Hey innovation-seeking humanoids!

Back in my day, whenever we wanted to get the word out, it was dirt simple. Smoke signals was the name of the game. Or maybe a primal scream or two.

We didn't have no email, no YouTube, no Twitter, no FaceBook, no MySpace... or the ten thousand other things you modern day Technoids use in your endless effort to make sense of things.

And we certainly didn't have no PR Web Press Releases either, like the one Digital Diva Nettie Hartsock just forwarded to Mr. Finally-Got-Use-of-His-Opposable-Thumbs-Axiom-Award-Winner What's-His-Name today.

Photo by Dave Kugler

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)

Interesting summary of Google CEO's speech to the Economic Club of Washington this Monday.

Among other things, Schmidt talked about his company's attempts to innovate, including allowing engineers to use 20 percent of their time to work on projects of their own choosing. Schmidt acknowledged that trusting the workforce to follow their fascination has resulted in many successes for the enterprise. "Part of Google's success is creating more luck," he said.

Success also needs a positive environment and encouragement for employees to be more creative and innovative, Schmidt said.

"It is possible to build a culture around innovation, it is possible to build a culture around leadership, and it is possible to build a culture around optimism," added the googley Mr. Schmidt

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

OK. It's official. My new book, Awake at the Wheel, hit the bookstores yesterday.

In celebration of its coming out, Wayne Hurlbert of BlogTalkRadio, did a 60 minute interview with me last night. Click here, if you want to listen. Click here if you don't want to listen. In either case, I hope things are clicking for you, no matter what you choose to do.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)

See that Neanderthal to your left? That's Og, the mythical inventor of the wheel and the hero of Mitch Ditkoff's new book which hits the book stores on May 1.

In honor of Og, I am inviting you to the book signing at the Golden Notebook in Woodstock, NY, Saturday, April 26th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm.

Here's what Og has to say about the book signing:

Morkel noophpa umphh! Kiaww noofti agu. Brrpp. Obama! Rok. Remu! Ditkoff sumphfta jabu.

Translation?

"Hey bipeds with Blackberries and cash flow problems! You don't even need to know how to read to enjoy a book signing! Free wine! Free cheese! The tribe reconvenes! And Mitch Ditkoff, who has recently developed full use of both opposable thumbs, will be signing books. Or eating crackers. Or talking too much.

Bring a friend. Bring two. Really, you don't have to buy a single book if you don't want to. Just come and be part of the fun.

And support the fabulous Golden Notebook!

If you want to listen to Mitch's two minute rap about the book, click here.

PS: If you can't make it to the book signing, so be it. You can still buy a copy here.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)

At the ripe young age of one month, The Heart of Innovation has been attracting some attention on the Web. Several blogs have picked up on our conversation recently:

Fast Company --
FC Now, Fast Company magazine's regular staff blog, ran an Innovation Wednesday feature, "Corel's Virtual Garage" (8/22) based on Mitch's post, "It's Innovation Time at the OK Corel."
They really got into it in depth:

"Intrigued by the Corel concept -- I first heard about it here - I got in touch with Adam McKinty, Director of User Experience Design at Corel, and Jennifer Fraser, the Lead User Experience Designer, who walked me through the development of the system."

And they got off one pretty sly remark in particular:

"At the end of the day, innovation must create value. (Otherwise it's just bloviation, which can also only be measured using trailing indicators.)"

InnovationTools --
Chuck Frey posted a summary on InnovationTools.com of Tim Moore's deconstruction of the failed Apple Newton.
Big Problem or Right Problem? The Egg Freckles Saga (8/17)

"Tim tells this innovation case history in a very engaging style. I highly recommend that you read it," Frey says.

Innovationpartners --
"En weblog om IP og Innovation,' Denmark. This Danish blog also just published an item on Tim's Newton story, "Succesfuld innovation løser det rigtige problem." But we really can't tell you anything about their take, because it is in Danish, which AltaVista's Babelfish translation ne parlez pas.

For anyone who does read the language, though, you'll be amused by their conclusion:

"Apple tabte markedet og en halv milliard dollars i forsknings udgifter. Hvad er moralen? Den er:

* fokuser på din kunde
* hvad vil han have for en løsning,
* vil din løsning give ham mere værdi i forhold til andre

"Det er jo ren LEAN ;-) "

Added us to their Blogrolls

- InnovationTools, "Innovation & Creativity Weblogs"

- Think For A Change (Paul Williams), "Innovation Blogroll"

(We watch these developments mostly from our lofty treetop perch on Technorati, where we can spot who in their network, at least, has found us.)

Thanks for reading!

Posted by Bill Ross at 03:56 PM | Comments (2)