Sculpture 3D Scan

THE IMPACT OF 3D: 3D Scanning and Rapid Prototyping for Medical Purposes

THE IMPACT OF 3D: 3D Scanning and Rapid Prototyping for Medical Purposes

Keeping Goals Simple for Crisis Planning

Keeping a business afloat in the present economic crisis is a bigger issue than new product development and innovation projects. Relieving dramatic cash-flow losses and the loss of key staff due to cost cutting initiatives can cause a crisis-management situation for businesses and business units.

How can the long range innovation goals of companies be met in such times? For some organizations plans are being shelved or put on hold indefinitely. For others, the resources dedicated to such projects have to be reduced or redirected.

For those organizations that do survive the short term, keeping an underlying focus on innovation will be a huge difference maker as situations improve. For the short term, projecting realistic, achievable and understandable short-term goals is needed. Above all these short-term goals need to be clear and simple. Achieving these goals, falling under the larger, high-level goals will get many organizations through the crisis period, and continue, or create a foundation for success as time goes on.

The innovators eyes must be kept on the long term, however the short term goals must be kept track of.

Adventure of Innovation Newsletter - Issue 01 – April 2009 -

Welcome to our First Newsletter
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We have been overwhelmed with the response to the Adventure of Innovation website (www.adventureofinnovation.com). The response to our articles and resources has been tremendous, and we hope to continue to provide these tools and more to innovators as we move forward. Thank you to all those that have registered with our site, and to all those that have passed the word on too.



Latest Article – INNVOATION ROAD MAPS
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For the manager of complex product development, business planning and other innovation activities, it is crucial to organize information efficiently not only as a communication tool for the project team, but to provide a path for the activity. By systematizing the information visually, the process can be simplified and the goals and allocation of resources can be efficiently defined. Of course, finding and creating visualizations that do this well can be a tremendous effort in itself, however the rewards of properly created innovation visualization tools can be well worth it.



One of the main visualization tools that will be discussed in this article are road maps...More...



Our Directory Continues to Grow
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The directory at the Adventure of Innovation site continues to expand. Take a visit to see the most innovative businesses and organizations on the planet.

To join our list of innovators, please send us an email with your information. We will feature an image of your choosing as well as a link and your chosen contact information. Please make images no larger than 600 x 150 pixels.

In return, we request a reciprocal link to the Adventure of Innovation website and that you tell your colleagues about us.
Accepting Article Submissions
Adventure of Innovation is accepting articles now. Click here to email us your article submissions. Adventure of Innovation will contact you regarding your submission status promptly upon receipt of an article submission.


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Adventure of Innovation™
www.adventureofinnovation.com

Great Blog Article at Financial Post

Greg Murray has posted on the FP Blog about the importance of innovation in tough economic times entitled - Innovate, Innovate, Innovate

Here is an excerpt:

There has been much ink spilled recently on how times are tough right now for everyone. The converging events of decreasing consumer confidence, a low CAD and increasing inflation have left a lot of businesses struggling to keep their head above the rising recessionary tide.

While there is little that can be done to prevent these external threats, there is a great deal that companies and leaders can do to stay viable. At this point in time, the risk of omission is much greater than the risk of commission...in simple terms, do something, anything...INNOVATE!

I was at a session last week with John Torella, an internationally renowned marketing consultant for the JC Williams Group. Torella is an idealist; when asked by a student what to do to get hired in these tough times, he answered "get a job." While it was meant to be a joke, it bears some truth: refrain from falling into the dark hole of negative economic rhetoric, and instead focus energy on innovation.

Torella pointed to Apple as a prime example of an organization that embodies innovation. In these tough times, Apple is not discounting their products or bundling products; they are continuing to sell premium products at premium prices. How? Through obsessive and unrestrained innovation.

Innovation News Links

The following innovation links bring you all of the up-to-date goings on in the innovation world.


Innovation Tools News Links
Links from the Innovation Tools website, featuring business innovation, process innovation and product innovation.

MSNBC Innovation News Links
Latest news in innovation and technology.


TRIZ Journal
Links from the TRIZ Journal website, featuring business innovation, process innovation and product innovation.

ABC Australia
Science and technology innovation.

MIT News
News from the MIT campus.

Popular Science
Science and technology publication online.Popular Science has been a leading source of science and technology news since its inception way back in 1872.With up-to-the-minute tech news, insightful commentary on the new innovations, and even scientific takes on the hottest Hollywood stories, we aim to be your first stop for what's new and what's next.

Google Announces Venture Capital Fund

As an innovator and entrepreneur given the choice of any company to invest in your startup, which one would it be?

Chances are Google would be at or near the top of the list. And for good reason: Google is not only the 800-lb. gorilla of the internet and one of the most prominent companies in the world, it has been fairly aggressive over the years in acquiring young startups, from hot consumer plays like YouTube to enterprise ventures like Postini.

Thanks to Google's newly-announced VC fund, some lucky entrepreneurs will find themselves on the receiving end of a Google investment.

Google Ventures officially launched late last night (Google/California time) and according to the Wall Street Journal, Google will commit $100m to it in its first year.

What is Google looking for? It is open-minded to say the least. While many investors create their funds with a relatively narrow focus, Google's fund is pretty much open to any company with a great idea. Google lists "consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care" as areas that it's interested in, but its announcement also makes it clear that the Mountain View-based company is willing to make investments in "other areas we haven't thought of yet". That's an open invitation for wacky business plans if I've ever seen one.

Google Ventures is managed by former entrepreneur and portfolio manager Bill Maris and Rich Miner, a former Vice President at Orange who joined Google when it acquired mobile platform company Android.

Google says that the entire community of Googlers will play an important role in directing the fund to interesting opportunities and reiterated its belief that "the current downturn is an ideal time to invest in nascent companies that have the chance to be the 'next big thing'".

Certainly Google has cash to invest despite the economic downturn and it will have no shortage of entrepreneurs beating down its doors. After all, Google offers much more than cash. The prestige of having Google Ventures as an investor will have a lot of value for startups and if Google Ventures takes an active role as an investor, it could leverage some of its resources and knowledge to assist its portfolio companies. And of course, many entrepreneurs will believe/hope that an investment by Google Ventures makes a Google acquisition more likely if they're successful.

From the Official Google Blog: Google's newest venture:

Google's newest venture
3/30/2009 09:15:00 PM

Today we're excited to announce Google Ventures, Google's new venture capital fund. This is Google's effort to take advantage of our resources to support innovation and encourage promising new technology companies. By borrowing the best practices of top-tier, financially focused venture capital firms and bringing to bear Google's unique technical expertise and brand, we think we can find young companies with truly awesome potential and encourage their development into successful businesses.

At its core, Google Ventures is charged with finding and helping to develop exceptional start-ups. We'll be focusing on early stage investments across a diverse range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and, no doubt, other areas we haven't thought of yet. Central to our effort will be our fellow Googlers, whom we view as a critically important resource to help educate us about potential investments areas and evaluate specific companies.

Economically, times are tough, but great ideas come when they will. If anything, we think the current downturn is an ideal time to invest in nascent companies that have the chance to be the "next big thing," and we'll be working hard to find them. If you think you have the next big idea, or if you just want to to learn more, please see our website at www.google.com/ventures.

Posted by Rich Miner and Bill Maris, Managing Partners, Google Ventures