Monthly Archive for May, 2010

Take a step back to move forward

You probably know the little riddle about the dog, the carrot and the rabbit that need to be transported to the other side of the river. The problem is that their owner can take only one of them on each trip across the river (it was a very big carrot! :-) )
When the dog and rabbit are left unattended, the dog devours the rabbit. And when the carrot and the rabbit are left unattended, the rabbit eats the carrot.

How can the rabbit, the dog and the carrot be transferred safely to the bank on the other side of the river?

If you haven’t heard this one, take a few moments to try solving it before you read on.
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The solution is to take the rabbit on the first trip, go back and take the carrot. Then take the rabbit BACK to the original bank, leave it there and take the dog. On the last trip, the rabbit is taken to the other bank and the owner can continue his journey with all three.

Continue reading ‘Take a step back to move forward’

Dew-mocratic Innovation

I have to admit that I am generally a late adopter of buzz-words (poor form I know for someone who works in an Innovation company).  One of the latest buzz words that I’ve encountered late-ly is Open Innovation. Now I’m ahead of the game, welcome to:  Dew Mocratic Innovation.

If you read the Wiki link, you’ll see that Open Innovation has its roots in technology. Yet, the concept is fast gaining traction in many FMCG companies from P&G to Kraft.  (Skeptics might say that OI is just a formalization of existing practices, namely: for years consumers-with-something-to-say have been sending companies “great ideas for the next best thing”.  When I worked on advertising for BMW, we’d get ad ideas sent to the agency every few weeks, not by copyrighters but by owners.)

Mountain Dew, the US soft-drink brand aimed at teenagers, are busy taking the Open Innovation trend into new and exciting places.

Smartly packaged, their latest marketing campaign “Dew Mocracy” sees the company getting their 13-25 year old ‘fans’ to:
1. Invent new products and flavors
2. Come up with a catchy name
3. Create an advert to promote it

4. Vote for the best idea.

The chutzpah/brilliance here is that Mountain Dew has managed to get a whole lot more than just a bunch of cool new flavor ideas.

Continue reading ‘Dew-mocratic Innovation’

Attribute Dependency: An Inventive Thinking Tool You Can Depend On

Join us for a free Inventive Thinking webinar on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM EDT.

Space is limited.

Register now by clicking here

For those who know SIT
For those who don’t

For those who joined our previous webinar
For those who couldn’t make it

For those who are bosses
For those who have bosses

For those who have participated in SIT workshops
For those who haven’t

For those who deal with products
For those who deal with services

For those who think alone
For those who think together

For those who admire symmetry
For those who wish to break it

For innovation in your job
For innovation in your home

For you, for your friends, for your colleagues – for everyone!

Inspired by SIT’s Attribute Dependency tool and Coca Cola TV commercial


Part 2 of our Inventive Thinking series looks at Attribute Dependency - one of SIT’s most powerful and misunderstood innovation templates.  At its heart, the Attribute Dependency tool is about breaking the symmetrical thinking patterns that can block new thinking.

Continue reading ‘Attribute Dependency: An Inventive Thinking Tool You Can Depend On’

Thinking outside the box, to the max: Thinking without the box!


It is really hard to come by a commercial that is not only creative but also deals with an act of true innovation.

Hats off to Puma and its design agency Fuseproject and ad agency Droga5 for their ‘Clever Little Bag’ film explaining how innovation changed Puma shoeboxes to reduce paper waste!

See for yourself and enjoy a 1 minute 25 second course in innovation and corporate citiizenship!

It’s good to see that innovation can do a significant lot for a much better world.

Continue reading ‘Thinking outside the box, to the max: Thinking without the box!’