Innovation vs. Rubik's Cube

Ok.  So at first glance you might say why are these two being mentioned in the same sentence? 

On the one hand one represents groundbreaking ways in which things are done.  The other is a cube shaped game/puzzle/toy with different colored stickers on them. 

What’s the connection?

Well interestingly enough these two things are more similar than you think. Innovation is a puzzle to be solved (how do you do it)?  So is Rubik’s Cube.  Innovation has many faces.  So does Rubik’s Cube.  Innovation requires you to think about the right combination of moves that bring you to the solution you want.  So does Rubik’s cube.  And on every level innovation and Rubik’s Cube requires a hands on approach.  You can’t figure it out by looking at it from a distance.  You have to engross yourself in  it.  Pick it up and turn it around.  Look at it from every angle to figure out the strategy that gets you on the road to the destination called 'solution found' and 'puzzled solved'. 

This is what you need to do to be successful in today’s market.   To understand that in order to be competetive, be that go to person, that problem solving guru or the solution finding expert, you have to think about the multiple facets of the market. You have to be comfortable with the act of engagement, and be aware of how the right combination of ideas and strategies can lead you to new solutions. The key to understanding today’s market is knowing its dynamics and being fully aware of how it can and will be impacted, just as Leslie mentioned in the last post; “you have to think as much about the possible financial, personal, professional, community, environmental, social, and industrial consequences of your endeavors as you do the benefits."

To be on the cutting edge is no longer about excelling in one endeavor – "how much money can I make?" Its about redefining the relationships between ideas, products, services, and industries and shifting paradigms on how we perceive and interpret the world. 

This is why we think that the approach to addressing today’s complexities in the market is not about 'thinking outside the box', as we have previously mentioned, but thinking at the intersection, the place where new ideas, tactics and strategies converge and create new possibilities for innovation. In a discussion with one of my good friends, Tony Nguyen, who runs his own company called BlogPatrol,  he commented on one of our earlier posts and said that “not only is discussion of "the box" outdated, but there is no box . . .the box has collapsed like so many pieces of cardboard. Those on the cutting edge are refolding the pieces like Origami into innovative new shapes”.  I never thought about it that way.  But I liked it.

When we move to the place where convergence happens we are now at the threhshold of new ideas (and ideas already happening).  For us convergence is the intersection of two or more market trends (i.e. social networks, crowdsourcing and cell phones).

Examples include Nike Plus (Nike + iTunes), Eventful (event planning and crowdsourcing), iPhone (cell phone, PDA, MP3 player, camera, computer – and, with the launch of the 3G on July 11th, GPS unit), Netflix (video rental and social networks), eBay (auctions and e-commerce), Zipcar (car rentals and car ownership), Busboys & Poets (restaurant, bookstore, theatre), Tryst (coffeehouse, bar, lounge and workplace), Hollywood (business and movie-making), venture philanthropy (donations and management), corporate social responsibility (executing the triple bottom line , which is a convergence itself), live-work units, PS3 (blu-ray player, game playing) -  and this is only scratching the surface.

Interestingly enough Booz Allen Hamilton just published a book entitled Megacommunities, which begins to lay down an action plan for solving the world’s most complex problems, that identifies convergence (from an organizational perspective) as a critical feature for resolving global issues in the 21st century. 

With the multiple examples of this market trend Vosica and CooltownStudios are in the process of exploring this concept further as well.  Inspired by this idea and by a handful of other shifts in the market  we are developing a Convergence Conference to take place in Washington DC later this year.   

So there you go, innovation and Rubik’s Cube (and throw in the intersection and convergence for good measure); systemized creativity, a six-colored cube and couple of cutting edge market trends .  A few ideas 'on the verge'?  We think so.