John Winsor

The Crushing Devaluation of Digital Tools

A couple of days ago, I was getting ready for a speech in New York. I couldn't find my digital powerpoint remote and was about ready to buy a new Logitech Wireless Presenter R400. Just before I pushed the Buy and spent $49.99 on this:

A thought occurred to me. Is there an iPhone app?

Sure enough, I found the i-Clickr Powerpoint Remote App for $.99.

So, $49.99 for the physical product or $.99 for the virtual one? Not a hard choice. And, best of all. I only have to carry around one tool instead of two.

It's a great illustration of as things go from physical to virtual the downward price pressure is enormous.

Crowdsourcing and The Future of Corporate R&D Labs

Steve Lohr did a wonderful job exploring the future of the corporate R&D Lab in his article entitled, The Corporate Lab as Ringmaster. Here are a couple of good thoughts:

Crowdsourcing and other new, more open models of innovation are really byproducts of the low-cost communication and new networks of collaboration made possible by the Internet.

So, in the Internet era, what is the continuing role and comparative advantage of the corporate R.& D. lab?

You could substitute almost any organization that acts as an intermediary into the question above and be searching for a way forward.

Steve's answer to the question is a good one:

The best bet for corporate R.& D. labs, he said, is to adopt a “federated” model that leverages all the innovative work by outsiders in universities, start-ups, business partners and government labs. The corporate lab’s role, then, is to be more of a coordinator and integrator of innovation, from both outside and inside the company walls.

How can you become more of a ringleader in what you do?

The CP+B Intern Auction

We're auctioning our summer interns to the highest bidder on eBay. If you'd like to have our brilliant interns work on your advertising, join the bidding. Here's the description from eBay:

In the past, our interns have created work for companies like Burger King, Volkswagen, Guitar Hero and Microsoft. And now they can do the same for you. Bidding starts at $1 for three months of service with all proceeds going to the hardest working people we know - the CP+B interns themselves. So bid early and often, and world-class advertising can be yours for a fraction of the going rate. Send questions/comments to internauction@cpbgroup.com.

The Future of Innovation

Alice Rawsthorn penned a wonderful piece, entitled Reinventing Innovation in the New York Times yesterday. Here's an excerpt.

A recent recruit to the endangered list is “innovation.” Once hailed as a panacea, it has been so diminished by hyperbole that it risks seeming irrelevant. (“Transformation” is the fashionable favorite to replace it.) Yet just like “design” and “contemporary,” “innovation” is losing credibility as a word at the very time when it is needed most urgently.

As the economic and environmental crises deepen, there is a growing recognition that many aspects of our lives need to be reinvented. Politicians routinely call for the “redesign” of society, and urge businesses to “innovate” their way out of recession. This readiness to embrace change — even radical change — coupled with advances in science and technology, is unleashing a stream of innovations.

It's worth a read.

Siftables: The Best Technology at TED

David Merrill from MIT gave the coolest TED talk about a new technology he's developed called Siftables. They are little computer blocks that interact with each other and other devices. They could have the potential of making computing that much more engaging.

Be a Heretic

Ever sense Martin Luther nailed The 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in 1517 and ushered in the Reformation the term “heretic” has had religious connotations, being someone who’s opinion was a deliberate departure from accepted church doctrine. The business world needs more heretics, especially today. The marketplace demands more people who seeing outside the standard paradigm in an industry and have the courage to change it. The paradigm represents the way to get things done. It’s easy to go with the flow and follow the crowd.

But look around. Innovation always happens at the edges, where someone uses strategic intuition and breaks the mold to think the opposite. Dick Fosbury shocked the track and field world in the 1968 by doing the opposite and high jumping upside down. Instead of following the current paradigm and jumping stomach-first over the bar, he jumped back first. Fosbury broke the world record by almost 30%. Such gains don’t come from following the crowd.

Advertising Kills Bad Products

Historically, many companies have overlooked the fact that the product itself was often the most powerful brand-building tool they have. And, advertising agencies and branding experts seduced them into thinking that marketing was the only way to connect with consumers. At the same time, many companies have underestimated consumers’ ability to recognize innovation. Today the ability to innovate is not only the best marketing tool but the best way to grow revenues and profits, especially in uncertain times. But, innovating means taking risks. Most products are marketed to reach an old market. Good product design has the ability to create a whole new market.

Think About Chemistry

Lot’s of times innovation is assigned to a cross functional team. Instead of thinking about what specific people should be on each team, think about what functions the team needs to get done, then about he chemistry of the team. Often times it’s an intuitive thing. You’ve been there. A team with too many leaders is just as hard to deal with as a team with no leaders at all. Sometimes, getting the right chemistry is more important that getting the people on the team.

Take Work Home

It sounds awful. Yet, that’s what it takes these days. No longer can you close your computer and turn off your Blackberry when you pull away from work. Unfortunately. Yet it’s hard for a lot of people to erase the line between work and life. Think about it. It’s all the same anyway. The thing that gets in the way is the word “work.” Someone could work as a graphic artist and build engines as a hobby or work as an engine builder and have a hobby as a graphic artist. It’s all semantics. What’s important is the passion. If you’re passionate about what you do and what you make, the lines between work and life will blur without even trying. Be more passionate instead of thinking about working harder.

The Power of the Story

Video is making stories so much more human. So much more powerful.