Source | Pavan Soni | http://www.pavansoni.com
Welcome back to Inflection Point, the monthly sharing the most inspiring and the informative from the space of creativity, innovation, and strategy. In this edition, we talk about emerging disruptive technology players from China, how Pentagon manages innovation like a startup, ways in which superagers remain creative, innovation insights from 2016, how technology is shaping usage of natural resources, ways, and means by which driverless cars are ushering an innovation wave, and how one man is challenging death through his startup- Human Longevity.
From being copycats, there are some Chinese companies which have catapulted themselves into the product innovation league with the help of radical application of existing technologies. Whether it is movie production or those of new technologies these companies are not wary of a tie-up with Western firms, or even acquiring some of those. Take for instance Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, who has inked several strategic deals with upcoming businessmen and innovators. (Source: FastCompany)
The innovation experiment at Pentagon
The Pentagon and various US defense agencies have, over the years, contributed significantly to the innovation trajectory of the USA and much of the world. Here’s an experiment conducted at the Pentagon on accelerating the pace of innovation and bringing in a startup culture at the outfit. (Source: MIT Technology Review)
The secret of superagers: Picking up new hobbies
What is the secret of people who are well into performance at even their 80s? Research suggests that they pick up activities, often physically excruciating, to remain mentally and physically engaged, and develop their creative abilities on a continuing basis. This also helps develop better bonds at the workplace and home alike (Source: Harvard Business Review)
Innovative technologies to manage natural resources
Innovations and rapid adoption of technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things technology, and data analytics are changing the landscape of resource utilization. Research suggests that there is a potential to unlock around $900 billion to $1.6 trillion in savings throughout the global economy in 2035. (Source: McKinsey Quarterly)
Here were the top ten innovative companies identified by the BCG in its 11th annual global survey- Apple, Google, Tesla Motors, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Samsung Group, Toyota, Facebook, and IBM. A clear mix of radical new companies, and good old business, though all adopting technology extensively. However, some of the challenges involve finding and sourcing external ideas and inventions, overcoming internal resistance to innovation, and clubbing the external with the internal. (Source: Boston Consulting Group)
Innovations when the cars go driverless
Many auto giants, ranging from Volvo to Ford, acknowledge the present times to be the most remarkable in design and functionality of cars, for now, the driver doesn’t have to be behind the wheel. This opens up whole new possibilities of increasing productivity, catching up on sleep, entertainment, exercises, meeting, and what not, and that’s ushering a whole new era of innovation in this age-old industry. (Source: The Economist)
Meet Craig Venter, one of the pioneers of the Human Genome Project, and the founder of Human Longevity, the firm that aims at slowing down the aging process, and define, to a large level of certainty, when and how one would die. Craig remains as one of the rare scientific entrepreneurs and has already amassed $300 million funding for this project on deciphering the code of a healthy living, and inducing it onto others. (Source: Forbes)
