Tag Archives: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Serendipitous exchanges fuel innovation

twitter innovation networkWell, well, well…someone finally mapped out on Twitter what we intuitively know about how innovations happens:

The more diverse a person’s social network, the more likely that person is to be innovative. A diverse network provides exposure to people from different fields who behave and think differently. Good ideas emerge when the new information received is combined with what a person already knows.

It’s really simple, interactions, not individuals, drive breakthroughs.

What are the key ingredients necessary to accelerate innovation in any environment?

In any environment, what are the key ingredients necessary to accelerate innovation?

MIT’s Andy Pentland says the best decision-making environment for good ideas to spread is one with high levels of both “engagement” and “exploration.

Via the NY Times:

The best decision-making environment, Mr. Pentland says, is one with high levels of both “engagement” and “exploration.” Engagement is a measure of how often people in a group communicate with each other, sharing social knowledge. Exploration is a measure of seeking out new ideas and new people.

Four people we need to make innovation happen

Innovation comes from diversity. From people colliding at the intersection of domains, ideas and experiences. In other words, we need to create a Renaissance!

MIT Media Lab guru Joi Ito says we need to be all four of these people to make innovation happen. Or, if you are not a Renaissance Man, an innovation team needs these four people.

Innovation posts of the week: How to combat creative resistance

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Infographic: How MIT Media Labs turns lab work into real-life applications

I asked last week if technology clusters drive innovation, there isn’t any evidence that says it does. What is evident is that there are institutions (not clusters in the traditional sense) who are driving innovation.

With that said, I found this cool infographic from MIT Media Labs on how they turn lab work into real-life applications.

Innovation posts of the week: Why Companies fail to innovate

 

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What leads to innovation?

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The worlds most recognizable brands where born out of some innovative product or service that created new value for consumers. But what lead them to that specific innovation? Why not check out this custom interior signage here for more info!

The Branding Strategy Insider came up with a short list of factors that lead to innovation:

 

•    A penchant for experimentation and action over analysis

•    The realization that in many industries, approximately 70% of innovations are developed by users, not the firm bringing the product to market (from research done by Professor Eric von Hippel at MIT)

•    The importance of connectivity. An enterprise has a much higher success rate if it is interconnected with the widest variety of potential idea sources, suppliers, business partners, customers, universities, governmental agencies, etc.

•    Build on your strengths, don’t waste your efforts on hiding or compensating for your weaknesses. Identify your assets and amplify them.

•    Envision the positive outcome that you seek.

•    Be optimistic and constantly work until your optimism is justified.

This is by no means a complete list but in my opinion it’s quite simple. If we were to trace these factors back and look for patterns these would show up in one way or the other.

 

What other factors lead to innovation?

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