4 types of Innovation: Sustainables vs Disruptives

In her post "Innovation Matters: Balancing Sustained Versus Disruptive Innovation" Ann Handley quotes Eric Zeitoun's 4 point definition of two important Innovation Typologies, Continuity intelligently named Sustainable in today's jargon versus Disruptive. This is one of the most concise definitions I have come across.

The four distinct types of Innovations are:

1.Product optimization (which seeks to optimize a product or service’s usage)
2.Brand extension (stretches a brand’s equity into adjacent spaces)
3.Target ownership (to own a greater share of a specific target’s wallet across multiple segments, whether the segment is attitudinal, psycho-graphic or demographic)
4.Category leadership (to sustain or achieve leadership by re-shaping consumer attitudes and behaviors in a given segment or industry).

Innovation types 1. and 2. (referred to as “sustained innovations”) usually tend to build off of an existing frame of reference. Therefore, although safer, they are likely to only generate limited incremental value.

Innovation types 3. and 4. (referred to as “disruptive innovations”) on the other hand can yield much larger growth, but they are also more capital intensive and more unpredictable. Indeed because they have the power to shift the paradigm, they can set new standards and change consumer behaviors, but they require significant time and dollar investments.

Tips to "weather" current recession and pit falls management must try to avoid are outlined in an equally concise manner.

The easy conclusion could be to argue that in a period of recession, marketers should focus on “sustained innovation” because senior management is more likely to sign off on an inexpensive innovation initiative, which can repay for itself in the short term. Unfortunately, what could sound like a really good idea may turn out to be a really dangerous one.

"Recessions usually act in a two-step process as filters or regulators that purge weaker players from the marketplace. The structurally weak players are typically the first to go. These are the companies whose business model is fundamentally flawed or those whose cost structure cannot suffer tighter margins."

Then follows the players whose relevance keeps eroding over time. These players tend to suffer more towards the end of a recession cycle, and generally get hit when they think they have reached the end of the tunnel.

Why do these companies lose relevance? They do so because of their inability to shape, grasp or influence societal shifts, and a lack of vision or willingness to take risks. Organizations that are not willing to constantly invest in ‘disruptive innovation’ quickly become irrelevant and vulnerable in a recession. So what does this mean in terms of innovation? It means that marketers need to find smarter ways to invest in ‘disruptive innovation,’ rather than simply pull the plug. Recessions should be viewed as an opportunity to re-assess the effectiveness of innovation processes. To do this, you must:

•Have a clear strategic goal for your innovation. Make sure it fits into your marketing strategy and your business strategy.
•Create a focused ideation process that accelerates the pace of the consumer’s validation of ideas and prototypes ideas at a lower cost.

Read the full article...
- Innovation Matters: Balancing Sustained Versus Disruptive Innovation Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog (view on Google Sidewiki)

PS. These concepts take an ominous connotation when brought into the environmental, climate change realms whereby the use of "sustainability" tends to lead one's thouhgts. Then that's "Marketeering" for you.

Acknowledgement.
Ann Handley, MarketingProfs Daily Fix
Let me thank Dee Gardner dgmsouth who brought my attention to this article via Twitter.

The teraton challenge. A review of fixation and transformation of carbon dioxide, Danish work brought to us by RCS-The Royal Chemical Soc.,UK.

A few months ago a Prof. of Chemistry friend at a major Univ in France expressed scepticism concerning the CCS - carbon capture and sequestration, the geological and geoengineering response to increases in CO2 a well documented GWG-global warming gas. (Increases roughly since James Watts invention of the steam engine. (cf. "David JC MacKay's book "without hot air" free online) My chemist friend's objection concerned dangers of stored carbon escape since CO2 is not in a chemically combined and imprisoned form. Of course the physicists, and geological engineers consider that suitably stable, deep sites may be found whereby high pressures in deep wells is sufficient to maintain the CO2 in the liquid, or pseudo liquid (super-saturated) state to remain simple. More audacious consider that by avoiding sequestration in valleys especially inhabited valley even if there is gas escape there will be no serious consequences.

Whatever, I am extremely pleased to find this Danish work via my blog listed RSS feed whereby CO2 mitigation is suggested by physical-chemistry methods which should come closer to meeting the approval of my chemistry friend and perhaps suggest themes of research to improve the overall mastering of our incredible capacity to generate CO2 in energy production,industry and transportation.

PS. I shall run a spell check via my blog post of this Google Sidewiki.

en référence à : Energy & Environmental Science Articles (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)

Link_ Metaklett-steel grips, Biomimicry and Shape Memory Alloy meanders

Metaklett-steel grips, Biomimicry and Shape Memory Alloy meanders

One rarely gets a chance, when talking of innovations in the very mature steel industry, to slip in such recent fields such as:

A. Biomimicry, ‘Learning from Nature’, whereby scientific and engineering innovations are inspired by performances and functionalities observed in Nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements— and emulates them to solve human problems and meet human requirements.

B. Shape Memory Alloys the metallurgists contribution to the overall field of so called ‘intelligent or smart materials’ and


This opportunity, rife with menace, arose and matured following the public announcement on 3-Sep-2009 by the Technical University of Munich, (TUM.) of their new clip and close, pull and open, hook and loop fastener steel strips. The news was rapidly up-taken by several of the main science magazines More cf. link above.

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Comment just submitted to the Economist Article: HOT AIR

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Comment just submitted to the Economist Article: HOT AIR

What all scientists and policy makers must contend with-Science Communication-Public Understanding...of Science

"The public reception of scientific ideas depends largely on two factors: people's ability to grasp factual information and the cultural lens through which that information is filtered. The former is what scientists tend to focus on when they give popular accounts of issues such as climate change. The assumption is that if they explain things very, very clearly, everyone will understand. Unfortunately, this is an uphill battle. The general public's average capacity to weigh facts and numbers is notoriously poor — although there is encouraging evidence that probabilistic reasoning can be improved by targeted education early in life" is Natures Editorial line. It continues

"Even more crucial, however, are the effects of the cultural lens."

The classical case of Darwin is summarized with talent. The negative reaction of the Church in England, is compared to the more positive welcome by much of the "3rd World" at the time, hoping to "improve their lot" embraced the theory, In China, Darwin's ideas were seen as supporting Confucians' belief in the perfectibility of the cosmic order. Latin American and Russian reaction figure in this enlightening Editorial.

"The lesson for today's scientists and policy-makers is simple: they cannot assume that a public presented with 'the facts' will come to the same conclusion as themselves. They must take value systems, cultural backdrops and local knowledge gaps into account and frame their arguments accordingly."
[As yet another international round cop15 is about to start Dec 7-18, 2009]
Nature's Editors warn:
The lesson for today's scientists and policy-makers is simple: they cannot assume that a public presented with 'the facts' will come to the same conclusion as themselves. They must take value systems, cultural backdrops and local knowledge gaps into account and frame their arguments accordingly. Such approaches will be crucial in facing current global challenges, from recessions to pandemics and climate change. These issues will be perceived and dealt with differently by different nations — not because they misunderstand, but because their understanding is in part locally dependent.

The Editorial concludes:
"Darwin once said: "But then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy." Researchers and policy-makers would do well to mimic his humility when presenting science, and remember how people's minds truly work."

And what of Shakespeare's quote This above all -to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night, the day, Thou cans't not then be false to any man.»?

in reference to: Darwin and culture : Article : Nature (view on Google Sidewiki)

Materials Science, Non Destructive Testing, NDT using Microwaves with PC laptop imagery, News 26Oct 09 from Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST) could help the Medical Practitioner detect cancer or burns

Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST) has developed a handheld camera that uses microwave signals to non-destructively peek inside materials and structures in real time.

The compact system can produce synthetically focused images of objects - at different planes in front of the camera - at speeds of up to 30 images per second. A laptop computer then collects the signal and displays the image in real-time for review. The entire system, powered by a battery similar to the size used in laptops, can run for several hours, rendering it portable.

"In the not-so-distant future, the technology may be customized to address many critical inspection needs, including detecting defects in thermal insulating materials that are found in spacecraft heat insulating foam and tiles, space habitat structures, aircraft radomes and composite-strengthened concrete bridge members," says Dr. Reza Zoughi, the Schlumberger Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at Missouri S&T, who is leading the research effort.

The team believe that their work could help medical professionals detect and monitor a variety of skin conditions in humans, including cancer and burns, security personnel could detect concealed contraband (such as weapons) or again home owners could detect termite damage.

The idea for developing a real-time, portable camera came to Zoughi in 1998 while he was on sabbatical in France. In 2007, Zoughi's research group completed the first prototype and has spent the past two years increasing its size and overall efficiency.

"Unlike X-rays, microwaves are non-ionizing and may cause some heating effect," Zoughi says. "However, the high sensitivity and other characteristics of this camera enables it to operate at a low-power level."

More:
Various new sources included Yahoo Alerts, Indian and Asian press and physorg.com in particular for the video presentation and original new and web sources
PHYSORG

en référence à :

"The idea for developing a real-time, portable camera came to Zoughi in 1998 while he was on sabbatical in France. In 2007, Zoughi's research group completed the first prototype and has spent the past two years increasing its size and overall efficiency.
"Unlike X-rays, microwaves are non-ionizing and may cause some heating effect," Zoughi says. "However, the high sensitivity and other characteristics of this camera enables it to operate at a low-power level.""
- New research brings 'invisible' into view (w/ Video) (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)

Intelligence and food to spur Innovations and Innovators

I returned with pleasure to Dave MacKay's blog where almost all his posts are highly pertinent for all, either those whishing to map their professional activity or simply wishing to gen-up on current Climate Change, GW-global warming and energy issues, hopefully all of us. In his post pre-review of the book Challenged by Carbon by Brian Lovell, the blog reader's attention is drawn to the fact that "55 million years ago, an enormous global warming event, raising the temperature of the water at the bottom of the ocean by more than 4 degrees C within roughly 10,000 years occured". I did a rapid Google search and invite readers to do the same.

There is a short history of the big oil companies attitudes from "believing what the rocks say" and they say there is a problem and the business as usual approach and "as a backdrop the war in Iraq

"Yes, some oil companies greened up their public facades in 2003, but have they reverted to business as usual behind the scenes? But what about the rest of the oil industry?"

Quoting MacKay's selection from Lovell since this cannot be over-echoed I believe: "In the second half of the book, Lovell indicates how he hopes the drama will unfold: "government intervention is essential" in relation to the transition to the low-carbon economy; "concerted action" is required from all oil companies; oil companies [and the coal mining and power gen lobby] should turn their remarkable technical skills to a new waste management business: capturing and storing carbon[dioxide CO2], especially carbon [CO2] from coal power stations.

MacKay's figures: "key numbers for carbon capture. A standard unit of carbon capture and storage is "the Sleipner""

1. Norway's implementation of a carbon-emission tax of $55 per tonne of CO2 (which can be compared to today's EU market price of 14.10 euros per tonne),

2. StatoilHydro is storing 1 Mt CO2 per year in the Utsira saline aquifer under the North Sea.

3. A 1-GW coal power station, running all the time, produces roughly 7 Mt CO2 per year. So every 1-GW power station would require roughly 7 Sleipners.

4. The cost to the consumer for electricity from that source might be in the ballpark of an extra 4p per kWh of electricity (similar to the present subsidy for wind power in the UK).

5. The scale of the waste to be stored is worth mentioning. The volume of 7 Mt CO2 (the approximate annual waste from 1 GW coal power station), after it's been compressed to the same density as water, is three times the volume of the great pyramid at Giza.

Read via his site:
Prof. Dave MacKay FRS's book free (food) online
and Blog

in reference to Bryan Novell"s Book : Challenged by Carbon:The Oil Industry and Climate Change (Paperback)

"A 1-GW coal power station, running all the time, produces roughly 7 Mt CO2 per year. So every 1-GW power station would require roughly 7 Sleipners, and the cost to the consumer for electricity from that source might be in the ballpark of an extra 4p per kWh of electricity (similar to the present subsidy for wind power in the UK). The scale of the waste to be stored is worth mentioning. The volume of 7 Mt CO2 (the approximate annual waste from 1 GW coal power station), after it's been compressed to the same density as water, is three times the volume of the great pyramid at Giza."
- Sustainable Energy - without the hot air (view on Google Sidewiki)