Amazon adds two new Alexa-powered devices, the Tap and Dot

Introducing Echo Dot Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses the same far-field voice recognition as Amazon Echo. Dot has a small built-in speaker—it can also connect to your speakers over Bluetooth or with the included audio cable. Dot connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more—instantly. Echo Dot can hear you from across the room, even while music is playing. When you want to use Echo Dot, just say the wake word "Alexa" and Dot responds instantly. If you have more than one Echo or Echo Dot, you can set a different wake word for each—you can pick "Amazon", "Alexa" or "Echo" as the wake word. Echo Dot uses the same far-field voice recognition as Echo and is a convenient addition to any room of the house. Directly connect Echo Dot to speakers with an audio cable or via Bluetooth, and add voice-control to your home stereo system. With its built-in speaker, you can place Dot in the bedroom and use it as a smart alarm clock that can also turn off your lights, or use Dot in the kitchen to easily set timers and add items to your shopping list using just your voice.  Learn more about Echo Dot. Echo Dot is available for $89.99 in limited quantities exclusively for Prime members through Alexa Voice Shopping. Limit 1 per order, 2 per customer. To order your Echo Dot, just ask: Introducing Amazon Tap Amazon Tap is an Alexa-enabled portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker that gives you rich, full-range sound. Just tap the microphone button and ask for music, request the news, search for information, order a pizza, and more with the Alexa Voice Service. Amazon Tap has dual stereo speakers with Dolby processing that provides crisp vocals, extended bass response, and 360° omni-directional audio. Small and easy to travel with, you can enjoy great music and Alexa wherever you are. Amazon Tap is available for $129.99.  Learn more about Amazon Tap.

Can Innovation happen with every day items such as a coat hanger?

Absolutely!

The wire hanger was invented in 1869. It wasn't until 66 years later in 1935 when Elmer Rogers added a tube on the lower bar to reduce wrinkles, which is still used today.

Original wire hanger 1869

Introduced with cardboard roller in 1935

During a visit to the Netherlands in the summer of 2015, I met with Spinder Designs, who in partnership with Dutch craftsman Hans Daalder, a well known designer in the Dutch furniture industry, created an innovative way to hang personal items such as clothes, jackets, hats, purses, along with other items with his 2 designed products, the BUG and TICK. These products have been selling in Europe over the last 3 years with great success. 

Unique Home Furnishings, a division of the InnovationDen, is excited to bring the BUG and TICK to the North American Market.

If we go back to the 6 questions of Innovation in the previous blog posting, we can test to see if this is actually innovation or just a good idea.

1. Is it viable? North Americans have lots of clothes that need to be hung with limited space to do so.

   
   
2. Does it meet a market’s need or want to an extent they never dreamed possible? Space optimization with a fashionable look always sells.

   
   
3. Is there a definable group that needs your innovation? Anyone that has clothes.

   
   
4. If your innovation is a product, are your marketing and sales people excited about it? Yes, having a patented design and trademark provides for a unique product to be successful in todays market.

   
   
5. Are you changing the game? Wire hangers on rods have been around for a long time. A clean design, European aesthetics, and functionality
 make the BUG and TICK hangers ideal for closets, mug rooms, offices, and storage spaces.
   
   
6. How innovative is your idea? On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 6, taking the ordinary wire hanger and replacing with with a creative product that not only save space, but can look like wall art.

Check out the BUG and TICK products at www bugandtick.com

The InnovationDen continues to search for innovative products for al types of industries.

When is Innovation really Innovation and not just a another good idea?

Amongst my “product” clients, I get asked , “Do you think my product is innovative?” I always go back to the 6 fundamental questions of innovation:

1. Is it viable?
   
   
2. Does it meet a market’s need or want to an extent they never dreamed possible?
   
   
3. Is there a definable group that needs your innovation?
   
   
4. If your innovation is a product, are your marketing and sales people excited about it?
   
   
5. Are you changing the game?
   
   
6. How innovative is your idea?

If you answered yes to each of these 6 questions, be assured your idea is innovative. If you answered yes to more than 3 or more of the questions, you most likely have something valuable. If you said yes to 3 or fewer, your idea needs some work before deeming it to be an innovation. It may be a great idea, just not yet innovative. 

Let us help you take your idea to the next step.  innovationDen.ca

Does Innovation = Complexity???

With the advent of complex business systems, 3 D CAD modeling, virtual prototyping, the emergence of big data and all of the things we can measure and keep track of, is there a point where innovation leads us off the path of simplicity and efficiency?

I was in a presentation where I heard a story about a large passenger aircraft manufacturer whose release of their latest model was heralded as the best aircraft ever made ……when it was in the air. Problem as I understand it was that the manufacturer was monitoring performance of all kinds of sub systems in ways that they have never been measured before and errors and fault codes in these systems kept the aircraft on the ground when the data was outside of the parameters that were set. 

Where some of these faults that kept planes from flying due to the attempt to collect massive amount of data on the planes function? Could the plane have flown safely with the some of the data being out of parameter? I don’t know, but it does bring up an interesting question about data collection.

When I think of some businesses, they time track processes to the nearest second but in some cases they never use the data except when finance has to calculate cost of sales. What does it cost in time and overhead to track and report on this data? Just because there is whiz bang technology available out there to collect it; will this information transform the business in a way that there is a nice multiple of ROI on the costs of collection or will it add to the noise?

Step back for a second. At what point does the data from all of the systems that we use within our businesses from spreadsheets to MRP and ERP systems over run us with data. You really have to ask three questions:

    1) are we really measuring what matters, 

    2) are we really using what we measure, 

    3) is this information helpful in measuring improvement in our business in the short and long term?

“Run Simple”

An interesting phrase I heard a very large US corporation use as their mantra is “Run Simple”. On the surface this sounds really easy, but when you sit back and really think this through the road to run simple is quite complex. You really have to get back to the question why do we do what we do, what basic metrics are needed to determine success and efficiency at a higher level, measure them, and use the data to effect and measure change. In a sense replace the noise with a simple dashboard that gives enough data but doesn’t cost operational efficiency to collect.

I really think the idea of run simple can have an amazing impact on business. Adopting technology to assist us in “running simple” is a whole different cost justification than engaging technology to measure things just because they can be measured.

This article was written and presented by Ron Vanderwees, VP Recovery Services, Western Region, Business Improvement Group

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CONTINIOUS INNOVATION

An idea can come from anywhere.  An innovative idea also doesn’t have to stem from something completely new, but rather applying thinking from one sector to another, or taking a strong strategy and applying a new point of view. I have been innovating for 3 decades, and more recently, I turned this into a passion of mine to educate companies of all sizes and industries on continuous improvement, or what I like to refer to as continuous innovation.

The moment that you stop innovating, is the point in time that you become a laggard.  Think of the typewriter industry; many innovations came about along that products lifecycle, but when a shift to computers became mainstream, those typewriter companies that did not change their business model became dinosaurs really fast. 

To that end, we are encouraging clients and staff to be active participants in company policies: to speak up if they see something that could be better. 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INNOVATIVE ?

Every week I read about how top companies are innovating the way they do business. This most often comes in the form of a new technology - better use of data analytics, proprietary content hubs, consumer engagement software, etc. While these are certainly innovative, these technology solutions are not the only keys to innovation.

Being innovative is defined as introducing something new or different, essentially thinking outside the box. We need to challenge our employees to innovate, and to do so on a scale that works for them – whether that be as an individual, team, office or region. 

My message to my staff is that you don’t need to be an expert in the newest programming language, or well versed in mobile content platforms, you just have to have an idea that could improve the company.

WHO WERE THE 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IN 2014?

IS TESLA DISRUPTIVE?

My friend George just purchased a Tesla from the money he made on buying Tesla shares at $30.  He talks about how Tesla is disruptive innovator, which lead me to consider, is it really? 

Tom Bartman, is an associate with Clay Christensen’s research group at Harvard Business School (Clay is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School) . In a recent report posted in the Harvard Business Review, they apply a framework to understand whether a new company, like Tesla, will disrupt an old one, like GM, Ford, Chrysler or Toyota. 

The framework asks 5 questions:

1. Does the product target over-served customers (i.e., with better value for money) or create a new market?
2. Does the disruptor have incentives to enter higher performance segments while incumbents retreat?
3. Does it have a trajectory for fast, across the board, performance improvements?
4. Does it create a new value network (e.g., sales channel)?
5. Does it disrupt ALL incumbents?

The answers to these questions are: no, no, yes, yes and no. That leads Bartman to conclude that Tesla’s products are likely sustaining rather than disruptive.  I would have thought otherwise, but I'm not a professor at Harvard.  I believe the debate will continue if companies like Tesla are disruptive in nature or not.