Last Semester I took the Innovation and Technology Class and here is our output for the first assignment.

There are way to many winner and killer ideas here for entrepreneurs to pick up ! pick them up, message the students who made them and who knows you might have a multi-million peso company in a few years !

Here is the link to all the ideas and everything is downloadable too ! The page might load a bit slow though

http://home.ateneoinnovation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=411:businessweek-design-awards-2008&catid=103:presentations

Welcome to the groundswell, the people power revolution that toppling nearly everything we know.

We Filipinos know the meaning of Groundswell deep in our hearts, in fact Groundswell is what drove the People Power Revolution. Groundswell is another product of democracy but this time not in the arena of politics but in business, the power is now in the consumers not anymore the producers and the large companies.

Below is another concept review by yours truly made for the Ateneo Innovation Center (www.ateneoinnovation.org) it is FREE to download, print and share.

(in Scribd Format, which you cannot view in Google Reader ><)
Ateneo Innovation Center Book Review : Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Today, a good product isn’t enough, a great marketing gimmick isn’t enough, even a large war chest doesn’t lead to success (Look at Vista). What is the secret to a great product ? Looking at the current list of the top and most successful products they are all beautifully designed, they are all elegant.

Take for example Google’s homepage, there is just search nothing more (which is a way different from Yahoo), the page looks clean as opposed to the clutter of Yahoo’s homepage. If one word can sum up Google’s homepage it is elegance. There is nothing more, nothing less, in fact when you are new to Google (or the first time you used it) you may have thought that it hasn’t fully loaded yet (which in fact a lot of people thought). Despite being a multi-billion dollar company (possibly pushing the trillion mark soon) the homepage looks so empty…..that is where Matthew May’s subtitle comes in, it seems that elegance have something missing or is seemingly missing something.

http://www.leanblog.org/2009/05/leanblog-podcast-67-matt-may-in-pursuit.html

Above is a short 9 minute audio interview with Matthew May that is really worth listening too. Matthew May explains the basics of elegance and some examples of elegance.

Ateneo Innovation Center : In Pursuit of Elegance

Here is the Ateneo Innovation Center’s book review on the book of Matthew May entitled In Pursuit of Elegance.

Free to Download, Print and Share.

Let’s create things, products and services that are elegant because elegance is beautiful, useful and sustainable.

]]> http://blog.isangisla.com/innovation/in-pursuit-of-elegance/feed 0 http://blog.isangisla.com/innovation/understanding-disruptive-innovation http://blog.isangisla.com/innovation/understanding-disruptive-innovation#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:01:18 +0000 Matt http://blog.isangisla.com/?p=133

Disruptive Innovation is arguably the most important theory in Innovation that every single person interested in Innovation should understand.

Despite being coined more than a decade ago, it has not yet fully entered the mainstream. Disruptive Innovation explains why and how excellently managed companies can be ruined precisely because of the principles of good management.

If there is one concept that I believe everyone should understand it is this. Mark Ruiz, (www.ruizmark.com) taught me “Innovate or Die” and this concept precisely shows you why. If you don’t understand this concept some will and will carve a bullet with your company’s name on it.

Any good management student should understand this phenomenon in order to preform and do the best thing for the company despite that it seems counter-intuitive.

Below is a short PDF on the basics of Disruptive Innovation (in Scribd, those using Google Reader please go to the webpage itself since scribed won’t show it there).

Ateneo Innovation Center Book Review : Disruptive Innovation by Chris Anderson

FREE is so prevalent today, in fact one of the companies I started was based on FREE  (Free Love Philippines : Free Photocopying) you can find out more in springwise and in the PDF we made for FREE on how to create your own FREE PHOTOCOPYING business or event (see our manifestos). Google Search is Free and so is Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Earth (hell everything that Google provides is usually free). Facebook, Multiply, Linkedin is also Free  there is no subscription fees or membership fees like golf clubs. The thing is that these companies earn tons and tons of money, Google = GOD already for some of us.

Here in this short PDF I try to explain how Free works, and why it is important. The Audiobook of Free is still Free the last time I checked but the ebook isn’t anymore, fortunately, the book is available in nearly all bookstores nationwide (even worldwide).

Again this is FREE to download and share.

Ateneo Innovation Center Book Review : Free by Chris Anderson

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson is one of the most important business books of our time. Despite the fact

that the most powerful companies such as Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Netflix and iTunes(Apple) owe their domination to the Long Tail Phenomenon the concept is not yet as widespread as it should be.

Because of this I came up with a new series of short write-ups on different concepts that I believe will be defining our generation. I also wrote these write-ups with Ateneans in mind which is why a lot of the examples are local examples and the language is not too serious.

It is my hope that with this series people could understand the world more and take advantage of it and create more Filipino Inovention that would place us back on the map.

This is done in conjunction with the Ateneo Innovation Center where I am the only student volunteer.

It is Free to download and share.

Ateneo Innovation Center Book Review : Long Tail by Chris Anderson

Every year multitudes of Filipinos line up in front of airplanes to go and work abroad, most of them not to come back for years or even not come back at all. Most of them are domestic helpers, but a large portion of them are knowledge workers, doctors and engineers lured by greener pastures beyond the small archipelago nation. Numerous stories of doctors leaving to become nurses in the United States and Ph.D Engineers leaving to become construction works in the Middle East circulate our country. Our media portrays it as the great brain drain and that our nation would never prosper because the best are leaving us. But we should we ask, are they really leaving us ?

Ateneo Innovation Center Logo

I’m lucky to work in the Ateneo Innovation Center, and what surprises me is that Filipino Inventors, Engineers and Businessmen who left the country decades ago are emailing, calling or even dropping by to visit us, asking how they could help or offering help. It begs the question, you can remove a Filipino from the Philippines but can you remove the Filipio from them ?

Innovation in Design

Dr. Greg Tangonan studied in Ateneo de Manila and went off to California Institute of Technology to gain his Ph.D. specializing in fiber optics and spent 30 or so years of his life in the United States of America before returning to the Philippines. With him back he is now the Director of the Ateneo Innovation Center and the Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology & Engineering. With his training and experience he is helping build the Innovation Center and the Science, Technology and Engineering prowess of the Philippines.

During his recent plenary to Science 10 students (the science and technology course required to all students of the Ateneo) on two occasions he was what he thinks on engineers leaving the country and should we stop them from leaving the country. What he replied was that “It would be unfair and unwise to stop Filipinos from going abroad because sooner or later some of them will come back and when they do come back, they bring in more things than money”.

Around the world there are numerous engineers, scientists and technologists who are Filipino, some come back to the Philippines often and some haven’t returned home for decades but the simple fact remains, they are still Filipinos and this is still the Philippines. When they do return they return with knowledge and experience our country so desperately needs and they are more than willing to share it.

Top Global Taiwan Brands

Taiwan and China started with a brain drain, they sent all their best and brightest abroad to learn, some came back and other haven’t and look where they are now ? Korean companies such as Samsung actually have people in high tech and innovative companies like IDEO to learn.

So 10 years, 20 years down the line when these Filipino Engineers, Scientists and Technologists returns, what do we have ?

So truly are we experiencing a brain gain or a brain drain sending all these young and bright people aboard ? Should we send even more bright and young students to Japan, Australia, Singapore, Germany and other countries who are in need of more students ? I truly believe we should because once they come back, we may not need to send the next generation away.

Climate Change is the wild card of the 21st Century. It isn’t a question of will it happen because it is already happening and between 2010 to 2050 climate change, or rather abnormal weather will be the norm. In a given day, we could go as hot as mid-summer and a few hours later have gale force winds and thundershowers like the Typhoons of August and September.

This isn’t an article on CO2 causing global warming and climate change nor is it about humans causing it, we leave that to the great scientists in academic and government institutions. This article is about how climate change will be the wild card in business, in building and ruining fortunes.

Only fools will think that Climate Change will not affect business in a profound way just as the internet did. Understand Climate Change, adjust accordingly and you’ll be rewarded.

General Effects of Global Warming/ Climate Change

• Higher sea levels and a warmer oceans
• Stronger and unpredictable weather
• Destruction/ alteration of ecosystems

Higher sea levels :

The Philippines is an archipelago where the number of islands grows and shrink as the tide come and go. One of the major effects of global warming is higher sea levels which to an archipelago is bad news. As early as today, Maldives, an small archipelago nation is sinking with their president wanting to relocate the entire country.

Effects to  Philippine business environment:

1.) One of the major tourist attraction of the Philippines are our beaches, and higher sea levels directly threatens our beaches. What if Boracay sinks ? it is a possibility. Seaside resorts will be the most affected mostly due to losing the beach itself and they have to spend money of protecting their infrastructure.

2.) With the rise of sea level means the relocation of countless barangays (small villages) and entire communities due to safety reasons or due to that their original villages are already eaten by the sea.

3.) The threat of higher sea levels will be mostly felt by  reclaimed areas such as the land where the Mall of Asia stands. Just a few centimeters rise in sea levels would need higher sea walls to combat it which are expensive. Other effects such as erosion and seeping will cause even more headaches and costs.

Stronger and unpredictable weather

Image by NASA

It is already evident today, cold and wet mornings followed by a searing hot mid-afternoons with afternoon thunderstorms, a relatively quiet early evening and then thunderstorms at night again. It could be sunny and yet a few minutes later it is raining cats and dogs. Due to the warming of the seas we have more and stronger typhoons and due to El Nino, even drought is a possibility for a country surrounded by water.

Effects to  Philippine business environment:

1.) More typhoons means more canceled classes, and work days. Typhoons also bring in death and destruction from bringing down billboards to numerous landslides in the provinces. Structures will take a beating and those that could not withstand the forces will be damaged or worse destroyed.

2.) Construction is usually done on sunny days and clear nights for safety and because in order for concrete (prime building material in the Philippines) to be strong there should be no excess water. With unexpected and sudden rain showers building buildings has become costly (rain can ruin a lot of construction materials) and slow.

3.) With stronger rains, wind and typhoons, electrical outages or “brownouts” will be much more common due to the aging electric distribution infrastructure, one power station getting knocked out and plunge the capital Manila into darkness. And with electricity powering virtually everything in our lives, losing it would be bring our lives to a crawl.

4.) Food Shortages and destruction of crops. Thanks to Albert to bringing this up ! with stronger Typhoons, crop damage and destruction will increases causing food shortages and higher food prices.

Destruction/ alteration of ecosystems

One of the beauties of the Philippines is its rich biodiversity and generally untouched nature (mostly due to government bureaucracy and rebellion) but recently there are trends that pointing to their destruction or alternation due to climate change. The most well known is the bleaching of corals due to warmer seas that cause a boom in algae, which also causes fish kills in some areas. Other effects include due to rain and landslides larger mammals and birds die due to drowning and being in a landslide. Abroad warmer temperatures has allowed certain animals/insects to invade places where otherwise they would not have survived due to the weather/temperature such as mosquitoes and invasive populations.

Innovations in response to climate change

Although climate change and global warming will bring a lot of hurt to us, it would also bring a lot of opportunity to earn, and improve our country. It is important to remember that all nations on Earth would be facing climate change and global warming although in different manifestations. It is possible to survive and even thrive in this environment ! In fact it gives us a chance to shine.

Some ideas :

1.) All weather construction : Bad weather always delays and stops construction and delays cost money, lots of money. If we could create a system where construction could happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week regardless of weather it would not only save money and time but also on resources. Maybe we could cover the entire work site shielding the entire work site.

2.) Newer and better rural barangays : Relocation will be a major problem for the country in the coming years as people are forced to move due to safety reasons due to the sea or landslides. This creates an opportunity to create villages that are not only safe but also efficient. We have a chance to redesign the entire country.

3.) Moving to the cloud : With flooding, landslides, power outages and other forces being more a threat to businesses, it is increasingly important to store information on the cloud because having your data on just one server is too dangerous. This is more important for internet companies where power outages could shut down their entire website for hours on end causing loss in revenues and oppurtunity.

4.) Back-ups and back-ups of back-ups : A company or an individual who doesn’t have any back-ups (information or resources) will find themselves in a pickle when faced with a disaster, and without back-ups standing back up will be near impossible.

5.) The Internet : The safest place to be is at home when a typhoon hits, not on the road going to work. Getting stranded will be more common tomorrow than today with air travel and sea travel hampered by bad weather. Not being able to get to work, or get back from a meeting is costly, the internet can help. Numerous online applications such as Zoho, Basecamp and even Google Docs can allow anyone to work on stuff anywhere with an internet connection and with internet connection being available almost everywhere it is better than nothing. Even on good weather the internet could save time and resources because if they could do the work at home, they save resources by not commuting.

Businesses will have to adapt to climate change and global warming or risk being eliminated by businesses that has adapted to climate change and global warming or get destroyed by these forces themselves.

It is truly Innovate or Die.

Of course, if we still do not take care of our environment and continue our wasteful and dirty ways there is no way this planet could support us. Innovate but towards a much sustainable future.

Oh please answer this survey if you can : http://www.survs.com/survey?id=V30UBRE3&channel=SBX25VGBUN

Philippine Innovation – 1,260,000 Hits

Innovation in the Philippines - 4,110,000 Hits

Compare this against

Korean Innovation – 2,880,000 Hits / Innovation in Korea – 7,480,000 Hits

Thai Innovation – 1,490,000 Hits/ Innovation in Thailand – 4,510,000 Hits

Indonesian Innovation – 2,290,000 Hits/ Innovation in Indonesia – 5,570,000 Hits

Taiwan Innovation - 4,530,000 Hits / Innovation in Thailand – 1,910,000 Hits

From this alone, it seems that the Philippines is a bit behind compared to other countries in Asia on innovation. Ask about Philippine Innovation or Innovation in the Philippines and you’ll get responses like “Wishful Thinking” and “Hopefully it would happen” but what people are missing is that the Philippine Innovation Avalanche has begun and it is getting larger and larger every moment.

Some Examples of the Avalanche:

Logo © Inovent Designs

1.) Inovent - (www.inoventdesign.com) – The only Industrial Design firm in the Philippines and recently even large and supposed to be “invincible” marketing/advertising firms have bowed down to Inovent. And with their launch of the Ilumina iTV (http://inoventrevolution.wordpress.com), with the aim to launch the Philippine’s first consumer technology brand like Samsung and Apple.

Logo © Rags2Riches, Jacinto Y Lirio and Hapinoy

2.) Rise of Social Entrepreneurship – with  Hapinoy/Microventures (www.hapinoy.com) and Rags2Riches (www.rags2riches.ph) lead by Mark Ruiz, Reese Fernandez, Bam Aquino, Rajo Laurel and many more and they act as the vanguards and trail blazers of Philippine Social Entrepreneurship. Now small social enterprises tackling the problem of water lilies to waterless toilet concepts are spawning in the country bringing about change in the way business is done in the country in a new and radical way where the bottom line is not profit but changing the world into a better place.

Logo © Ateneo Innovation Center

3.) Centers of Innovation – with centers of Innovation such as the Ateneo Innovation Center (http://innovation.ateneo.edu/bin/view/Main/WebHome) encouraging students to do innovation and reactivate the creativity that traditional school has beaten out of the students. The Ateneo Innovation Center has for example launched the Philippine’s first SMS Quality of Service Experiments and is currently conducting Algae for Oil experiments that has recently gotten the attention of the Japanese. Although such centers today are still relatively unknown, the more innovation these centers crank out the more known and appreciated they would be. These are the places where the real action is really happening.

The Ateneo Innovation Center is headed by Greg Tangonan Ph.D.

©Aumio Shahriar via Facebook

4.) Innovative Filipino Teams entering International Competitions and winning – Rags2Riches (www.rags2riches.ph) has set the mood when they won the Business in Development (BiD) Challange in the Netherlands. Recently the Philippine Team “Beleavers” (Tim Huelva, Karl Satintigan and Kim Samson) won the HSBC Regional Awards with their ‘Arekal Leaf Tableware’. High School Students of the Philippine Science High School that make up  “Team Lagablab” also won the First Robotics Competition 2009 in Hawaii .

As technologies become cheaper and more available thanks to Social Enterprises, Corporations and NGOs the Philippine Innovation Avalanche will only grow stronger and move faster.

But innovation is not only confined in the business world, also in the world of NGOs and even in the classroom, new brave people are doing things differently, thinking new thoughts and doing amazing things.

Photo Credits Why Not? Forum

Why Not ? Forum (www.whynotforum.com) the TED.com of the Philippines has been inspiring people to Think new thoughts, Share big dreams and do brave things. With the recent Why Not ? Forum 6 as one of the most successful Why Not? Forums to date. As Why Not ? Forum nudges people to ask Why Not ? the avalanche of innovation will only grow faster and stronger.

©Greenpeace/Rap Rios

I could go on forever talking about innovation everywhere in the Philippines like these students in Mindanao creating a CNN like newscast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYHYR7svEHo) and the Philippine Electric Jeepney and Tricycles.

As technology becomes more and more democratized and easy to use the effects are spectacular. The only and biggest challenge and obstacle for the Philippine Innovation Avalanche is paradigm. We, Filipinos, still think that we are not good enough, that we could never reach the status of awesomeness. But the thing is that we can, we can be awesome ! but awesome in our own way.

As Floy Quintos said in Why Not ? Forum 6 Let’s be world-class in our own way because no matter what we do we will always be Filipinos, and as Entrepbuff (www.entrepbuff.com) asked in Why Not ? Forum 6 : ” Why Not rebuild a nation doing what they love to do ? ”

Logo © Entrepbuff.com

Right now, most of the nation’s resources are tied up to the old men and women of this country and people who would like the status quo to remain. If only these resources where available to the multitude of entrepreneurs and innovators the Philippines will be on the path to awesome growth and possibly even to 1st world status. But the lack of capital and resources has always been a trivial obstacle to entrepreneurs and innovators, they will always find a way because as Mark Ruiz teaches, it is “Innovate or Die” and if you remember Sun Tzu’s Art of War, on death ground people will fight like caged animals. Right now it is Innovate or Die, we are on death ground and when we are in this mindset the only way is up !

Welcome to the Philippine Innovation Avalanche, and we here at IsangConcepts plan to watch, document and even add more momentum to this Philippine Innovation Avalanche and we hope you would to.

There is no where to hide, running is futile, this avalanche will get to you …it is just a matter of time. So why not ride it instead ?

Oh just in case you are interested the IsangConcepts is planning to get into this Innovation xD

If you have any tips on Philippine Innovation just email us @ Team[at]isangisla.com and we will feature it here in this blog. Help us continue the Philippine Innovation Avalanche

- Matthew Cua

“Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
are the ones who do.”

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