Time for innovation to make sense and for humanity to step on the path to progress once more

On Monday evening I listened to Etienne Klein’s thought-provoking talk at Les [im]pertinents in Paris: “is there a future for the idea of progress?” A physicist and philosopher of science, Klein is a strong advocate of the role of science as an engine of innovation but observes that in our so-called post-modern society the link between science/innovation on the one hand and human progress on the other hand appears to be increasingly tenuous, if not severed, in the minds of people. How did it come to this and how can we retake our future in our own hands?

Indovation on a mission; Chinovation still soul-searching

I like to do some basic research before going to a conference as a participant – even as a speaker 🙂

Prior to attending Marc Giget’s conference in Paris on the emerging Chinese and Indian models of innovation, I started my basic research by googling the words ‘indovation’ and ‘chinovation’ that I had front of mind. While both searches return the usual 10+ pages of links, I was struck by a big difference.

Join the challenge: knowing when the end is nigh

All companies – whether they make cars, electronics, software, etc. – know that there is only so much new life that they can breathe into their existing products by introducing new improved versions. Ultimately any product will reach the end of its life, and a brand new one will have to be launched in its stead.

The critical question is: when?

Innovation Challenge: La Poste

La Poste, the postal service in France, is modernising itself. Faced, like any other postal service around the world, with the erosion of its traditional mail business, it has recently adopted a new corporate structure to facilitate the deployment of new products and business models. 

Four of its most obvious assets are: