Whilst electric vehicles are becoming commonplace on our roads, we don't really think about the technology that powers them. The Innovation Network members had a unique opportunity to visit the Warwick Manufacturing Group's research facility at Warwick University last week.
Part of our tour took us to the battery testing facility, where we saw the power packs that propel Teslas, Leafs, BMW i3s and other electric cars. The expectation that we would see revolutionary technology was quickly dispelled when we were shown the ubiquitous AA size batteries, of which hundreds power the Tesla. Sure, there is very smart tech that monitors and controls them. However it seems battery manufacture and chemistry has not moved on dramatically since the aptly named Professor John Goodenough invented the Lithium Ion cell in 1980.
I've been preparing for the KIN Spring 2019 members' workshop 'Work in 2030 - it may not be what you think'. In talking to members about a potential case study on horizon scanning, it's become clear that techniques that keep a collective open mind are just as important as any innovation process. As one individual said to me 'horizon scanning only shows you what's already possible, not what seems impossible today'. There is a wonderful 1964 clip of Arthur C Clarke predicting the future (3 mins). Clarke starts with 'Only if what I tell you seems completely unbelievable, have we any chance of visualizing the future'.
This fits with a recent posting from Greg Satell on 'We need to re-engineer our organisations for a new era of innovation'. As he says 'It’s becoming more important to prepare than adapt. By the time you realize the need to adapt, it may already be too late'.
The second point that he makes is that 'it is crucial to build a continuous pipeline of problems to solve'. Whilst Apple is renowned as a tech innovator, the reality (certainly in the early days) was that Steve Jobs was a brilliant problem-identifier. He didn't have the solution to 'put 1000 songs in my pocket' - he gave the challenge to hard drive manufacturers.
Innovators need to re-engineer their organisations and people to think in this way, in order to vizualize the 'completely unbelievable'.
https://www.digitaltonto.com/2018/we-need-to-reengineer-our-organizations-for-a-new-era-of-innovation/
Part of our tour took us to the battery testing facility, where we saw the power packs that propel Teslas, Leafs, BMW i3s and other electric cars. The expectation that we would see revolutionary technology was quickly dispelled when we were shown the ubiquitous AA size batteries, of which hundreds power the Tesla. Sure, there is very smart tech that monitors and controls them. However it seems battery manufacture and chemistry has not moved on dramatically since the aptly named Professor John Goodenough invented the Lithium Ion cell in 1980.I've been preparing for the KIN Spring 2019 members' workshop 'Work in 2030 - it may not be what you think'. In talking to members about a potential case study on horizon scanning, it's become clear that techniques that keep a collective open mind are just as important as any innovation process. As one individual said to me 'horizon scanning only shows you what's already possible, not what seems impossible today'. There is a wonderful 1964 clip of Arthur C Clarke predicting the future (3 mins). Clarke starts with 'Only if what I tell you seems completely unbelievable, have we any chance of visualizing the future'.
This fits with a recent posting from Greg Satell on 'We need to re-engineer our organisations for a new era of innovation'. As he says 'It’s becoming more important to prepare than adapt. By the time you realize the need to adapt, it may already be too late'.
The second point that he makes is that 'it is crucial to build a continuous pipeline of problems to solve'. Whilst Apple is renowned as a tech innovator, the reality (certainly in the early days) was that Steve Jobs was a brilliant problem-identifier. He didn't have the solution to 'put 1000 songs in my pocket' - he gave the challenge to hard drive manufacturers.
Innovators need to re-engineer their organisations and people to think in this way, in order to vizualize the 'completely unbelievable'.
https://www.digitaltonto.com/2018/we-need-to-reengineer-our-organizations-for-a-new-era-of-innovation/
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