special. Your competitors don’t do this. Fill the void, and create remarkability and loyalty with little more than a few well-placed words, a few more thank-you’s, and a few simple gestures that cost little but deliver reams of value back to you.
7. Experiences: Do they remember you? Did you give them a reason to? Were you remarkable enough to create word-of-mouth to their friends, colleagues and peers? Were you memorable enough to get the coming back for more? This isn’t just for customers. If you’re delivering value in the sales process, you’re creating differentiation and value vs. your competitors. Commoditization goes out the window, and you win.
Matt Heinz is principal at Heinz Marketing, a sales & marketing consulting firm helping businesses increase customers and revenue. Contact Matt at matt@heinzmarketing.com or visit www.heinzmarketing.com.
TEDxHamburg – an independently organized TED event in Hamburg on May 27th 2010 at Curio-Haus Hamburg
via tedxhamburg.de
Unfortunately I couldn't attend since I was out of the country, but thought I would mention the "conference" here. Berlin in the fall was amazing and exhilarating. I highly recommend going to anyone who gets the chance (or makes the chance - tickets are usually available on an application basis). I'm hoping to be able to help with the next TEDx Berlin which will be taking place in November and am speaking to one of the organizers my friend Jörg in a couple of weeks.
Innovation Paradox – Liberated by Constraints
It's like he took the thoughts right out of my head! Wonderful!!
Jeffrey Phillips is a senior leader at OVO Innovation. OVO works with large distributed organizations to build innovation teams, processes and capabilities.
I've been thinking a lot about that freedom and freedoms to do, act or think are only possible within a set of laws, rules, or in his words - constraints.
Need to read more about OVO Innovation.
What I am still getting my head around and trying to combine with these thoughts is the idea that rules are made to be broken.
Comments?
Innovation Paradox – Liberated by Constraints
via Blogging Innovation
by Jeffrey Phillips
I’ve been captivated by Roger von Oech’s post about innovation and its relationship to paradox. It seems that almost any factor of innovation can be considered a paradox. Last time I wrote about the paradox of slowing down to speed up. This time I’d like to consider being liberated by constraints.
Generally speaking, most teams believe that constraints limit their thinking, and their ability to be creative. What’s interesting is that most people who “do” creativity for a living crave constraints. Without constraints, every task starts from a blank sheet of paper, a very long and broad sheet of paper, with no clear starting point. David Ogilvy is quoted as having thanked his clients for a “tight brief” – not underwear, but a clearly defined and tightly controlled set of criteria to achieve.
Innovation teams often believe that working without constraints is the best way to get started, but what they inevitably face is a selection problem. Which problem or challenge to solve? Which opportunity to address? These question keep the team circling, until finally the team establishes its own criteria or an executive does that for them. Then, with an opportunity or problem identified they begin to generate ideas. What happens next mirrors what happened earlier – without constraints and guidelines, the team has a difficult time deciding which ideas are the “best”, since there are no clear criteria.
You’ll see this happen most often in corporations that lack clearly defined and communicated strategic goals. When a company tries to be “all things to all people” the people who suffer the most are the innovation teams that need a clear lodestar or well-defined criteria. Often management teams think they are “empowering” an innovation team by giving them a blank slate. Usually that is simply a recipe for frustration.
What happens in with a tight brief, or a well communicated set of criteria, is that the team is then liberated to innovation within those criteria, or to achieve something incredibly new and different within that criteria. Since we all need a villain to slay or some fixed point to pivot from, having some fixed criteria or goals mean that we can then assume those goals are fixed and find all manner of outrageous ways to satisfy those criteria or goals. That’s when the really interesting ideas start flowing. Good ideas then lead to a decision making process based on the established criteria or constraints. This is a two-fer. You get better idea generation, better engagement and a team that can more easily choose the best ideas, since the constraints were clearly identified.
If you want a team to really excel at idea generation, set a big problem or goal for them, define the strategic opportunities and establish some key constraints. Then, allow them all the degrees of freedom possible outside of the constraints, and wait for the great ideas to come.
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Jeffrey Phillips is a senior leader at OVO Innovation. OVO works with large distributed organizations to build innovation teams, processes and capabilities.Real Mexican Food in Berlin - Maria Bonita
This is exactly what Berlin has always lacked... REAL MEXICAN FOOD! I just dinner there and gotta say, it is incredible. Ver very fresh, very friendly, very tasty!
Real Mexican Food in Berlin - Maria Bonita
This is exactly what Berlin has always lacked... REAL MEXICAN FOOD! I just dinner there and gotta say, it is incredible. Ver very fresh, very friendly, very tasty!
Passo di Valles in May of 2010
For those of you who dont know it yet - thats my Africa Twin on the latest 2 week trip I did.4980KM, almost no rain, Bavaria, Vogesen (Alsace-Lorraine), Black Forest, Switzerland, Italy down to Cinque Terre and back through the Alto Adige, Austria and Bavaria (again).What a trip - just what I needed. I returned to Berlin 16 days later refreshed and ready to make some changes. Nothing like getting away from it all to see clearly. I dont remember who said this (or the exact wording), but "traveling allows one to see things [at home] the way they really are". Thanks to my parents, friends, and bike for making this trip happen and great!
TEDx Berlin in 2009
This post is a bit late, but better now than never. As to TEDx, it was the first time it took place in Germany.
Some friends of mine were organizing it and I had an invite. I gotta say - SENSATIONAL.The speakers and entertainment were amazing. The food (almost) matched it.
I left that day with many new ideas and feeling inspired and moved.Thanks to all who made it possible!
Some friends of mine were organizing it and I had an invite. I gotta say - SENSATIONAL.The speakers and entertainment were amazing. The food (almost) matched it.
I left that day with many new ideas and feeling inspired and moved.Thanks to all who made it possible!
Quotes to remember
by Gabor's Positive Thoughts
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
-- Winston Churchill
The future of strategy is design, launch and learn
by Ryan Jacoby
The future of strategy is: design, launch and learn.
The past of strategy was: deliberate and decide.
And as the William Gibson quote so aptly illuminates, the future is already here. It's Eric Ries, lean startup stuff. It's Clover Food Labs. It's your Business in Beta pattern.
Dropbox: Lessons Learned
Dropbox: Lessons Learned
Highly informative, useful and generously detailed slide deck from Drew Houston, the co-founder and CEO of everybody’s favorite cloud storage startup. Definitely worth reading.
Nice Analogy
I totally agree!
by Fred Wilson
Nice Analogy
I've often thought this analogy is pretty spot on.
The image comes from this blog post from shane snow.
Venture Capital and Technology
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