Innovation in Practice Blog
Innovation Sighting: The Division Template on Music
The power of the SIT method lies in the fact that inventors, for thousands of years, have embedded five simple patterns into their inventions, usually without knowing it. These patterns are the “DNA” of products that can be extracted and applied to any product or service to create new-to-the-world innovations. Here is an example of an innovator working diligently to create a new innovation in the field of music – called “Music for Shuffle.” The inventor, Matthew Irvine Brown, is using the Divison technique to create musical phrases that can be played together in any random order. The phrases interlock with each other to create a continuous stream of music – a song. Listen:
Innovation Tools – The Course
It’s that time of year again for “Innovation Tools,” the graduate marketing course at the University of Cincinnati. The course teaches how to use Systematic Inventive Thinking, a method based on three ideas. First, most successful innovations over time followed one of five patterns, and these patterns are like the DNA of products that can be re-applied to innovate any product or service. Second, innovation happens when we start with a configuration (the “solution”) and work backwards to the “problem” that it solves. It turns out that humans are better at this than the traditional “problem-to-solution” approach to innovating. Finally, better innovation happens when we start within the world of the problem (the Closed World). Innovations that use elements of the problem or surrounding environment are more novel and surprising. We innovate “inside the box,” not outside.
Academic Focus: University of Pavia
The Centre for International Business and the International Economy at the University of Pavia is conducting a comprehensive study on how companies leverage innovation as a competitive weapon. It seeks to uncover the different strategic models and managerial practices adopted by the most successful and innovative firms to achieve a competitive advantage.
Innovation for the Non-Profit Sector
Non-profit organizations need innovation every bit as much as for-profit firms. Some might argue they need it more because they lack the resources and cash flow of large commercial firms. Non-profits need innovation in:
* Fund Raising
* Expanding their reach
* Mission delivery
* Resource utilization
The need for innovation in the non-profit sector is widely recognized. Awards, grants, and other forms of recognition for innovative programs help stimulate managers to be more aggressive.
While the need is recognized, the approach to innovating non-profits is not. To innovate in the non-profit sector, these organizations should use the same methods found so effective in corporate innovation. Structured methods based on patterns inherent in inventive solutions can be applied to the non-profit business model just as effectively as the for-profit model. A method like S.I.T. can help an organization “break fixedness” about their role, resources, and process, thus opening new possibilities and approaches.
Discover Where Creativity and Innovation Live.
Get the book today.
