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New Products Require Quicker R&D

Wed, Nov 18 Listen

Despite financial, economic, and regulatory pressures, companies must hurry along their product development. Standardizing or automating routine processes can help, as Asian leaders are showing

How Can Government Spark Innovation?

Mon, Nov 9 Listen

Alec Ross, senior advisor on innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, discusses how governments at home and abroad can fuel inventive thinking. Companies such as Google and Cisco, he says, have gained from public funding

Telepresence: An Innovation Hotbed?

Mon, Nov 2 Listen

Robert C. Hagerty, CEO of Polycom, discusses why he thinks videoconferencing and telepresence (essentially very high-quality videoconferencing) will spark invention and new business partnerships

Building Shanghai's Design Culture

Tue, Oct 27 Listen

Both local and multinational design firms in Shanghai are starting to explore the role design can play in addressing social issues such as education and the environment, says Tim Marshall, provost of the New School in New York.

Reimagining Consumer Products

Tue, Oct 20 Listen

New York innovation consultancy Fahrenheit 212 has helped the likes of Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble develop new products. CEO Geoff Vuleta tells how the firm also came up with a new vending machine for Samsung

Defining Large-Scale Innovation

Tue, Oct 13 Listen

Innovation adviser and author John Kao says that scaling up innovation projects requires acting on behalf of society, not just corporations. Could governments play a larger role?

Valuing Social Networks

Tue, Oct 6 Listen

Amid the recent hype surrounding the valuations of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Harvard professor Nicholas Christakis discusses the hidden values of being connected both offline and online

The Pursuit of Elegance

Tue, Sep 29 Listen

The best ideas have something missing - and that's no bad thing, says former Toyota consultant Matthew E. May. Here, he explains the importance of elegance and evolutionary innovation in business

Business Should Think Like Designers

Tue, Sep 22 Listen

Tim Brown, CEO of design shop IDEO, writes in his new book, Change by Design, that companies would do better by adopting "design thinking." Learn what customers want, he says, and answer their needs

Turn the Downturn to Your Advantage

Tue, Sep 15 Listen

Bain & Co. partner Darrell Rigby, author of Winning in Turbulence, says smart companies will assess strengths during the recession and move toward recovery with daring but calculated actions. He talks to BusinessWeek's Reena Jana

R&D Can't Wait for the Recovery

Tue, Sep 8 Listen

Companies are slashing budgets as sales have tumbled. But Lisa Gundry, director of DePaul University's Center for Creativity & Innovation, warns that cutting R&D now will mean stale catalogs when customers return

Getting to Plan B

Tue, Sep 1 Listen

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Randy Komisar discusses his book, Getting To Plan B. By eschewing the traditional business plan, entrepreneurs and innovators can build thriving enterprises

A Leaner Way to Develop Products

Tue, Aug 25 Listen

Dantar Oosterwal, a former product-development exec at Harley-Davidson and Sara Lee and the author of The Lean Machine, argues that innovation can be streamlined just like manufacturing.

Innovation Doesn't Triumph Naturally

Wed, Aug 19 Listen

Most people need some coaxing to try something new, says David Midgley, an INSEAD marketing professor and author. That's why marketing is so critically important

A Starbucks that's 'Not a Starbucks'

Wed, Aug 12 Listen

Starbucks want to create a new, niche coffee shop. Will 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea appeal to consumers or will it inspire a backlash? Branding expert Brian Collins weighs in

Determining Twitter's Value

Tue, Aug 4 Listen

Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and director of MIT's Center for Digital Business, says Twitter can be measured by how it makes people productive, not just in monetary value

Innovation 101: What Do Customers Want?

Tue, Jul 28 Listen

While most companies say innovation is the key to growth, they often don't know quite what their clients want. Consultant Ulwick of Strategyn has a Six Sigma-like process to figure that out and, in turn, set companies on a surer product-development course.

Design in a Recession

Tue, Jul 21 Listen

The co-founder of Smart Design, a New York innovation consultancy, discusses how industrial design was born in the Great Depression -- and how it can galvanize economic growth even in very tough times

Microsoft's Trickle-Up Strategy

Tue, Jul 14 Listen

Microsoft is looking to developing-world audiences for inspiration on new products for the U.S. Now it is also increasingly hunting for R&D talent among students in emerging markets. The company's Amit Mittal explains

Building Innovation Radar

Wed, Jul 8 Listen

The more successful a company is today, the more likely it is to be disrupted tomorrow. MIT Sloan School of Management visiting professor Alan MacCormack suggests new approaches for anticipating what's ahead

Computers Sciences CIO Sees Progress

Tue, Jun 30 Listen

Lemuel Lasher, chief innovation officer at Computer Sciences Corp. says that although IT spending is down, innovation continues

Experiments, Prototypes & Concepts

Tue, Jun 23 Listen

I Miss My Pencil is a book of ideas and concepts. Co-author and IDEO design strategist Kara Johnson discusses some of the book's findings and explains why freewheeling experimentation is important

Can American Idol Spur Invention?

Mon, Jun 15 Listen

Wharton professors Christian Terwiesch and Karl T. Ulrich discuss how companies can cultivate and select new business opportunities by creating or participating in competitions for ideas.

Building an Innovation Culture

Wed, Jun 10 Listen

Building an innovation culture might be one of the least discussed challenges facing executives. But, says InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin, it's also one of the most pressing. Spradlin offers tips and advice for fostering internal innovation

Transformative Innovation

Wed, Jun 3 Listen

The recession has caused industries to crumble and companies to rethink how they do business. Innosight President Scott Anthony discusses how to adapt and survive with fewer resources.

Innovation in 11 Easy Steps

Wed, May 27 Listen

Gerald Sindell, who runs business consultancy Thought Leaders International, talks about the process he has developed to help people become innovative. He lays out this step-by-step program in his new book, The Genius Machine

Starck on Design

Mon, May 18 Listen

"I am always ashamed of everything I do." So speaks Philippe Starck, creator of iconic products, luggage, hotels, even spaceship interiors. In this freewheeling interview, he candidly takes on all topics

The Key to Corporate Longevity

Tue, May 12 Listen

Innovative products and services will take a company only so far. Northwestern University's Robert Wolcott counsels corporations to create offshoot businesses, too

Defining the Creator Economy

Tue, May 5 Listen

Forecaster and strategist Paul Saffo discusses the shift from "consumer" to "creator" economy, and the implications this has for Big Business

Design Strategy for Business

Tue, Apr 28 Listen

In 2007, Nathan Shedroff helped launch an MBA program in design strategy at California College of the Arts. Here, he discusses some things the faculty has learned so far, along with the importance of design thinking in business

BusinessWeek -- Innovation of the Week podcast (Consumer & Technology)