Ask who invented the light bulb, and most people will say “Edison”
He didn’t of course, but I always think the story of the multiple inventors of the light bulb sheds some interesting light on the distributed way that innovation really happens: The person that gets the credit is very seldom the sole contributor, and it all takes a lot longer than people think. Continue reading Invent a better light bulb
This is a summary of my longer article, first published by Friends of the Earth, and available here
It’s very clear that the next generation will need to do better than us if they’re to resolve the huge environmental and economic challenges ahead of us, build a better society and provide wellbeing for 8-10 billion people while using less resources than at present. They will need innovators, but educational systems in many countries – not least the UK – are killing rather than fostering creativity. Continue reading Breaking the Cycle of Distrust: developing creativity and empathy in a challenging world.
I have always like this thoughtful article by Professor Charlan Nemeth, and am grateful to her for permission to republish it .
Continue reading Professor Charlan Jeanne Nemeth: Managing innovation, when less is more
As the date of the UN climate change negotiations meeting in Paris draws near, there’s a steady stream of increasingly alarming reports about the likely impacts of climate change, only slightly mitigated by the increasing number of pledges of mostly inadequate action. Continue reading The quiet revolution: a ray of hope
I find it bizarre that we have a government that is nominally in favour of innovation and enterprise, but in the energy sector it seems to be busy rigging the rules to keep the innovators at bay. Continue reading Keeping the lights on… or not?
One of the myths of creativity is that you mustn’t be negative. I’ve recently been thinking about this, because it is sort-of true, but at the same time, deeply not true. Continue reading Saying “No”: The secret of getting results from creativity.
Having spent much of my professional career involved in both technological innovation and environmental sustainability, I’ve always taken it for granted that the two are natural partners. Continue reading Innovation and sustainability
Whether it’s a stage of life thing, or an indication of the state of the times, I’m finding that I’m quite often helping people think creatively about what they want to do in “retirement” Continue reading Life in the 3rd Age
The other day, I was discussing the relationship between inequality and innovation with a couple of academics. Although our current political leaders seem to believe that the UK’s growing economic inequality incentivises innovation and growth, the academics point out that the research data suggests that inequality actually reduces the level of innovation. Continue reading Innovation and inequality
Our politicians keep introducing reforms, claiming that this will make public sector organisations as efficient and innovative as the private sector, but each time it just seems to make things worse. Continue reading Creativity in the public sector