The New Language of Innovation

Fellow blogger Derek Cheshire has some interesting things to say about innovation:

'As innovation changes from a hard to a softer kind of process, so the language must change to reflect this. Below are a list of terms that we commonly use in our project teams or businesses together with a new vocabulary that we should all be coming to terms with.'

Read his full article here or see all his blogs here

Energy technology scenarios and strategies for a more secure and sustainable energy future

On 22 June the International Energy Agency (IEA) presented the key findings of a new publication: 'Energy Technology Perspectives: Scenarios and Strategies to 2050'. “A sustainable energy future is possible, but only if we act urgently and decisively to promote, develop and deploy a full mix of energy technologies – including improved energy efficiency, CO2 capture and storage (CCS), renewables and -- where acceptable -- nuclear energy. We have the means, now we need the will”, Mr Mandil, IEA Executive Director, said.

For more details, see my Energy blog.

BT's insights into the future

Although dating back to last August, this futures work from BT is still challenging.

BT's futurology department has developed a technology timeline featuring the technological advances that are likely to affect our lives to 2050 and beyond. It covers all areas of life influenced by technology developments including artificial intelligence, health and medical, business and education, demographics, energy, robotics, space, telecommunications and transport and travel.

It predicts that, by 2012, children could be entertained by video tiles in the bath before sitting in a playroom with wallpaper that changes to promote energy, happiness or calm, and interacting with toys that respond to their voices with matching emotions.

As beaches become more crowded and quiet corners become harder to find, BT predicts we could be holidaying somewhere above the earth's surface by 2017. By 2040, the timeline predicts we could get a space elevator to take us up to a moon village that will have developed by then.

The purpose of the timeline is to help organisations to design technology and products with future customers in mind, with a vision of the kind of environment they will be living in. For example, looking at the future of education or lifestyles, for example, will impact the way BT enhances and develops its broadband network.

For an interactive version of the BT 2005 technology timeline.

For a static version of the BT 2005 technology timeline

For full details, dates and predictions to accompany the BT 2005 technology timeline.

The urban world in 2050

Thousands of experts, politicians, slum-dwellers and activists are meeting in Vancouver hoping to plan a way forward for the world's growing cities. The World Urban Forum will discuss ways to make city life sustainable against a backdrop of rising urban populations.

The world is fast approaching the point where the majority of the human population will be found in urban areas - the United Nations estimates suggest more than half of the world's people will live in urban areas by the end of 2007. Projections suggest that, in 50 years' time, two-thirds of humanity will live in cities.

Six experts outline their vision of the urban world in 2050:

"I would like to see cities that restored a more intimate relationship with the environment"
Hank Dittmar, Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment

"We're going to see a lot more of what I call 'post-modern urbanisation'"
Michael Dear, author of The Post-modern Urban Condition

"By 2050 in the developed world, energy sustainability will have become a very big deal"
Professor Nigel Thrift, author of Cities: Reimagining the Urban

"The more we rely on advanced technologies, the more cities seem to grow"
Stephen Graham, human geographer and author of The Cybercities Reader

"An urban nightmare in less than 50 years' time is certainly what will engulf us on current trends"
Walden Bello, director of Focus on the Global South

"What we are going to see is the reinvention of the notion of the political"
Saskia Sassen, author of Territory, Authority and Rights: from Medieval to Global

From the BBC

New Scenarios from the Challenge Network

The Challenge Network has announced the public availability of its new scenarios for 2030, marking the tenth anniversary of this series. Many people collaborated on the scenarios and there have been nearly 100,000 downloads of the working papers.

You can find background to the new scenarios here.

The two scenarios are introduced here.

....and described in detail and set in contrast to each here.

The two scenarios are called Bearing the Torch, and The Age of Anxiety.
Neither are like any world that we have experienced, and both have profound
implications for policy and business planners.

Survey on China's future role in global business

Friend and colleague Rohit Talwar, CEO of FastFuture has launched a survey of people's perceptions of the future of China in world trade and business. The survey follows up a qualitative survey and is conducted in conjunction with Global Future Forum .

You do not need relevant experience - Rohit wants to compare the perspectives of people with no previous China exposure to those that have such experience.

China's GDP grew at 9.9% in 2005 and each day we read more of China's growing impact on a range of industries, and about its economic and technological growth plans. The speed of development and the scale of China's ambitions are generating a mixture of excitement, confusion and concern across the globe. Rohit and Global Future Forum hope to inform the debate with this survey on three topics:

• The future of China's economy
• China's impact on global business
• Organizational strategies for China.

There will be a follow-on survey on China's Political and Societal future.

The survey takes less than 15 minutes to complete (you do not have to answer all the questions). The survey closes on April 18th.

To complete the survey click here.

Rohit has written a short paper on China's future as a thought starter for the survey and would be happy to email it to you.

Everyone completing the survey will receive a copy of the results.

Business Innovation and Brainstorming

Paul Sloane of Innovation tools says that

'Brainstorms, thought showers or ideation sessions – call them what you will – can be fun, fulfilling and fruitful or damp, dismal and demotivating. It all depends on how they are run.'

Paul has a list of key questions and answers about brainstorming on his website This guidance echoes the suggestions I put in my earlier blog.

How to use Brainstorming as a Business Tool

What is brainstorming? And what is it not?

Brainstorming is a group of techniques that can be used to help a team come up with new ideas. The subject of a brainstorming session can be almost anything: an idea for a new product, service or business, how to attract more customers or what to do on vacation. Brainstorming is good for 'blue skies' work, generating new thinking on old topics and is often used in futurology. It is not a tool for decision-making nor for selecting from a set of pre-existing options.

Often people say they are going to brainstorm when they mean to hold an unstructured and undisciplined discussion. This is fine if it works for them and delivers the results they need. However, it is not brainstorming as I know it, and their process is unlikely to lead to the insights and new ideas that true brainstorming can give.

I will explain what brainstorming is, when, how and where to use it, who to involve and what sort of results to expect. I will not promote or try to sell any proprietary systems or software.

If you are intrigued by the possibilities of brainstorming, perhaps have problems of the sort brainstorming can solve and are willing to study and master a few simple techniques, then read on.

When should I use brainstorming? (and when not)

Most often found in a business or work context, brainstorming is used to generate divergent ideas and to open-up thinking. There are always people able (and willing) to find what is wrong with new ideas and to criticise. These skills can be valuable during convergent phases of developing new concepts - when you are trying to focus on the most practical or applicable ones - but they must not be used while brainstorming.

Brainstorming can be used in almost any situation where a team of people want to generate creative ideas, but it requires a degree of mutual trust among the participants. For this reason it may be difficult to run a successful brainstorm with a group of total strangers. The next section investigates the subject of who should take part; the 'how to' section suggests some warm-up activities that can help to start a brainstorming session.

As I wrote in the first section, brainstorming is a tool for expanding thinking and opening-up options. The output of a session is not an answer but a range of possibilities to be explored later. The technique should not be used as a decision-making tool.

Who should be involved?

Someone to record ideas as they are generated, to lead the team through the procedures and to (gently) enforce the discipline required, is essential. Generally this person, who is often called the ‘facilitator’, will not take part in the brainstorming, but may put forward a few ideas to start the process if the team gets stuck. Usually one of the team will be the 'problem owner', who gives a simple statement of the problem at the start of the session.

The team doing the brainstorming should consist of at least four, but no more than twelve, people. If necessary, try with fewer or more, but a small team may not spark enough energy from each other to produce many ideas and in a big group a few will dominate and produce most of the ideas. So better to have a group of the size I suggest, where everyone contributes. If you are alone, or perhaps with one other person, there are some techniques, similar in some respects to brainstorming, that can be used. I’ll write about 'solitary techniques' later.

If you can choose the participants, try to involve as wide a variety of people as possible. These should include people who 'own' the problem, but also others with less direct interest. For instance, if the problem is the development of a new product, consider including not just R&D and Marketing, but also Production, Sales, Service and Finance. The purpose of this is not to 'inject realism' or to reign in imaginations, quite the reverse - by having a variety of people participate, a wider spread of ideas should result.

What you need

• A room, large enough to seat everyone, but not much bigger. An important factor for success is the intimacy of the group, enabling people to spark ideas from one another. A private room without telephone, or with it disconnected, is ideal, to minimise interruptions. For the same reason, ask participants to switch off pagers, cell 'phones and other mobile devices during the session.
• Plenty of space to write down ideas so that everyone can see them. You should not erase anything until all the ideas (however strange) have been captured. Flip charts are fine and cannot malfunction. But make sure there is plenty of paper and several working marker pens. Black- or white-boards can work, but make sure there is a lot of space for your ideas and plenty of chalk or the special white-board pens. An electronic white-board is an alternative, but be sure to print out or save all of your outputs. And don't forget the pens!
• Whatever your favoured medium for writing down ideas, it is useful to have a digital camera to record everything and have it quickly available for transcribing or e-mailing - not essential but, if you do not use one, be especially careful to take with you all your notes when you leave the room.
• Participants may feel more comfortable with pens and paper in front of them; but they should be discouraged from writing too much as this will distract them from the group - and ideas they write down for themselves might not be captured.
• Everyone must take their brains and imagination, but leave their critical faculties outside. An essential element of brainstorming is the anonymity and lack of ownership of the ideas generated, so do not be tempted to video or make an audio recording of a session; unless for training purposes.

Coming up ….

The 'how to' bit

Electronic and other variations

Solitary techniques

Troubleshooting