Innovation

MBA Global Immersion – the inaugural run

The Sauder MBA is in dynamic revision. Some would argue this is frustrating — others would say that curriculum always should be evolving and transforming in response to students and societal context. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, the Global Immersion for our Full Time MBAs had its inaugural run this past February. […]

Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging: a co-creation project

As part of the World Class Cities Partnership’s 2013 research project — “Co-Creating Urban Sustainability” — 4 Sauder MBA students (Phil Gray, Reid Keller, Michele Mossman & Geoff Carran) have started a project on Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging. http://www.northeastern.edu/wccp/ The course (a Sauder Directed Study) is being led along strategic design principles, which include: Co-creation […]

When Widows Dance: Story Strategies for Innovation (prologue)

I met Dirk Beveridge in a bar in Rhode Island. No surprise, as most of my best professional relationships have started in bars. (Note that I use the word “relationship” intentionally – doing great things starts with the relationship first – details second. And bars tend to bring out our authentic selves, which helps us build authentic […]

[Road trip Pt 2] Rhode Island: Business Innovation Factory Story Summit 8

I’ve been wanting to go to this event for years. As a story geek, I’m fatally attracted to the idea of spending two days immersed in real stories. And BiF8 didn’t disappoint. The event featured 32 storytellers over two days, with lots of time in between sessions for “random collisions”. I’d say that about half […]

Climate Smart ideas abound…

Climate Smart. Met Fine Printers. Van Houtte Coffee. Pacific Arbour Retirement Communities. What do these businesses have in common? First of all, they are all alumni of the Climate Smart Business program. But secondly, they give generously of their time and energy to partner with students in the d.studio and the class Design Strategies for […]

Design Strategies for Business Innovation

We are back in the d.studio with 20 new and engaged undergraduate students. This year I am co-teaching with Angele Beausoleil — a colleague and also a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies student at UBC who comes with a vast array of experience in design, technology and entrepreneurship. The B.Comm course (open to 3rd and 4th […]

Helsinki Design Lab: Strategic Design in action

Dark matter. That caught my attention. I was lunching with Bryan Boyer, one of the designers at the Helsinki Design Lab. We were in a relatively new little restaurant in Helsinki talking about changing the world — through strategic design. One of the motivations for attending the early July 2012 EGOS conference (European Group for […]

Creative Business Thinking: finale

It’s all about using constraints to be more creative. That was one of the final messages that Balder left the students with during the Creative Business Thinking finale. Looking into the idea of constraints and creativity unearths some good back-up research. For example, from a team at the University of Amsterdam. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21875228 Their work is […]