Innovation Nation - The changing business landscape

Innovation Nation is about the many changes happening economically, politically and technologically that are motivating companies to stay competitive to maintain relevancy in today’s world.

According to a global CEO survey done by IBM called “Expanding the Innovation Horizon“, these forces drive innovation in three areas:

• Business Models
• Operational
• Products, Services & Markets

We will keep this column in the niche of innovation using technology; otherwise we would be all over the place. To help keep our focus, the column will be released weekly; WE WILL COVER ONE TREND PER MONTH, and stick to the following format:

2. Week 1 - “EXPLORE” In order to set the tone of the discussion, we will explore a trend during the first week and mention some of companies who are doing innovating in the space
3. Week 2 - “PROFILE” - We will profile a few companies that are innovating in this space, discussing how they are innovating and why
4. Week 3 - “INTERVIEW” - After our profiles of some companies, we will interview one or two CEO’s from those companies to discuss their vision and their approach to innovation.
5. Week 4 - “LESSONS” - Linking to our previous interviews, we will talk to some VC’s and angels who are investing or looking to invest in the space and what they think of its prospects. We might provide advice, we might use top 10 lists, we might find examples to learn from other’s mistakes. In any

Just a few other thoughts on innovation that will help frame our future conversations:

THOUGHT #1 - GOING “WEB 2.0″ DOES NOT GUARANTEE INNOVATION - Granted, some companies innovating are using Web 2.0 technologies (i.e., AJAX, Ruby on Rails) and concepts (e.g. Mashups) while some are not; but almost all are leveraging technology to make their innovations happen. While we might make mention of some companies that call themselves “Web 2.0 companies”, we will do everything possible to stay away from the bubblicious nature of this term. This gives us a broader area to play with which only benefits you, the reader.

THOUGHT #2 - INVENTION IS NOT INNOVATION - This means that creating a product, service or business model may be invention, but it may not necessarily be innovation. Invention is the new services or products that come from ideas or scientific research. Innovation in our benchmark represents finding a target customer, application or market to commercializing an invention or idea so your money makes from it. So just because you have created a great new product or service doesn’t mean you can make a business out of it. This is about real innovation, not novel invention.

THOUGHT #3 - COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES CAN BE INNOVATIVE - Where most of our companies profiled may be startups or emerging growth companies, innovation is not limited to the small and nimble. Innovation does not have to be relegated to new processes, services or products. Innovation can happen within a company to be transformative and that is the real point. Transformation on that level makes you more competitive and most likely causes you to see improvement on the top and/or bottom line. We hope to bring to light best practices and trends that you can leverage for your company or team, whatever size it may be.

COMING UP IN OUR INAUGURAL COLUMN - We will talk about the travel industry and the concept of “Social Travel”.

A veteran of the dotcom bubble and bust, Steve Fisher is serial entrepreneur with one successful venture and one spectacular flame out under his belt. He has the scars to show anyone that asks. He is currently advising companies of all sizes on how to innovate within their organization and find the rebel within themselves. He is currently doing research for a new book and can be reached at EnjoyYourJourney@Gmail.com.

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About the Author: Steve is currently Managing Consultant for Appsolve, Inc., a Product Development, Management and Marketing firm. Steve is also an expert in personal branding and is an avid pilot, musician and photographer. He currently resides in Columbia, MD, USA.