The Medici Effect Blog

Sarkozy’s dilemma

As you have seen before I base many posts on the premise that movement of people is good for innovation – it brings mixed perspectives and therefore also creativity. But, sadly, when migration is discussed in Europe the focus is usually on negative things such as illegal immigration or problems of segregation. Maybe this will change due to the problematic labour supply situation that many countries are facing. At least the debate about migration is getting increasingly nuanced.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has definitely become aware that there are many aspects to take into consideration. He has to react to a report where one conclusion is that France needs more immigrants; it is crucial for future growth and it is necessary to break economic stagnation. Although he acknowledges this the report it is not completely unproblematic to him. He won the presidential election with a more convincing popular support than many had expected – partly as a result of his firm stance during the suburb riots a couple of years ago. He promised to deal with the problem of illegal immigration and that gave him support from many right-wing voters who are negative to immigration as a whole.

Instead of acting to make it tougher to be an illegal immigrant in France Sarkozy must now act to make it easier to become a legal immigrant. This is by no means the opposite of what set out to do but it is undoubtedly a different course. Whether he wants to admit it or not there are voters who will feel that he fails them. (And those voters will probably not be convinced by figures on demography and growth.)

France is far from unique in this respect and the idea of increased immigration to solve the problem is not new. Philippe Legrain, for instance, explores it thoroughly in his 2006 book Immigrants: your country needs them. Nevertheless it will be really interesting to follow the development in France. The irony is that French scepticism about the expansion of the EU was very strong since many feared a massive influx of Eastern European professionals...

/Kristian Ribberström

How to improve innovation climate

This week the report The Awapatent Innovation Barometer 2007 about the R&D climate in Sweden was published. It is based on interviews with managers from different fields of research. Generally their views are positive and optimistic but five threats or “clouds on the horizon” are identified in the report. Interestingly four of them are strongly connected to themes in The Medici Effect. The threats are:

• There is a strong tendency among companies to stay within the same familiar field of research instead of moving into new areas.
• Companies are bad at protecting their innovations with patents.
• There is a shortage of educated people.
• There are very few women in research and development.
• There is too little creativity.

The first point corresponds closely with the main thesis in The Medici Effect: If you take your knowledge or technology into a new field it will lead to a situation where new perspectives and divergent thinking will generate innovation. I will skip number two and move directly to number three – the lack of talent. Like so many other countries Sweden will be forced to take part in the global battle for brainpower; it will be necessary to attract foreigners and make them want to stay. And then there is point number four – the lack of women. Usually the basis for this discussion is equality and political correctness but in this report they actually acknowledge the negative consequences of absence of female perspective.

In other words the solutions to points 1, 3 and 4 are characterized by intersections, diversity and mixed perspectives. According to The Medici Effect that is exactly what is needed to achieve breakthrough innovation. Therefore, solving these three problems is a very good way of addressing the last threat on the list – the lack of creativity.

I haven’t read the full report but in the articles I have read about it there have been no reflections on the obvious connections between these points. Too often this holistic view is missing. Why? Maybe that too is a symptom of the problem of barriers between domains.

/Kristian Ribberström

Physics perspective on biology led to invention

The field of biomimetics, in which technology is inspired by nature, is intersectional by definition and has provided several industrial fields with some really interesting processes lately. Some mechanisms in nature are so spectacular and ingenious that it would truly be a waste not to learn from them.

One such example is the bombardier beetle. It defends itself by rapidly squirting high-pressure jets of boiling liquid at predators. The 2 cm long innocent-looking beetle is equipped with a unique natural pulse combustion technique and a sophisticated ejection mechanism that enables it to blast the toxic liquid up to 20 cm with amazing precision.

This ability of the insect has been known for a long time but researchers found new possibilities by looking at it from a physics and engineering perspective instead of a biology perspective. For instance, numerical and mathematical modelling has been used to analyse the shape of the combustion chamber.

The research has been led by Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory at Leeds, Andy McIntosh, and the work has resulted in the new technique µMist™. It is an effective and eco-friendly mist carrier system that makes it possible to control droplet size, temperature and velocity closely. It is therefore believed to have great potential in medicine, fire fighting, fuel injection or other industrial fields.

Nature strives for maximum achievement at minimum effort and this interdisciplinary and innovative research project did not only result in a product; the scientists also learned much more from it than they had expected. Read more about the project here or this recent post about another intersection between nature and industry.

/Kristian Ribberström

Jeff Monaghan on The Medici Effect

Jeff Monaghan has some interesting ideas about what you can do to ”get the wheels turning” and start The Medici Effect. Read this post on his blog How To Market a Service.

/Kristian Ribberström

Consequences of lack of diversity

I just finished reading Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi’s book Iran Awakening. It is not about innovation but I couldn’t help reflecting upon it as a striking example of what happens when diversity is systematically taken away. Her description of Iran in the eighties after the revolution is not only a story about political tragedy – it also shows the idea stagnation that followed when the female perspective (or any other voice of dissent) disappeared from all influential levels in society. Systems simply became less functional and development went backwards also in ways the revolutionaries hadn't intended.

Now, the Iran that Ebadi describes is an extreme case where the female point of view and experience is totally disregarded or silenced but it still teaches us an important lesson about the dynamics of diversity. And not so long ago women weren’t allowed to vote in Europe …

/Kristian Ribberström

Age diversity is about to reinvent business fields

The generation that is about to go into retirement in Sweden is unusual in two important ways: They are many and they are wealthy. In fact, Sweden has never had senior citizens as rich as those who were born during or right after the Second World War. A fair share of the result of the economic development that made Sweden a post-war welfare miracle is now accumulated in their retirement funds and on their bank accounts. Compared to earlier generations they are also healthy, active and willing to spend. A lot! They travel, they shop and many of them plan to do all the things they didn’t have time for when they were busy with jobs and careers.

So – how does diversity and innovation come into this? Well, to start with - the market is taken by surprise. It is simply not prepared for older people’s unprecedented propensity to consume. 95% of the marketing of products and services is directed towards people under 35. As far as age is concerned Sweden is a rather stratified society. You hear the term age-racism quite often and for good reasons; when it comes to lifestyle, consumption and marketing young people seem to be the ones that count. However, as it turns out, they are not the ones with the money. The average age of a Porsche owner is 52 in this country and the average age of a Harley Davidson owner is 56.

Luckily businesses are waking up to the need for age diversity to match this important customer group. Therefore there are now opportunities for older professionals in fields that traditionally are dominated by young people. For instance, there is a demand for older models, older writers for new lifestyle magazines about new topics etc.

Another example is an increasing demand for travels with a high level of comfort and service but basically there is a need for new variations in almost every business field. Therefore age diversity is not only necessary to meet these powerful customers – it is also likely to reinvent business.

/Kristian Ribberström

The Pirate's Dilemma!

Today Matt Mason is launching his new book The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture is Reinventing Capitalism! Here is what I wrote about it when asked to blurb it: “Through a tornado of hip-hop beats and remarkable stories, Matt Mason takes us on a riveting journey to the heart of innovation. In this explosive book, he shows us that companies face a stark choice: Will you allow yourself to be gutted by a pirate or will you actually become one.”  Well – I meant it. This is a must read for anyone interested in where we are heading in the world of IP rights, piracy and innovation (which should be most of us). His core thesis: pirates have always played a key role in innovation and that sometimes companies should compete with pirates rather than fight them. Example: Apple’s move into the music business with iTunes. Also check out this slideshare that summarizes Matt’s ideas nice and neatly or the YouTube video of a specific Pirate Dilemma. Pick it up and read it.

Breakthrough innovation will find its uses (continued)

In my previous post, about the C-more Interactive Glasses, a number of potential areas of use for this product were mentioned. The breakthrough for the inventor Erik Lundström, however, was that the American Department of Defence became interested.

The application of the glasses that caught their attention is a direct result of Lundström’s diverse background; earlier he studied pedagogy, and at one point he interviewed handicapped children for a communication project. He learned that there was a picture symbol language called Bliss that is used by people who find it difficult to use words. Based on that experience he initiated the development of software for communication with military symbols. The point is that this symbol language can be used via the C-more Interactive Glasses. That means that soldiers wearing the glasses can communicate silently without using their hands and even without knowledge of each other’s languages.

When Lundström developed this system he didn’t even know that language barriers cause enormous problems within NATO – he just thought is was a good idea. And – as I have mentioned – great innovations will find its uses. He was invited to the Pentagon and demonstrated a simulation of the system. Earlier it had been difficult to find venture capitalists but now they work hard to have a prototype ready later this spring.

Lundström’s product is an example of innovation catalyzed by obstacles and limits as well combinations of experiences from different fields. The ability to see these things and work his way towards solutions makes him an extraordinary intersectional inventor.

/Kristian Ribberström

Breakthrough innovation will find its uses

When inventor Erik Lundström was in a hospital eleven years ago he met a seventeen year old girl who was totally paralyzed after a diving accident. She told him about her wish be able to continue with photography and he took it as a challenge; he decided there and then to come up with the necessary technology. His starting point was a far-fetched idea that he could use ECG sensors. They are designed to sense the movements of heart muscles but Lundström used them to capture movements of facial muscles instead. The device this resulted in was clumsy and ugly but it worked. After that he developed the technology to enable people with different kinds of disabilities to control computers via eye movements.

By combining these solutions with already known technology his company Penny has now produced the C-more interactive glasses. They replace screen, keyboard and mouse and control a pocket PC. The glasses contain two micro screens that are reflected on the eyes and the sidepieces contain sensors that capture movements of the jaws. At the same time the wearer sees what’s in front of him or her.

Even though the concept was born to make technology accessible to users with disabilities the most interesting aspect from a business perspective is that it has great potential in so many other contexts. Surgeons, dentists and different kinds of mechanics can make use of hands free computer equipment. Not to mention the computer game industry. The same phenomenon is described in my earlier post about the BRIGHT Atom teaching aid; an invention that is generated by the specific needs of a minority turns out to be useful also to many people not belonging to that minority. This is one reason why diversity drives innovation.

/Kristian Ribberström