Ed's Blog

Innovation, Creativity, Design

Today, July 24th, 2005, in the Entertainment section of the Buffalo News, Jeff Simon reports on the terrible lack of innovation in Hollywood movieland. Since the MBAs got in there, man, it's just profit seeking, with business people correlating trends and demographics and using a formula approach to recycle old concepts/trash through our brains for entertainment. Simon laments that there's very little risk taking, very little innovation and creativity, and we're stuck with what I think of as very predictable (you will now laugh at this point in the movie) recycled movies.

Well, it's the same way in the business world. You often need to look for the little companies and the out of the mainstream products to find new, creative and innovative products and solutions. My August 1st, 2005 Business Week magazine has a special report - "Get Creative: How to Build Innovative Companies." In addition to identifying the most innovative firms (e.g., GE, Dell, Google), they also have an article on how MBA programs are becoming more innovative by both linking MBA students with elective courses on innovation and product design, and also making the MBA program more tightly coupled with Design Schools.

I won't repeat everything in the Business Week articles, but, I will mention that I will try to integrate some postings that discuss design, art, and systems. For example, business people have discussed brainstorming sessions where the CEO says - "we need to think outside the box." What does this mean? How can design and art impact business and business thinking? What are systems?

How do you feel about Hollywood movies, recycled concepts - "Bewitched," "Batman," etc?

How do you feel about different ways to make companies more innovative?

How can you make business schools more innovative and get students to integrate product design, development and business management?

Are these notions, Hollywood movies and business innovation, related?

posted by Unknown @ 6:13 PM