The most important factor driving innovation is a company’s internal culture

New ways of measuring innovation points to internal company culture as one of the lead factors in defining a company as innovative.

I know there has been discussions weather beanbags and such could spur the innovative culture in a company - which it still can't !! But rather it's the overall mindset of the people working in that company which defines the culture.

This is also interesting when it comes to talking about idea-generation and management systems such as Dell's Ideastorm and Idéoffensiv - a danish county's idea generation tool made by Socialsquare.

Because one thing is setting up the physical collection of ideas from various sources, another is actually qualifying those ideas into use full information and in turn projects/solutions.

This is where the culture of the company comes to play - if the ideation is not supported in the company, a lot of ideas won't make the difference. They have to be matured...


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Passive and Active Creativity

In the September 07 issue of Report 103 is a very interesting article on creativity. For many creative involved people, this might seem as just a precision of something they all ready know, but I especially like this paragraph:

Although the exact process is not clear, it seems that the biochemical process of the brain restructures memories before storing them during the night. This restructuring most likely allows our minds to see problems in new ways and so bring new solutions to them. (Ref: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/21/sleep.creativity.ap/index.html)

As stated in the article - sleeping on a problem is not exactly new, though this gives me a clue as to why i often describe my "most creative" period as being in the shower each morning.

The article also touches another interesting creativity-issue - the space or beeing-space. Getting out and about, changing the setting in which you think is a powerful but yet overlooked tool in today's company culture. (No IKEA been bags is not enough - an article about where your ideas come from in Danish)

RFID tagging the city bicycles to make them geosearchable

In Copenhagen, just like a lot of other big cities - we have free to use bicycles which is located around the city in special bike-racks. You get one by putting a 20kr - coin into the release mechanism, a coin you'll get back when you put the bike in one of the special bike-racks in another part of town.


The problem

There are never any bikes when you need them... partly because they are simply stolen, I think someone once told me that 50% of the bikes disappeared every year... that's a lot!!!


I don't think that this idea will solve that problem... or maybe it could help relocate the missing bikes if proper geo tagging is implemented.



The spark that created this idea

You take:

- City bikes concept

- An idea about RFID tagged umbrellas called Dutch Umbrella

- An online metro map, showing the current positions of all metro trains called Byens Puls (=City pulse, you know the nerve line of the city)



The Idea

Well it all most spells itself out - adding the 3 together, you get an online map showing where the city bikes are located, so you can decide where to go an pick one up, or don't bother at all. Also enabling the geo tagging /GPS, could enable a return-bike-crew to find lost bikes and put them in to use again - I know they have a crew finding lost bikes in Aarhus, but they rely on common sense - as to where people usually through the bikes after use...


Take a bit more from the Dutch Umbrella idea; I read some place (innovationlab.dk) that they are giving store owners, who offer a so called raindrop (a pick-up and drop point) valuable information of the umbrellas way around town, making interesting data on the whereabouts of your potential customers. So for example a candy-store owner can see that 60% of his customers come from the nearby cinema - making it possible for him to focus marketing and so on.

Another angle on this idea is that it provides some social public awareness. "where is everybody?" is not a question you have to ask anymore, you can check to see where all the bikes are - maybe there is a concert you didn't know about...

Where the Dutch Umbrella works well if it's raining a lot, the bike concept is better during the summer - maybe the two should co-exists...

Making a business of finding and sharing information

The issue

You know the constant FYI-emails, IM's and so on, from people in your network, just letting you know they found some interesting stuff for you to look at. Based on their perception of you and what you'd be interested in. Sometimes you'll receive the same FYI 3-4 times - from different people, just adding to the information overload / spam!! The FYI's combined with your own information scouting can take up quite a substantial time during a day... some days you might feel behind on information, because you aren't able to cope with the large amount.

The Combination

I do my share of FYI's to people in my network, being sales leads, or input to projects I know people are working on, to plain old spare time interests. And some (of us) are just better at finding the information than others. Combine this with the "Personal shopper" concept, found in various implementations around the world. Best known in Denmark as a Christmas event in bigger retail stores - helping the men picking presents for the entire family - and wife.

The new concept

Through customizable categories on a website and personal meetings, defining people profiles, making sure that only the right and relevant information comes at a time YOU want it. Having scoters keeping an eye on the information’s of interest in numerous places, giving you the update you need when you need it. The amount of information and time between each update should be highly agile, enabling for quick shifts depending on the current state of "need of knowledge" Maybe topping the information update with information summary’s on requested subjects. Enabling a company to have a start-up meeting on a subject, which is to be attacked?

Codeless creditcard

I keep forgetting the code on my creditcard - it's actually so bad that i forget where i write the code on the "rember-your-code"-helper wich comes with a new credit card....

Recently i got a new laptop, with a thumbreader... and that got me thinking: Why not combine the two!??

Put a thumbreader on the creditcard, and you'll never have to remeber a code again.
- powered by the card-reader it should work just fine...

But then i just saw this article:
http://www.comon.dk/index.php/news/show/id=31071

It'a about a personal card wich uses biometric data to lock and identify you... enabling the card as not only a creditcard, but also as digital signature, key to personal information like medical info etc.

Small storage rooms free to use

You know the storage rooms on trainstations and some shopping centers, where you drop a coin (10-20 DKK) to store your bag for a period.

I never have coins on me, so I though, why not let me store my stuff for free in exchange for some info...

The process:
1. I put my bag in the storage room
2. Closes the door
3. Locking the door by typing a password of my choise
4. Leaving....

5. Comming back, wanting to get my bag.
6. typing the password
7. If the password is correct, then I'm asked to answer a questionnaire of some kind.
could be:
- Polls about Politics or city plans
- Popular music/art...
- Semi personal: What was your purpose of your visit to this city
- Product related questions

The cost of having the storagerooms are sponsored by the questionnaires.

The questions shouldn't take too long to fill out, and should be anonymous.

Inner city beeing space for D-I-Y people

I recently moved to the "big" city of Copenhagen. Comming from the comfort of a house with adjacent garden, toolsheet and plenty of room for my powertools, i suddently found myself having trouble dooing the simplest things. No room for my workbench, and no place where i can make a bit of a mess without the girlfriend gooing through the roof.

Then i remembered this:

http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/sewing_cafe_in_berlin/

The idea i simple, in this sweing cafe you get multiple things: Social network, help, machinery (if you don't have your own), space and storage.

Projecting this idea onto my missing garage/work-space i'm thinking of a Work-café where you can come in to make the new shelf, fixing your bike, reparing the chairs and so on.

The place should provide:

- Storage space for your projects and own powertools

- Crowd ordering of materials to get good prices

- Ordering from house-suppliers to get special deals

- Tools to lend if you don't have the rigth tool for the job yourself

- Community workstations for everybody to use (maybe book online)

The cafe will provide a social network you seldomly get in your own garage, and the comfort and safty of collective skils to ensure you in undertaking large/new projects.

Advanced comfort zone

You all know the feeling. The hazel of setting the aircomdition just right in your car. When first entering the car, sweating because of the hot summer weather you crank up the airflow and setting the degrees to freeze!

After a few minuts you are in sub zero temperatures, and now you have to turn the temp. To the prefered 20. Putting it to 20 from the begining is of course also a possibility. But your skin temperatur changes all the time and 20 may not be the correct temp. for long. So you have to change the settings again.

The idea:)
In house inspections, they have surface heat debtors which can register temperatures on surfaces. Connecting such a device to the aircon. In a car could automatically set the temp. Most optimal relative to your given skin temperatur.

DK| Get your ideas stolen

Et rigtigt godt indlæg på cw.dk af Kenny Munck "Sæt en ære i at få stjålet din ide", som jeg også har kommenteret lidt på.

http://www.computerworld.dk/art/39050?cid=1&a=cid&i=1&pos=9#first

Et af de links jeg nævner :

http://opencoffee.ning.com/

passer godt i tråd med en tidligere post:

http://imaginatory.blogspot.com/2007/03/cafemiljer-stimulerer-it-innovatrer.html

da de netop holder cafe-møder.

Deltag i deres næste her:

http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/1122/

DK| Den digitale arbejdsplads

Jeg beskyldes ofte for ikke af kunne huske, og måske til tider virke en anelse perpleks. Det kan for så vidt også være sandt nok. Og det skal jeg ikke bortforklare og undskylde – Jeg er nu en gang som jeg er.

I forbindelse med læsning af Microsofts hvidbog om den digitale arbejdsplads gik det op for mig, hvorfor en del af min manglende huske evne kommer til udtryk som den gør – små (ligegyldige) detaljer. Ligegyldige er mit indtryk af dem, og altså mit filter der således sortere disse for mig uvæsentlige informationer fra. (Tryk på overskriften for at komme til den engelske version af hvidbogen - som egentlig er en Bill Gates tale - Jeg har også en pdf...)

Når jeg skal forklare en af de evner jeg selv syntes at besidde – at skabe overblik over ellers komplekse ting. Så er en indre visualisering oftest svaret. Da det jo foregår inde i hovedet og jeg ikke selv har de grafiske evner til at lave en tegning der kan vise det, må jeg henlede opmærksomheden på det udmærkede program MindManager. Programmet danner mindmaps, og de representerer et logisk billede at mit indre overblik.

Dermed er det ikke sagt at min hjerne er som MindManager og omvendt. Hjernen fungerer langt mere komplekst end noget program nogen siden kan modellere, og programmet kan også ting med det elektroniske mindmap som jeg ikke kan med mit indre…

Jeg tror at evnen til at kunne skabe overblik til dels fås ved at ofre lidt af detaljerings niveauet.
Det kan lyde som en dårlig handel, men hvis man tænker modulært og vælger at fokusere på det rette niveau på det rette tidspunkt, så får man alligevel detaljerne med. Eller som en gammel lærer sagde til mig ”En elefant spises en bid ad gangen”.

DK| Cafemiljøer stimulerer it-innovatører

Cafemiljøerne danner infrastruktur for en helt ny innovationsbevægelse af “high-tech-nomader”.

Jeg har kommenteret på bloggen fra CW på bla. nedenstående aspekter.

Disse cafemiljøer er i dag alle udstyret med high-speed wi-fi (trådløst internet), og danner en helt ny underliggende infrastruktur med top vibrationer, for en helt ny innovationsbevægelse af “high-tech-nomader”, der primært bekender sig til mobile teknologier og web 2.0-tidsånden.


Hvad, den nye high-tech nomadebølge i San Francisco-området også viser, er, at infrastrukturberebet til stadighed bliver bredere og bør forholde sig til potentielle brugsværdi-optimeringer af eksisterende fysiske rammer, mobilitetsadfærd, de praktiske rammer omkring nye arbejdsformer og sociale netværksdannelser.

Merging Work and Family life

Share selected photos from the weekend trip to the forrest, child birthday or yesterdays party with your co-workers on a public digital photo-wall showing your photos alongside your co-workers.

This is done to spark co-worker relationships and a great way to get to know your co-workers in depth. Rather than just hearing about the kayak trip - see it. Use the photos as an offset to a much more personalized conversation with the person next to you.


So now i've put a feed from my own personal online photo-wall - look at the bottom of the page, or click here
Also i put a del.icio.us tag-cloud up, wich features tags from my favorite links - and a link to the collection. - to the right...

All done in the name of merging ;)

Open-space brainstorming

Imagine if a brainstorm was not carried out in a closed office-spaced, only for the invited...
Imagine an open-space - hallway space, where brainstorm topic and boundaries are posted on the walls, enabling the team brainstorming to get even more input from people passing through... what if that one person that came by your brainstorm was the one with the key input to launch you to the next level ?=!

One topic at a time of cause
The brainstorm owners present of cause
And an active core of people brainstorming, making it into an active environment...

Visible work load

I'm a yes man... and that is not allways good, because i tend to have a lot of tasks on my table at all times.
But it's not always visible how many or if they are looked at in a timely manner...
Thinking about the red and green balls you see in a lot of "innovative" offices, where you put a green one in a bowl if you have a good day or a red if you have a bad...

Having a clear tube where you stack a ball for each current task , making it very easy to see how many you have.
The stacking of the balls makes a first-in-first-out approach to task solving easy to controll. Different colors can represent different types of tasks. A task can be worked on over a number of days, putting the ball back in the stack when done for the day. A DAY ball, making it visible how many tasks you have for that day...

Rape repellent pants

On my way home i heard about another rape attempt on a girl... got me thinking if there was somekind of way to make it harder to actually getting to the rape part - something that would give the girl time enough to react, get away or call for help.

Thoughts:

• Nano tech. clothing
  
• Belt lock-buckle
• Panick button pants
• Auto-call mobile nr.
  

Get 10 alternative reciept ideas on your way out

There has been some talk about food-stores having a more responsible role in the public health. Here in DK some has even removed meet with over 12% fat...

From that i got the idea of the store offering you 10 alternative reciepts on your way out, based on the stuff you just bought +/- one or two products...

That way people could get more variated meals .

A bit of an add-on idea on the previous shopping bag for the fast and indecisive

Ambient photoframe on your desktop

I don't have the money for a real frame, and I don't have an office where I'd put up a frame... I'm not the kind of guy who has such things on my desk.

But nonetheless i'd like to have a picture of my girlfriend on my computer desktop, having the same features as the real life photoframes... does it exists ? I havn't found one yet...

closest was this guy:
Coin-operated

Get personal with your public elected

Go-cards - we all know... Small simple idea is to have Go-cards pre-addressed to political parties, making it easy to let them hear your voice.

Could be combined with a poll on each card, giving the party something in return for listening to your ideas and complaints ...

Public idea-bank...

Why is it companies keep their ideas so tight that they tend to die or get overtaken by others before they are developed into quality products ?!

I've meet more than one person that was good at brainstorming and getting bright new ideas, but only one or two had the same passion for DIVERSITY as I do.

It's with ideas as it is with solution-solving and development in general - it only gets better if more eyes look at it.

So why not have a simple public idea-bank ? - Imaginatory if you will ;)
The thing is - I know that most of my ideas might never develop much further than what you see on core.makebelieve.dk - BUT having a public idea inventory where ideas flourish and idea creators are complemented on their ideas, now that would truly set the scene for an innovative country...

Thinking i Creative Commons can be used to controll use of ones ideas ?

Is this what i mean...
http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/home/

Favorite vote panel

Connect a panel with 5-6 (i don't remember how many they have) stars (as Ipod) to your Ipod, where you can push any number of stars during a number to give the current song a star rating.

The actual rating of any current song will be displayed while playing. Leaving the stars turned on does not alter the rating.