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TheVisualMD.com Offers Free, Global Access to Animated 3-D views of Human Body in Action
People around the world will soon have access to a powerful new type of medical information—a 3-D visual exploration of the cardiovascular system created from the seamless integration of state-of-the-art medical imaging and computer-generate animations. TheVisualMD.com, the latest effort from Alexander Tsiaras' Anatomical Travelogue, will allow users to view the heart as it develops and grows into a complex network of arteries and veins and as it becomes infected with disease. Viewers will also be able to visualize and explore the heart’s “duties” as one of the human body’s most important organs.
BIF-4 is Sold-Out!
It will be a packed house next week. The BIF-4 Collaborative Innovation Summit is officially sold out. If you weren't able to secure a ticket, no worries - we'll be blogging and twittering live throughout the day. Check back often where our group of participants will be sharing the learning live from Trinity Rep.
Update on BIF-4 Storyteller John Abele: Navy Confirms Finding of Grunion
The navy has officially confirmed that the a sunken vessel found off the coast of the Aleutian Islands is in fact the World War II submarine USS Grunion. For more than sixty years the submarine's fate remained an unsolved mystery. John Abele, one of the Grunion Commander's sons will be sharing details of the find at the BIF-4 Summit next week. This is a profound story about the power of social networking and what happens when serendipity intersects with technology and perseverance.
Watch the Today Show segment which aired on October 3rd
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Learn more about the BIF-4 Collaborative Innovation Summit taking place on October 15th and 16th
Read my story about John Abele here: Serendipity, Social Networking and Finding a Needle in a Haystack
BIF-4 Cohost Bruce Nussbaum Takes on New Role
Congratulations go out to BIF research advisor and BIF-4 cohost Bruce Nussbaum who was just appointed visiting professor of innovation and design at The New School. His faculty home base will be in the School of Design Strategies at Parsons The New School for Design which houses degree programs in design and management, integrated design and environmental studies. Bruce will be working across the university to catalyze new areas of research and study that bring together design and social research with management, urban policy, environmental studies and sustainability.
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Hoping to Accelerate Innovation, Best Buy Launches Talent Development Program
IBM Extreme Blue leader (and BIF Research Advisor) John Wolpert passed along this video to us about an innovative new program he’s been working on with Best Buy called upStart. Basically, the program gives any Best Buy employee the opportunity to start and run a new business.
Similar to Extreme Blue, John says Best Buy’s upStart is a talent development program for wannabe entrepreneurs within the company and at university who have great, new ideas but don’t know how to get started. The program, which lasts ten weeks, helps people elaborate their idea into a real opportunity as well as help develop their abilities as entrepreneurs.
Continue reading "Hoping to Accelerate Innovation, Best Buy Launches Talent Development Program"
BIF Linkage: John Kao on Prototyping the Global Future
Earlier this year the Tällberg Forum gathered thinkers and leaders from seventy nations for four days of conversations and workshops related to the opportunities and challenges of global interdependence. BIF Research Advisor John Kao was in attendance moderating a panel about prototyping the global future.
In the video, Kao (an accomplished jazz musician) spins a good metaphor about music and innovation and how to find balance between "just reading sheet music" and pure improvisation. Unanticipated notes (ideas) typically produce unanticipated sources of value. To get there, you have to have true collaboration, which Kao says is about finding the sweet spot between control (sheet music) and freedom (improvisation).
Good stuff - Watch the video here
Other BIF Related Info: Read my interview with John Kao
Best Practices in Social Networking: Best Buy's Blue Shirt Nation
Steve Bendt and Gary Koelling are two of the more unusual change agents you’re likely to come across. Laid-back hipsters with modest demeanors, they shatter the myth of typical change agents who are aggressive, decisive and demanding.
Yet somehow this duo managed to create something most established companies only dream of: real and informed employee engagement that cuts across boundaries, silos, departments and disciplines.
Bendt and Koelling are the creators of Blue Shirt Nation (BSN), a robust community of Best Buy employees who convene regularly to share knowledge, best practices, frustrations, aspirations and a few jokes. Community members include everyone from recent high school graduates to semi-retirees.
I spoke with Steve and Gary recently about the development of Blue Shirt Nation and here's their story...
Continue reading "Best Practices in Social Networking: Best Buy's Blue Shirt Nation"
Memo to Established Companies: It's OK to Rewrite the Playbooks
Within the cubicle environments of most large organizations, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing change is difficult or that the rule book can’t be adjusted. In 2003, amidst the backdrop of corporate scandals like Tyco and Enron, Vice President of Corporate Communications David Yaun was part of an IBM Corporation management team driving a massive, company-wide dialog to identify the company’s core values.
During a 3-day “ValuesJam,” IBM’s then 320,000+ employees where challenged with questions like ‘when is IBM at its best?’ or ‘how would the world change if IBM disappeared overnight?’ or ‘what roles do values even play in managing a commercial enterprise?’ “It was the first time we examined IBM's core values since the company's founding,” says Yaun. “Not surprising, IBM’ers were thoughtful and passionate about the company they were a part of.”
Continue reading "Memo to Established Companies: It's OK to Rewrite the Playbooks"
Serendipity, Social Networking and Finding a Needle in a Haystack
I've just written a profile of John Abele, retired founder of Boston Scientific and leader of the Grunion expedition - a global pursuit to find Abele's father's World War II submarine, lost at sea in the summer of 1942. His story is incredibly inspiring – and it’s more than just for sentimental reasons.
In his book Here Comes Everybody, BIF research advisor Clay Shirky wrote: "when we change the way we communicate, we change society." Abele's quest for the Grunion is about the power of social networking and, to use Shirky's terminology, "organizing without organizations." It's about what happens when serendipity intersects with technology and human intent.
John Abele will be sharing his story at our Summit in October. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at what it took to find one missing submarine in the Bering Sea...
Continue reading "Serendipity, Social Networking and Finding a Needle in a Haystack"
Join us for an update on BIF's Nursing Home of the Future
When the Business Innovation Factory set out to create a real-world laboratory for developing and testing new solutions for improving elderly care, we knew it would be an exciting and challenging endeavor. What we didn't know was how deeply personal and inspiring the process of building the Nursing Home of the Future (NHoF) would be.
I invite you to join us on Wednesday, September 10, 3pm-5pm for a special community update on the NHoF initiative. The update will be held at BIF’s offices in the American Locomotive Works Development on Valley Street in Providence (directions below).
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Recent Posts
- TheVisualMD.com Offers Free, Global Access to Animated 3-D views of Human Body in Action
- BIF-4 is Sold-Out!
- Update on BIF-4 Storyteller John Abele: Navy Confirms Finding of Grunion
- BIF-4 Cohost Bruce Nussbaum Takes on New Role
- Hoping to Accelerate Innovation, Best Buy Launches Talent Development Program