Transforming big businesses into green businesses might seem like a thorny process. But older, established companies like Ford have the potential to ignite a new generation of environmentally friendly products, according to Andrew Winston, author of The Big Pivot. By shifting their manufacturing process—like substituting aluminum for steel, as Ford has done—such companies are able … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Which Companies Care About the Environment?”
Author: Kara Miller
Innovation Hub: Why Science Plays Small Ball
The scientific revolution has ended. Or, at least it’s on pause, according to Roberta Ness, vice president of innovation at the University of Texas Health Science Center. She believes that science’s most promising thinkers aren’t taking big enough risks. They’re not researching the next penicillin or investigating new theories of relativity; they’re playing it safe. … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Why Science Plays Small Ball”
Innovation Hub: XPRIZE Founder Tackles Entrepreneurship
Peter Diamandis is, I think it’s fair to say, an optimist. After all, how many other space-obsessed kids ended up founding an International Space University? Or inaugurated an XPRIZE, to inspire a new generation of passenger spacecrafts? But Diamandis’s current obsession is entrepreneurship, and the idea that the economy is radically shifting to accommodate a … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: XPRIZE Founder Tackles Entrepreneurship”
Innovation Hub: Did a Computer Write This Story?
Forget Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Friedman. The next great journalist could be a computer program. Already, artificial intelligence has been put to work at Forbes, the Associated Press, Reuters, and The Big Ten Network. Coverage of NCAA basketball games, earnings reports, and dips in housing prices are regularly penned by this new breed of “journalist.” … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Did a Computer Write This Story?”
Innovation Hub: Wadhwa’s Dystopian Future
Vivek Wadhwa is a big-picture guy. A guy whose vision of the future includes printing meat, banning humans from the road, and sidelining Wall Street. Wadhwa currently juggles appointments at Stanford, Duke, and Singularity Universities, and he says that massive technological advances will reroute our lives, a shift that may lead to massive dislocation, perhaps … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Wadhwa’s Dystopian Future”
Innovation Hub: Advertising’s New Age
A product, a camera phone, and a sensor. Those may be the essential tools of advertising in the 21st century. Increasingly, we’re witnessing the disappearance of the classic, 30-second ad. Now products are looking to lure us with humor (I’m looking at you, Old Spice Guy) or whiz-bang theatrics (think Jean-Claude Van Damme straddling Volvos). … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Advertising’s New Age”
Innovation Hub: Meet the Science Evangelist
Ainissa Ramirez says she’s a “Science Evangelist,” and she travels the country to preach her gospel in classrooms. As a result, the former Yale professor hopes to invigorate students, amping up their engagement with everything from nanotech to material science. I talked to her about how you help a generation of kids find their inner … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Meet the Science Evangelist”
Innovation Hub: The Data Behind Online Dating
Online dating is big business. As of last year, it’s worth over 2 billion dollars, having grown at a steady 3.5 percent rate since 2008. And that big business has transformed the way we find love. If you’re getting married this year, there’s a one in three chance that you’ve met your spouse online. That’s … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: The Data Behind Online Dating”
Innovation Hub: Meet Amy, Your AI Assistant
Amy Ingram is the most well-liked personal assistant in New York City. She was created by Dennis Mortensen to do a real job: schedule business meetings. And, given the fact that she’s artificially intelligent, she’s very good at it. But Mortensen, CEO and founder of x.ai, envisions more. His AI trainers are researching ways to … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Meet Amy, Your AI Assistant”
Innovation Hub: 10 Years After the Larry Summers Controversy
Ten years ago, Harvard’s then-president, Larry Summers, wondered why women are so scarce in elite math and science departments. Is it because they’re less ambitious than men? Or, perhaps, they’re less inclined to be extremely smart? His comments caused a national furor, and Summers stepped down as president the following year. Now, Professor Eileen Pollack, … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: 10 Years After the Larry Summers Controversy”
Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?
How many articles have been written about the innate business acumen of Steve Jobs, the brilliant coding abilities of Mark Zuckerberg, the extraordinary gifts of Yo Yo Ma? And what if they were all wrong? Geoff Colvin has combed through the research, and he argues that, again and again, scholars have almost completely discounted the … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?”
Innovation Hub: Are Entrepreneurs a Dying Breed?
It feels like every day, we hear another story of a 22-year-old who sold his app for millions. But the truth about entrepreneurs may be very different. In fact, if you look at the official data, entrepreneurship in the U.S. has been in decline for over thirty years. We talked to Ben Casselman, the chief … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Are Entrepreneurs a Dying Breed?”
Innovation Hub: The Next Wave of Sports Analytics
We hear a lot about how giants in tech and e-commerce are using big data to improve business. But what about the role of data in a very different industry, one rooted as much in numbers as in superstition and luck? We’re talking about the world of sport. Ever since the bestselling book and movie … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: The Next Wave of Sports Analytics”
Innovation Hub: The Power of You
A few decades ago, big companies like GE and IBM controlled product pipelines, meaning that they would likely bring groundbreaking inventions to life. Now, a college junior can have a good idea and build an entire business around it using only a crowdfunding website, open source technology, and a 3D printer. What effect does this … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: The Power of You”
Innovation Hub: How Immigrants Fuel Innovation
Immigration policy reform is a hot-button issue right now, but it’s affecting the innovation economy in unexpected ways. U.S. companies are having a hard time recruiting enough skilled workers to fill all their high-level science, tech, and engineering positions. I discussed the issue with Stanford Law School professor Dan Siciliano and Silicon Valley Leadership Group … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: How Immigrants Fuel Innovation”
Innovation Hub: A Genetically Modified Menu
People have been cross-breeding their food for thousands of years—but modifying food in a lab is still relatively new and has ignited serious controversy. We recently talked with New York Times science reporter Amy Harmon and genetics professor Pamela Ronald about the opportunities presented by genetically modified foods, and the myths that surround them. (This interview … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: A Genetically Modified Menu”
Innovation Hub: Introverts as Innovators
Entrepreneurs, bosses, and leaders are often highly social and extroverted—take Steve Jobs or Richard Branson. They can work a room. They derive energy from being around others. But what if being outgoing and extroverted isn’t actually the key to success in the workplace? Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Introverts as Innovators”
Innovation Hub: Niche Social Networks
When most people think of social networks, they think of Facebook. But apart from Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth, which has 1.3 billion active users at last count, we’re seeing a rise in niche-based online communities, tailored to our personal or professional interests. Gina Bianchini is an expert on building custom social networks. She started Ning with … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Niche Social Networks”
Innovation Hub: Techies Fix Government
No one had heard of Mike Krieger when he responded to a call to organize San Francisco’s crime data. He was in his early 20s, working on his coding, and he created an app to help visitors and city-dwellers alike know when they had entered a high-crime area. A few years later, Krieger and a … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Techies Fix Government”
Innovation Hub: Why Tech’s Women Problem Is Bigger Than You Think
You’ve seen the numbers. And they’re not good. At Apple, Twitter, Google, and Facebook, women are vastly outnumbered by men. When it comes to technical positions like coders, men occupy 80 to 90 percent of the positions. Which isn’t a great sign if these represent the jobs—and skill sets—of the future. The startup scene is … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Why Tech’s Women Problem Is Bigger Than You Think”
Innovation Hub: John Maeda on Why Tech Loves Design
John Maeda stands at the intersection of design and technology—and attracts a bit of a cult following. He’s the first Design Partner at Kleiner Perkins, the venture capital firm that has backed companies from Amazon to Genentech to WebMD. Previously, he served as President of The Rhode Island School of Design. Maeda insists that design … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: John Maeda on Why Tech Loves Design”
Innovation Hub: Rise of the Nerds
I was labeled one. You probably were too. And now that we’re grown up, lots of us believe that being a “nerd” is actually a badge of honor. But David Anderegg, author of Nerds: How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies and Trekkies Can Save America and Why They Might Be Our Last Hope, argues that the nerd … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Rise of the Nerds”
Innovation Hub: Your Brilliant Other Half
We spend a lot of time celebrating one-in-a-million entrepreneurs: the Mark Zuckerbergs, the Steve Jobs, the Elon Musks. But what if most entrepreneurs are more like two in a million? People who couldn’t realize their vision without a brilliant partner. Joshua Wolf Shenk writes about this phenomenon in Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Your Brilliant Other Half”
Innovation Hub: Forget Big Bets—Success Means Thinking Small
If you want to reap big rewards, you’ve got to take big risks. Right? Not according to Peter Sims, author of Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, who argues that companies from Google to Hewlett-Packard have cashed in by thinking small, floating trial balloons, and understanding that micro failures are inevitable. I … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Forget Big Bets—Success Means Thinking Small”
Innovation Hub: Legendary Investor Roger McNamee on “Day of Reckoning”
There’s always plenty of coverage of the newest phones—are they a millimeter thinner? Is the camera slightly better? But when you back up and look at the broad sweep of how technology has changed our lives over the last generation, it’s profound. Celebrated Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee has been part of this transformation—having spent … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Legendary Investor Roger McNamee on “Day of Reckoning””
Innovation Hub: How Lego Built a Blockbuster Global Brand
What products count as innovative? Often, the things we take most for granted. Like Legos. A toy that was started by a failing carpenter in the 1940s, suffered a near-death experience several years ago, and is now experiencing blockbuster growth. So, how did the company manage to stay afloat through a half-century of changing tastes … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: How Lego Built a Blockbuster Global Brand”
Innovation Hub: The American Economy Is in Better Shape Than Ever
Despite increasingly good job numbers, pessimism about the economy persists. According to Gallup, almost 60 percent of Americans think the economy is still getting worse. Last week, Clayton Christensen told Innovation Hub that America was on its way to becoming Japan—a country that has been wrestling with stagnation for a quarter century. But Joel Kurtzman, … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: The American Economy Is in Better Shape Than Ever”
Innovation Hub: Is America Becoming the Next Japan?
For much of its history, the U.S. has been a place of innovation, where new ideas and products could flourish. But that era may be coming to an abrupt end, warns Clayton Christensen, who coined the term “disruptive innovation” and teaches at Harvard Business School. Christensen, author of “The Capitalist’s Dilemma,” believes that American business … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Is America Becoming the Next Japan?”
Innovation Hub: Stop Listening to the Same People
How do you break out of your old mindset, in a way that will fuel innovation? Try heading to 16th-century Florence, according to Frans Johansson, the best-selling author of The Medici Effect. Johansson notes that the wealthy Medici family corralled a truly diverse set of thinkers, put them in the same place, and watched creativity … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Stop Listening to the Same People”
Innovation Hub: Twitter’s Deb Roy Sees More Change Ahead for TV
It’s fair to say that Deb Roy is obsessed with Twitter. In 2008, he started Bluefin Labs to understand the power and influence of social media. He looked at how the public viewed political candidates, brands, and TV shows. And the data he gathered was so valuable that last year, Twitter gobbled up Bluefin, making … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Twitter’s Deb Roy Sees More Change Ahead for TV”
Innovation Hub: Businesses Know You’re Biased
Who’s better at math? Women or men? Studies show that both men and women believe men are better at math, even when data indicates otherwise. To understand why we have these biases—and why businesses think that getting rid of them will help the bottom line—I sat down with Harvard professor Mahzarin Banaji (pictured), the co-author … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Businesses Know You’re Biased”
Innovation Hub: David Pogue Does Some Trendspotting
David Pogue is a tastemaker. His reviews in The New York Times—and now on Yahoo—are widely followed. He has 1.5 million Twitter followers. And he’s always on the lookout for new trends. So, what is he intrigued by right now? And what does he think is overhyped? I put it to Pogue. [The following interview … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: David Pogue Does Some Trendspotting”
Innovation Hub: Joi Ito on Failing to the Top
Joi Ito may be a tech luminary, but he says that he has mostly learned by failing. Ito—an early investor in Twitter, Kickstarter, and Flickr—is now the head of the MIT Media Lab. And he believes that young people, entrepreneurs, and even those in established positions should be encouraged to try more and fail more. … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Joi Ito on Failing to the Top”
Innovation Hub: Jason Fried on the End of the Workplace
Jason Fried wants us to forget about meetings, stop talking to our managers, and avoid coming into the office. Mostly. Fried, the co-founder and CEO of the software company Basecamp, believes many workplaces are dysfunctional and should be reinvented. Why? And what’s Fried’s vision of the new office? I sat down to talk with him … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Jason Fried on the End of the Workplace”