State of innovation: Busting the private-sector myth

Images of tech entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs are continually thrown at us by politicians, economists and the media. The message is that innovation is best left in the hands of these individuals and the wider private sector, and that the state – bureaucratic and sluggish – should keep out. A telling 2012 article in The Economist claimed that, to be innovative, governments must "stick to the basics" such as spending on infrastructure, education and skills, leaving the rest to the revolutionary garage tinkerers. Yet it is ideology, not evidence, that fuels this image. A quick look at the pioneering technologies of the past century points to the state, not the private sector, as the most decisive player in the game. Read the remaining of the article by Mariana Mazzucato at New Scientists here: See also her talk at TEDx Sussex University

The Ultimate Start-up Infographic

The Startup Universe infographic by b_willers.

Kodak’s Problem Child - How the blue-chip company was bankrupted by one of its own innovations

A beautiful story about the demise of Kodak that at the same time can be regarded as a clarifying example of the Innovator's Dilemma introduced by Clayton Christensen. The story exemplifies the problems a company faces when a new technology is on the horizon that promises to disrupt all their current products and business models. Knowing this might happen is not enough, trying to hop on the trend by all means might be a wrong choice, just as ignoring the new technology is. Innovation Management as steering between Scylla and Charybdis.

"Rochester, New York — The cold hits me as soon as I leave the Amtrak station, stepping into a swirl of snow eddies that etch the low streets in black and white.

The terminal sits just outside the city center. In the short car ride into town, one building stands out to me from all the others. It is an impressive beaux arts landmark with five large letters, glowing in red, resting at the top:

K-O-D-A-K

George Eastman invented casual photography here in the 1880s, made a fortune, and built a small town into a city. Millions of people around the world “pressed the button” and for more than a hundred years, Kodak “took care of the rest.

Read the remaining of the story about Kodak here

Stop Pushing Universities to License More Inventions

"Policymakers often believe that if something is good, they should provide incentives for more of it. This philosophy is apparent in policies to encourage the commercialization of university technology; local, state, and federal governments are all working to spur universities to bring more inventions to market. Take, for example, the latest federal efforts: a university commercialization prize and a pledge by university administrators to expand their technology commercialization programs."

Read further here

Saul Kaplan on manufacturing vs services

Finally somebody who understands that the manufacturing versus services debate on innovation is useless. There is a lot of attention about reindustrialising our developed countries: USA and EU. Both talk about again increasing the share of manufacturing in their territories through advanced and modern manufacturing. Kaplan is one of the few who first understands that the distinction is becoming harder to make, not to say almost obsolete. Second, he obviously understands that when you talk about the future of manufacturing you also need to discuss 3-D printing. Unfortunately I have been to conference about the future of manufacturing with high level EU policy makers who failed to mention 3-D printing. Read the article by Kaplan here