Inside the Group

Welcome to the New Inside the Group

 

Well, if we had the answer to this question that would pretty much be the end, now wouldn’t it? But of course this is just the beginning. In fact this is the first post in the new Inside the Group. The real beauty of that question is that it’s never fully answered, at least not to the extent that there’s always somewhere else to go, something else to achieve. All any of us can do is keep asking the question, keep plugging away at finding the answers, and then start over and do it all again.

That is what this blog is going to be about...asking the questions that we think need to be asked, sharing the answers we’ve uncovered along the way, and highlighting the ideas and ideamakers which are moving us forward as a society, whether through technology, business, science, culture, politics, what have you. Now before you think that this is going to be a place just for big, pie in the sky theoretical thinking, fear not. Over time we plan on packing this place full of helpful, ready-to-go advice, tips, and tools that you will be able to incorporate into your own business, organization, or job.

We’re going to also be doing a lot of experimenting along the way, trying out a bunch of different features, expanding our social network, adding the occasional off-topic morsel of “huh?” and sharing a lot about the day-to-day life of our company. We’ll also have some fun along the way, at least we hope so.

To the right is a link called “So what is this Group and should I care?” If this is your first time here, we suggest you go there next as it answers that question quite well and will help you get a feel for who we are and what we are trying to do. Since this is just the beginning of the new blog, we’re going to keep this post right up front for a while until we have gathered a decent following (hopefully only 4-5 years for that…yes we will be sarcastic at times, be prepared.)

This brings us to the last point I want to make and that is that this is place for YOU to share what you are thinking, what you have learned, and what you want to learn more about. That’s the only way this place is going to work.

So if you’re ready…where next?

Technorati Tags: innovation,design,small company

Cutting Edge Roundup (11-4-09)

Been a busy couple weeks so sorry for being MIA, but I did make use of some of my absence by piling up a bunch of interesting ideas and innovations from across the web. Usually, I would add my own two cents to these cutting edge concepts, but I figured I’d just let you go and discover and dissect them yourself. Here’s a few:

Grease monkey meets green thumb. Toyota is in the plant business, sort of.

Here’s a energy source, there’s an energy source, everywhere an energy source. A company called Suncore is developing a new charger that uses any kind of light.

Delay on the runway? No problem. Emil Jacobs’ innovative airplane seating designs could make a long flight or a long wait more tolerable, if not enjoyable.

Batter up. Two enterprisi9ng minds offer a way to bring more competition to Major League Baseball

Technorati Tags: Renewable Energy,Airplane Design,Major League Baseball

Inside the Group is the brainstorming and discussion world of evolution firm Westfall | Group

Homeownership, good citizenship, and the causal misnomer.

Earlier today I was working out, something believe it or not I do often, and saw a panel discussion on C-Span which included Jim Brinkman, a Senior VP of the Mortgage Bankers Association and David Crowe, a Senior VP of the National Association of Homebuilders. (Watch the video on C-Span here.)

The topics included the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the proper amount of risk the housing system can and should bear, and what the goal of home ownership should be. All in all an interesting discussion, even when it started to get bogged down into the economic minutiae that is common when a gathering of economists occurs.

They know better than you, or us (part 2)

In the last article I gave the first three of eight lessons and insights I gleaned from a recent study (download here) by researchers Eric von Hippel and Pedro Oliveira titled, “Users as Service Innovators: The Case of Bank Services.” In the study they look at the role of end users in the creation of new services and how their own innovations often can be modified and implemented by companies in commercially viable ways.

Here are the remaining five things I took from the study that I believe should be top of mind for any organization looking to fuel their innovation processes:

They know better than you…or us (part one)

A new study examines the role of user-created innovations in the services industry and sheds
light on the importance of observing and
involving users in the development of new
products and services.

 

Ever wonder where some of big and exciting creations of business come from? Sure you have, and even more likely you have said to yourself, ‘Gee, I could have come up with that.’ Well guess what, you might have and not even known it.

Patrick Swayze: A Joyous Life, a Sad Death, and a Lesson in Healthcare Innovation

The news of Patrick Swayze passing away last week from pancreatic cancer, caused me to feel the expected emotions of sadness and concern for his family to delight and appreciation when remembering his career which included pop icon movies like Ghost and Dirty Dancing and the legendary Saturday Night Live skit with the late Chris Farley. There was also a thought that popped into my head that I immediately connected with the healthcare issues of today. Mr. Swayze’s illness is hard to detect, painful to treat, and rarely ever stopped in its tracks—all in all a very tragic prognosis that he took with great strength and perseverance as he was determined to live life to the fullest with the time he had left. But the thought that entered my mind about healthcare actually was sparked from one of his tough-as-nails fictional characters.

Updated and Expanded LinkedIn Profile

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, I was in the process of evaluating various social networks that we would consider devoting some of our time at Westfall | Group on. We got some feedback and have been encouraged to build up our network on LinkedIn so I have gone back and updated my oft-neglected LinkedIn Profile here.
I’ll be spending some considerable time in the next few weeks adding more content to the LinkedIn profile as well as possibly starting a group there or participating in some of the Q&A discussions. We also setup a Westfall | Group company page on LinkedIn as well.

As always, if anyone has any suggestions of content we should put up there or other places where we might find spending some of our social networking time of value, please let me know. We’ll be debuting a new Facebook presence in the coming weeks as well.

Technorati Tags: linkedin,social networks,facebook

Inside the Group is the brainstorming and discussion world of evolution firm Westfall | Group

Fool Me Once, Shame on You, and Goodbye (Ugh!)

TODAY: T-MOBILE 

It’s not often you come across something so blatantly absurd that you feel the need to stop what you are doing and write about it, but then again you’re not me. (You are in fact fortunate in that regard, but I digress). Let me start with a little set-up to the story.

Where is the Collaboration Kansas City?

Last week on KCPT’s Kansas City Week in Review, the topic of a new $575 million Museum of Natural History project in Overland Park, KS was discussed. KC Star Columnist Steve Kraske brought up the point that this project will have impact on the entire metro and should have at least been discussed among the metro’s cities in that context. I wrote about this very topic a long time back on our old blog when another similar situation had arisen. I think it is worth revisiting so below is a reprint of that article.

(Ok, Here’s a Question) Don’t the definitions matter in healthcare?

As the healthcare debate has gone local and turned ugly again (ahh weren’t the 90s great?) I am suffering from a head ailment that is progressively getting worse. No, wait it’s just a question that is bothering me. Whew.

Augmented Reality a Buzzword with Potential (Cutting Edge)

We are a sucker for new things to be sure and especially when they have the potential to be a real game-changer. Today, however we aren’t talking about a thing, rather a concept, or more appropriately a utilization of technologies that are creating a new experience for consumers and users. This new mashup is generally referred to as “augmented reality” which in a simple definition is the combination of the digital and physical worlds to provide a uniquely enhanced experience. Of course with most things in the digital world, that definition encompasses a lot of possibilities. Below are three examples along with our take on their “it’s a keeper” potential: 

Proctor & Gamble – Always Infinity (Is it really worth the customer’s time?)
Best Buy (A little gee whiz is all you get but could be improved.)
Zugara's Clothing Tester (Wow, an actual use to benefit the customer.)

After looking at the above examples you might start to think that there is in fact big potential in AR as well as under the bigger umbrellas of mobile marketing, 3D technology, and location-based marketing. And we would agree with you. In fact at Westfall | Group we’re following the growth of AR utilization and are looking for ways to incorporate it into our work for clients to provide meaningful user experiences. The key there is meaningful because as with most marketing tactics, if in the end your audience is left asking, “is that all there is?” then your money would definitely be better spent somewhere else.

Technorati Tags: augmented reality,interactive media,online marketing

Inside the Group is the discussion and brainstorming world of evolution firm Westfall | Group