Fantastically, Brilliantly, Insanely Amazing

by Kevin Roberts

One thing about the January 27th launch of the Apple iPad clashing with President Obama's first State of the Union address was that they both focused on Jobs.

And check out the awesome enthusiasm Steve Jobs and his team have for their new baby in this video!





A lot of hype and hyped-up criticism have accompanied the launch of the iPad. Nothing new there. Apple attracted lots of criticism with the launch of the iPod in 2001 (total sales: 220 million) and the iPhone in 2007 (total sales: 34 million). They centered on a perceived lack of functionality. So it's not surprising to hear gripes that iPad doesn't support HDMI or Flash graphics, or have a built-in camera.

The critics have missed the point. The iPad is not a netbook or scaled-down laptop. In fact, it is only a distant relative to the traditional PC or Mac. Instead, its lineage is the DVD player, the VCR, the television set, the radio, the newspaper, the telephone, the telegraph. It is not a workhorse loaded up with functions and hardware. It is a platform for story-telling, interactive, personal and immediate.

The story of human technology is the relentless advance in the direction of greater utility, connectivity, immediacy, affordability and flexibility. The iPad represents a quantum leap in that direction.

We want to communicate with each other, cheaply and easily. We want information where and when we need it. We want to be entertained and to entertain ourselves. We want to get closer to the people and the things we love. The iPad promises to do that. Technology that fails to serve that purpose is just a gadget, suitable for little more than collecting dust.

There's an interesting blog post in the NY Times predicting that the iPad will become an irresistible toy for children because kids will love the tactile nature of the device (they love to jab at things!), 'painting' software allows for mess-free splatter, it's an ideal distraction for car trips, and the screen offers endless story opportunities. I couldn't agree more, but the author could go even further: They are pretty compelling reasons for adults to get their hands on an iPad, too.

Related Articles:

• Radical Innovation of Meaning


• Apple's Hidden Disruptive Innovation


• Insights to Drive Apple iPad Success


• Will Apple Introduce the Innovation Expected From Google?

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Kevin Roberts is the CEO worldwide of The Lovemarks Company, Saatchi & Saatchi. For more information on Kevin, please go to www.saatchikevin.com. To see this blog at its original source, please go to www.krconnect.blogspot.com.

Cisco Announces $250,000 iPrize Competition v2.0

by Braden Kelley

Cisco has announced its second Cisco iPrize Competition. At stake is a $250,000 Grand Prize that will be awarded after eight selected finalists have the opportunity to present their innovation idea to Cisco's selection commitee using Cisco Telepresence.

The first Cisco iPrize was awarded to an idea focused on reducing the energy consumption in the electrical grid. This idea is currently undergoing development in Cisco. But the winners are back at it again and have entered an idea in Cisco iPrize v2.0.

I had the opportunity to do a video interview with Sharon Wong, Director of Business Development in Cisco's Emerging Technology Group about the competition:

Interview with Sharon Wong about Cisco iPrize from Braden Kelley on Vimeo.

In this open, global competition entrepreneurs submit proposals and collaborate to create the seed idea for Cisco's next billion-dollar business.

You have until April 30, 2010 to submit your idea. Idea submissions should fall in one of four categories:

1. The Future of Work: New solutions that accelerate and change the way we do business


2. The Connected Life: Technological inspirations that dramatically improve living conditions and disseminate culture


3. New Ways to Learn: Next-generation solutions that transform when, where, and how people learn.


4. The Future of Entertainment: New solutions that change how people play together

Below on the left you'll find a video of Marthin De Beer announcing the Cisco iPrize Competition and on the right you can watch Guido Jouret speak about some of Cisco's views on what makes a big idea:



You can submit an idea by yourself or you can work together as a team. Once ideas are submitted, iPrize community members can vote for the best ideas, and otherwise engage with the community of people who have submitted ideas. For complete rules and other information, please check out the Cisco iPrize Questions and Answers.


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Braden Kelley is the editor of Blogging Innovation and founder of Business Strategy Innovation, a consultancy focusing on innovation and marketing strategy. Braden is also @innovate on Twitter.

True Test of a First Rate Innovator

by Robert B. Tucker

Tom Peters used to remind executives that it mattered little what they proclaimed to be their top priorities. Instead, the "In Search of Excellence" co-author advised looking at your calendar to reveal your main concerns, because that is where you are spending your time.

I thought of Peters' admonition when reading IBM's recently-released study of 2500 chief information officers. The contrast in the calendars of CIOs in high and low growth companies was quite revealing.

Low growth CIOs, according to the analysis, are bogged down in the muck and mire of tactical issues. Their calendars reveal 50 to 60 hour weeks reacting, fixing problems. They sweat and toil away just keeping the network up and running. They fight fires to the point of exhaustion. And still nobody is much happy with their work.

High growth CIOs work differently. Their calendars reveal a different use of time. For sure, they keep critical systems up and running and no doubt fight their share of fires.

But as a group they seem to have figured out how to keep their powder dry. They make a point to helicopter up high enough to see the big picture. To think about strategic issues the way the CEO must. These innovation-adept CIOs devote a whopping 87 percent more of their time "enabling the business and corporate vision" than their slow-growth peers.

These CIOs also seem to have realized that their unique position in the organization gives them a perspective few others have. And in recent years, they have focused laser-like on improving their innovation skills.

Titled "The New Voice of the CIO," the survey identifies the personal best practices of highly effective Chief Information Officers. For instance:

• High growth CIOs spend an impressive 55 percent of their time on activities that spur innovation. Low growth CIOs are mired in tactical execution and IT issues.


• Specific innovation activities include generating buy-in for innovative plans, implementing new technologies and managing non-technology issues.


• High growth CIOs spend 94 percent more time integrating business and technology to innovate than low-growth CIOs.


• High growth CIOs actively use collaboration and partnering technology within the IT organization 60 percent more often than low growth CIOs.

Ever alert to new ways to add value to their organizations, today's standout CIOs focus on return on investment from technology. They involve themselves in reinvesting the cost savings from technological innovation into other parts of the business, namely product and strategy innovations.

Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once remarked that the "true test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time and still function." This is what all of us are required to do to add unique value to our organizations.

Although IBM researched the changing role of leading CIOs, the report challenges all of us to rethink priorities in a time of challenge and change. Even if you're in HR, logistics, purchasing or payroll or some other functional area, what your calendar reveals about how you invest your time can be instructive.

How do these high growth managers find time for strategic thinking and innovation while others are bogged down in the weeds of daily execution? How do they "decommoditize" the value they create for the organization and become indispensible? Read this report and you'll find yourself taking notes... and taking action!


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Robert B. Tucker is the President of The Innovation Resource Consulting Group. He is a speaker, seminar leader and an expert in the management of innovation and assisting companies in accelerating ideas to market.