Innovation In Asia - Harvard Business Review

I recently participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Economist Corporate Network in Singapore about innovation in Asia. I started my portion of the discussion by sharing three observations about what I had found unique about innovating in Asia: its unbelievable diversity, both between and within countries (and sometimes even cities); the historical focus of many Asian organizations on replication and cost reduction; and Asia's inconsistent infrastructure (Singapore is amazing, but don't try to schedule more than two meetings a day in Mumbai). But what I really wanted to discuss were the three biggest trends I see affecting innovation in the region.

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Cultivating organizational creativity in an age of complexity - the IBM Institute of Business Value Report 2011

"Why are some organizations consistently good at innovating and adapting while others seem to be blindsided by change? Is it because of their disciplined innovation process or the knowledge and skills of their people? Or is it their determination to build a culture where challenging assumptions is not only encouraged, but expected? Our IBM Creative Leadership Study found that leaders who embrace the dynamic tension between creative disruption and operational efficiency can create new models of extraordinary value." The Creative Leadership Forum was honoured to have been involved in the development of this report through participation by its Chairman, Ralph Kerle who was initially interviewed as a global leader in creativity and then had the honour to feedback and critique the report and its finding as it evolved.

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Blending Art & Science To Create More Effective Ideas - Change This

“Blending art and science is about collaborating in ideas generation: the inter-relationship is critical, you can’t have one thing without the other. A bunch of code or data is just a bunch of numbers without the art.

Science can enable us to be more creative, and creativity allows us to get the most out of our data. But consider ‘the multiplier effect’. If either the data or creative are bad, the idea will fail. It’s not one or the other that we need, it’s both. It’s not science plus art equals results, it’s more science times art, so a zero for either means failure.

That is where the interesting ideas are - at that intersection. The future is all about ideas connecting. Those who can bridge art and science will be in demand, will be powerful.

So if our ideas are going to change hearts and minds, let’s blend them together.”

Download this great piece from Change This and James Trezona.

Leading Transformation and Captivating Communities - Change This - Brian Solis

“Social media is not the catalyst for change, but merely one of its agents. We must remember that Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and the like are the networks that facilitate an uprising. However, it is repression, angst, injustice, inequality, vision, aspiration and hope that serve as the true stimulus for insurrection and progress. Technology plays a part in transformation and it is up to you to learn how social, mobile, real-time, and all other emerging trends are affecting your industries, communities, or markets.

What we learn as a result however is that these new tools can bring people together and unite them under a common front or concerted mission. At the center of any revolution is the burning desire to bring about change. But it always comes down to people, shared experiences, and a common ambition. And it is people who need one another for leadership, support, and inspiration. What’s missing from the equation is your vision and leadership.”

Download this piece courtesy of Change This. Brian Solis's blog can be found here

The Evolved Self-management System | Conversation | Edge - Nicholas Humphrey

I'm now thinking about a larger issue still. If placebo medicine can induce people to release hidden healing resources, are there other ways in which the cultural environment can "give permission" to people to come out of their shells and to do things they wouldn't have done in the past? Can cultural signals encourage people to reveal sides of their personality or faculties that they wouldn't have dared to reveal in the past? Or for that matter can culture block them? There's good reason to think this is in fact our history.

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