The 90 percent rule

Mar 19, 2012

The XYZs of Gesture Control

Innovation Insights
One of a series by Ken Tencer, Spyder Works CEO

Keyboarding is slow; mice are passé. Voice recognition is still flawed. In future, you may interact with computers (and many other devices) simply by gesturing. A Canadian company called XYZ Interactive Technologies is using inexpensive infrared technology to power embedded sensors that enable you to control devices without touching them. Explains XYZ’s CEO, Michael Kosic,”The future battle for consumers of User Interfaces will be fought in 3D”.

Think of an iPad that you don’t even have to touch, because your hand movements (not the press of your smudging fingers) control the device. Or consider the potential for hands-free operation of devices in order to keep environments more sterile by reducing the transference of germs by contact.

Whatever field you are in, innovation isn’t only about invention; it’s also about solving problems by making existing products and services work better – one breakthrough at a time. As a business strategy, innovation is about recognizing ideas that will touch your customer’s lives in a positive, impactful way. Or not touch them, I guess, if you are part of a group of engineers re-thinking the whole notion of interaction.

By Ken Tencer Blog, business, business strategy, Entrepreneurial Thinking, entrepreneurship, Innovation, marketing, optimzing innovation No comments Tags: business, business strategy, Canadian Business, Innovation, Ken Tencer, marketing, planning, strategy, The 90 percent rule

Dec 1, 2011

Innovation Insight: You Don’t Have To Be an Inventor to Be an Innovator

One of a series by Ken Tencer, Spyder Works CEO

Many people confuse the words innovator and inventor; they can be synonymous, but they don’t have to be. Some of the world’s most successful and well known innovators aren’t inventors at all; they are masters of the art of taking an idea or concept and making it better. Often, they are able to make good ideas into the best ideas of all time.

Take Steve Jobs, for example. Famous author, Malcom Gladwell, has dubbed him, “The Tweaker” in a recent article he wrote for The New Yorker. Jobs was a masterful innovator because he was able to take the ideas of others and turn them into winning products and concepts. For example, Jobs got the ideas for the main characteristics of the MacIntosh operating system from Xerox PARC, stemming from a famous visit there in 1979. The revolutionary iPad evolved from an engineer at Microsoft’s idea for a tablet computer. His idea made use of a stylus – an old idea that wasn’t revolutionary enough for Jobs. He did away with the stylus and the iPad made history as one of the most coveted devices of its era.

The moral to this innovation story? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to become an epic success.

By Ken Tencer Blog, business strategy, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Thinking, entrepreneurship, Innovation, optimzing innovation, Spyder Works, strategy, The 90% Rule No comments Tags: 90% Rule, business strategy, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Innovation, strategy, The 90 percent rule, The 90% Rule

Nov 21, 2011

Innovation Insight: If I Wanted to Be a Lawyer, I Would’ve Gone to Law School

One of a series by Ken Tencer, Spyder Works CEO

Once every quarter, I receive a beautiful invitation from my company’s law firm to attend a seminar to learn some important new fact about changes in the law. I never go.

Once every quarter, I receive a beautiful invitation from my accounting firm to learn something new about sales, marketing or motivation. I almost never miss it.

I applaud both firms’ efforts to engage their clients, but in this world of information overload, it’s more important than ever to engage in meaningful conversation with your customers. Service providers add value by enhancing the customer’s skill-set, not by telling them how they’ve improved their own.

Innovation isn’t about what interests you; it’s about what fascinates your customers.

By Ken Tencer Blog, business, business strategy, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Thinking, entrepreneurship, Innovation, strategy, The 90% Rule No comments Tags: business, business strategy, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Innovation, Ken Tencer, strategy, The 90 percent rule, The 90% Rule