Eric, Bill, and You!
(And We’ve Added a Very Fine New Book in the Innovation Mastery Library)
InnovationLabs Newsletter for March 2023
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, believes strongly in the importance of innovation.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, does too.
And since you’re reading this newsletter, you’re also a fan of innovation, which certainly does put you in very good company.
Schmidt has just published an article in “Foreign Affairs” magazine (current issue, March-April 2023) entitled “Innovation Power,” a title which in itself says a lot, and the subtitle explains what he means: “Why Technology Will Define
the Future of Geopolitics.” The article starts by describing how the Ukrainians have used innovation to overcome the massive odds they face in the war with Russia:
“Ukraine’s success can be credited in part to the resolve of the Ukrainian people, the weakness of the Russian military, and the strength of Western support. But it also owes to the defining new force of international politics: innovation power.”
He goes on to say, “The ability to innovate faster and better – the foundation on which military, economic, and cultural power now rest – will determine the outcome of the great-power competition between the United States and China.”
The article describes many facets of innovation, many technologies that are already impacting today and will have even more impact tomorrow, and some of the roles that government must play in fostering innovation – and the acceleration of innovation as a central competitive advantage among nations.
At InnovationLabs, we’re also rather fond of innovation, and indeed pretty much everything we do with our clients ends up being about how we can help them to do innovation better.
Innovation has also played a role in Bill Gates’ career. For a long time he was understood to be the richest man in the world, and innovation certainly had something to do with that. It all goes back nearly half a century, when Xerox innovated the PC, then Apple copied Xerox, and then Microsoft copied Apple. And as a result, Gates got very rich, a timely combination of luck, skill, and yes … innovation.
(Copying, and improving on what you copy, is, after all, an important skill for all innovators!)
Gates still thinks a lot about innovation. His most recent book, published in 2021, is all about how innovation can be used – must be used, really – to overcome the impacts of climate change. Entitled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,” the book examines innovation across a broad range of relevant fields, including agriculture, transportation,
energy, manufacturing, construction, and government, and describes how they all must all play a part in addressing climate change.
Dozens of innovations are cited as providing solutions that are already available to us, and Gates points to dozens more innovations that are still needed.
We have to innovate, he says, and “to force an unnaturally speedy transition” to net zero. “We need new tools for fighting climate change: zero-carbon ways to produce electricity, make things, grow food, keep our buildings cool and warm, and move people and good around the world. And we need new seeds and other innovations to help the world’s poorest people adapt to a warmer climate.” (page
13)
Innovation indeed!
(Side note … Farah Naz and I found Gates’ book to be a very useful reference in the preparation of our own recent book, “Net Zero
City.”)
Speaking of a speedy transition … how many electric cars do you think will be introduced into the market in the next few years? I was rather surprised to discover that it’s more than 100! Here’s a nice listing, with photos, of 50 of them coming soon from
Motor1.com.
Notably missing from the list is Toyota, which bet heavily on hybrids and hydrogen, but missed badly on fully electric cars. As a result of this rather large strategic blunder, CEO Akio Toyoda has recently stepped down. Yes, seeing the future well is definitely an imperative for effective innovation investment.
And How About You?
So this brings us to you.
How is innovation going with you? Is your organization as good at innovation as you ought to be? Is the pace of innovation in your firm keeping up with the rate of change, and the rate of innovation among your competitors? These are all important questions that you need to ask yourself and your colleagues on a regular basis.
To increase the rate and improve the impact of innovation in your firm, it may be useful to think about how to increase the skill level of the members of your innovation team. Along those lines, we have just added another volume to the Innovation Mastery Library.
And now we happily introduce our newest book:
Visual Modeling
Using Drawings to Help People Understand How Things Work
Author Bryan Coffman is one of the world’s well-known pioneers in the invaluable skill of visual modeling. He has written a very fine book that is a tremendous resource for anyone, expert or novice, full of very specific guidance, tools, and methods.
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And why is visual modeling an important skill for innovators?
As you well know, innovation begins when concepts and possibilities swirl around as you gather more and more information and you try to make sense of needs and opportunities. Figuring out where you are, where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there is the essence of innovation planning, and these conversations take place amid settings of high complexity and often a lot of ambiguity.
The role of the visual modeler is to help these conversations reach optimal conclusions by translating the swirl of ideas in visuals that clarify and convey complexity. A good visual model explains patterns and relationships to help innovators see what’s there and what’s not there.
Bryan started his practice of visual modeling in the 1980s, and after 40 years it is fair to say that he’s one of the best at it in the entire world. In his unique and understated way he shares an incredible depth of understanding in this very well illustrated book. (Of course it has to be well illustrated – it’s ALL about illustration, after all!)
NOTE: Since this book is so useful for our community of friends and colleagues, we’re making it available on Amazon from now until May 31 at half price. Starting
June 1 the price will double, so definitely order your copy (or your ten copies) today!
More Tools to Achieve Innovation Mastery
And speaking of boost, do you need to boost your capacity in innovation? Our Innovation Mastery program continues to attract people from around the world with 25 hours of outstanding content that has been licensed by numerous corporations to help their staff and innovation teams increase their depth of knowledge and proficiency.
Sign up for the ridiculously low price of $249 per person, with quantity discounts available – it’s a timely and super effective investment in creating a healthy future for your organization. You can check it out at www.mastery.innovationlabs.com.
The Innovation Mastery Library
With the addition of Bryan’s excellent book, the Innovation Mastery Library now consists of 16 volumes, which makes it possibly the most complete collection of books on innovation available anywhere. Check these titles out … they’re all available on Amazon.
As always, thanks for reading, please pass this newsletter along to others, and please share your comments and feedback with us!
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Langdon Morris and Farah Naz. Net Zero City: How to Overcome the Climate Crisis by 2032. 2021.
Bryan Coffman. Visual Modeling: Using Drawings to Help People Understand How Things Work. 2023.
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About InnovationLabs
InnovationLabs is recognized worldwide as one of the most helpful and important innovation consulting firms. We help our clients achieve world-class innovation prowess by designing innovation systems and tools, implementing innovation programs and departments, and providing fun and enlightening innovation trainings. If it’s got anything to do with innovation, we’re your key resource.
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Click here to download our brochure on InnovationLabs
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Langdon Morris is Senior Partner of InnovationLabs, one of the world’s leading consulting firms working in the areas of strategy and innovation. He is author or coauthor of more than ten books on innovation. To learn more please visit www.innovationlabs.com/
This book is about important interventions, integrations, and innovations, and about how to conceive, design and
implement them in a meaningful way for a new or existing city. It offers a Transformation Roadmap for cities, providing multifaceted pathways to overcome the Climate Emergency by attaining Net Zero.
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