BIF-2: Innovation Yin and Yang

Today is the first day of the Business Innovation Factory 2, a gathering with a storytelling focus.  A star cast of innovators will be briefly sharing their stories, leaving the participants, moderators and a brew of bloggers to synthesize the themes and learnings.  I was invited to participate as one of the bloggers … an interesting invitation since I’m not actually at the conference and will not be hearing the stories.

However, determined to bridge this gap, I have teased out some of the stories with the help of the conference site, google, a host of business magazines and an even bigger brew of bloggers.

As I dipped my toe into the BIF-2 story pool, my first connection was with something I find myself saying frequently, “Innovation is never “either/or;” it’s always “both/and.” That’s what makes it such a complex, wonderful, and frustrating mix. It is never one thing.  It’s always an intermingling of black and white in a way that yields not a dull grey but rather an endless kaleidoscope of dramatic patterns.

As a start, innovation is both --

• process … and mindset
• science … and art
• systems and tools … and people and passion
• deliberate exploration … and happy accidents
• culture … and context
• crazy ideas … and return on investment
• bold leadership … and personal initiative
• collaboration … and competition

The first group of storytellers represents the innovation spectrum from a popular new toy to advances in the interface between brain and computers and from visionary journeys through the human body to helping unknown musicians connect with potential fans.  Inspiration for these innovations ranged from the platypus, a unique creature that combines aspects of different species to the question of how the brain creates action and from Greek funerals to being a struggling rock band muscian.  This small group includes artists and scientists, process champions and mindset changers.  Their stories are worth reading at the links below.

Day 1, Group 1 Storytellers:

Alexander Tsiaras, founder and CEO of Anatomical Travelogue, Inc. whom some consider to be a modern day Leonardo DaVinci

Ivy Ross, V.P. for product design & development for the Gap’s Old Navy and leader of Mattel’s remarkable Platypus Project that led to the Ello Creation System, a building system for girls.

John Donoghue, co-founder Cyberkinetics and the Henry Merritt Wriston Professor and director of the Brain Science Program at Brown University

Tim Westergren, Chief Strategy Officer & Founder of Pandora.com