42 Use technology to innovate…

by | Feb 11, 2012 | Innovate

YES! AND… Facilitate. Innovate. Transform – Creative Gorilla # 42 New technology can help you to expand how you gain information to spot opportunities or issues. “For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.” Alice Kahn Are you making the most of new technology? Yesterday, I ran with my friend, Elvin Box, a study day for Open University MBA students preparing for their Creativity and Innovation exam. Elvin was explaining about companies who innovate because they are pushed (e.g. by falling profits or increased competition) or because they are pulled (i.e they are attracted to innovation because they see it as a way to drive more profit or stay ahead of the competition or because it makes life more interesting). It arose that one way to be a “pulled” company is to have a structured programme of searching for new ideas. That set me thinking. An easy method to obtain new ideas is to receive a regular e-mail from Springwise (www.springwise.com), which keeps you in touch with new business innovations around the world. A recent story was about Lewisham Council in London who have set up a web site (please click here) where local residents can upload photographs of graffiti, dumped litter and other anti social incidents they spot in the town. They upload photographs using software they download from the site and can identify the location. The Council staff then arrange for the removal of the offending item from the streets of Lewisham. This is great for the upstanding citizens of Lewisham (although you wonder if graffiti artists see it as an opportunity to get their...

24 Sense Opportunities

by | Jan 24, 2012 | Facilitate meetings, Innovate

YES! AND… Facilitate. Innovate. Transform – Creative Gorilla # 24 Tune your creative antennae to be much more sensitive with the 5 “Ds”. Miracles, you do not have to look for them. They are there, 24/7, beaming like radio waves around  you. Put up the antenna, turn up the volume – snap… crackle… this just in, every person you talk to is a chance to change the world… Hugh Elliott, Standing Room Only weblog, May 6, 2003 (The blog is not for those of a sensitive nature) This week I took a taxi to Cairo airport. Being a car passenger in Cairo invariably leads you to close your eyes and hope, (the drivers have their eyes closed already), but this was 7.00 a.m. on a Friday with little traffic around. Even so my taxi was “cut up” by a speeding driver. A kilometre further up the road on a bend the speedster lit his hazard flashers and slowed. My driver took the opportunity to overtake and accelerated. Every antenna in my body stared resonating, “Why are his hazard lights on? Something is wrong… why the hazards?” and I clung to the hand strap. (Seat belts? Hah!). Rounding the bend at 100 kilometres per hour  (my eyes glued to the speedometer) we hit an accident scene. My driver braked, skidded on spilt oil and we began scraping along the central reservation. My antennae were right. Antennae are useful (if you are in control!) Before the launch of the Creative Gorilla, I was concerned I might have insufficient inspiration to move past five articles. The impetus to start writing was the advice Michael Neill gave...