Past Events

Improvising Inventors

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An integral part of innovation is failure, you need to be open to failure in order to part take in innovation. But what happens when you fail. Instead of starting over and trying again, you can improvise. In this event we explored how inventors can take advantage of an unsuccessful situation simply by improvising.

 

March 3rd’s First Wednesday event will revolve around an open panel discussion with local inventors that focuses on the relationship between improvisation and invention. Often, successful activities do not turn out as anticipated; adapting and improvising are core competencies for innovators.

This SVII program will bring together several inventors for a discussion concerning the types of improvisation they have utilized to become successful.

The following inventors will be participating in March:

Ed Austin – Flings
SVII member Ed Austin developed the pop-up recycling and trash containers known as Flings. An inventive way to make recycling easier, Flings are now available at Safeways across the country. More information can be found online at http://www.flingsbins.com/

Joy Mountford – QuickTime
During her time at Apple Computer, Joy Mountford managed the Human Interface Group; the group that developed QuickTime, AppleSearch, and Macintosh Finder, among other software programs. She was also the founder of Apple’s International Interface Design Project. An interview with Joy can be found at http://www.designinginteractions.com/interviews/JoyMountford

Todd Basche – Wordlock
CEO of Wordlock, Inc., Todd Basche invented the Wordlock padlock because he could never remember number combinations. Prior to developing Wordlock, Todd was VP of Software Applications at Apple, responsible for creating iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. More information about Wordlock can be found at http://www.wordlock.com/

Puzzles, Mysteries, and Muddles: Problem Solving and Innovation with Jerry Talley

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We live in a world filled with problems that are more complex, more conflicted, and more interconnected than ever before. And yet we bring to this daunting challenge the same, linear problem solving model articulated in the 1950’s. Over the last 20+ years of consulting, my colleagues and I have come to believe there are 6 types of problems in the world — not just one! And each type requires a different strategy for successful resolution. The “one size fits all” strategy we have grown up with will not suffice if we are to address the volume and difficulty of modern day problems.

This limited view of problem solving has also limited our understanding of the role of innovation in problem solving. Each problem type calls for a different innovative focus.

When you discern the essential nature of any problem situation, you can pinpoint the most powerful strategy for addressing it, the point where innovation will add dramatic value rather than just variety, and the best role you can play in facilitating the process which often, if not usually involves improvisation.

For more information: JLTalley & Associates

Jerry Talley is the veteran of 3 careers. His first venture was on the faculty of Stanford University teaching in the Sociology Department for 18 years. Stanford was also the source of his PhD.

Coincident with that experience, he had a practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for about ten years. He still sometimes lectures at Stanford and other Bay area schools on relationship issues.

Starting in the late 1970’s, he moved into organizational development consulting, accumulating over 250 client engagements since that time. For 16 years he managed the South Bay Organizational Development Network, a 500-member professional development group for HR, Training, and OD practitioners.

His clients have included companies in high tech R&D, hospitality, health care, the military, manufacturing, insurance, banking and credit unions, education, publishing, entertainment, mental health, city and county government, not-for-profits, and large consulting houses…and one organic grocery store.

Through all these experiences, the common focus was on how people think about and manage complex and troubling situations, and how they form relationships with each other (or not) in the process.

MASDAR CITY, UAE: World’s First Carbon-neutral, Zero-Waste Community

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Karin Larsen, Masdar City Project

Masdar City is the expression of a vision. It represents Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted response to the challenges facing a sustainable future. The Masdar Initiative and Masdar City are positioning Abu Dhabi as a global leader and hub for the research and development of renewable energy and sustainable technology. The funding for Masdar comes from the Abu Dhabi government.

Masdar City’s aim is to become the Silicon Valley for clean, green and alternative energy. A global centre where over 1500 companies will converge to address one of man’s greatest challenges. A city where current and future technologieis will be funded, researched, developed, tested and implemented. Masdar’s mandate is to champion renewable energy technologies, and to contribute to the diversitfication and sustainable growth of the Abu Dhabi economy into one that is industry-led and knowledge-based.

For more information, see www.masdarcity.com and www.masdar.ae.

Karin Larsen is the US Sales Representative for the Masdar City Property Development Unit, where she develops cross-border strategic partnerships and business relationships between Masdar City and US companies. Prior to this, she was a Senior Vice President at Gulf Capital Private Equity in the UAE where she analyzed and executed investment opportunities in energy services, alternative energy, and technology/media. Previously, she established i2i Capital in Hong Kong, a boutique private placement and investment firm serving SMEs in Asia. In the cleantech sector, she has worked with companies active in electric vehicles, coal gasification, plastics recycling, nanomaterials, and water filtration.

Appetizer Story:
Developing Green Innovative Communities with Dr. James Caldwell

Virtual Worlds, Real Collaboration

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Robin Harper, Consultant and Linden Lab veteran
Robert Ketner, The Tech Museum of Innovation

Online virtual worlds have enabled countless users to meet, train, learn, play, socialize, create and collaborate on complex tasks without regard to geography. The level of interaction provided by virtual worlds is proven to be deeper, and with more impact, than other online experiences. Some would say they have become indispensable elements to their core businesses.

Recently, the benefits and promise of multi-user, real-time environments have become better documented, and scores of variations on the basic product theme serve the diverse needs of users in all sectors. Still, many virtual world proponents say that the full impact of virtual worlds’ possibilities is yet to be seen on a vast scale. They maintain that the potential of virtual worlds extends far beyond what we experience today, and that the model is transforming not only online interactions, but the economy and our notions of community as well.

Tonight, two of virtual worlds’ strongest advocates will engage a discussion on the latest trends and successes in the medium. Bring your own input and experiences about how the real is becoming virtual, and the virtual is becoming real on many levels. Learn about the state of the art, and get an advance view of the state of the future as well, in this interactive session.

Bob Ketner is Virtual Community Manager for The Tech Virtual, a 2 year old project by The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose which is using virtual worlds to design, test, and prototype museum exhibits. Bob’s background encompasses product design, ecommerce, social media, and loyalty programs. In 2006 he founded the SDForum Virtual World SIG, and is the author (via an avatar) of the Metaverse Manifesto.

Robin Harper is partner and consultant at First 30 Services, a firm specializing in beginnings — creating new businesses and driving transitions in existing businesses. Previously Robin was VP of Marketing and Community Development at Linden Lab, where she led the emergence of the Second Life brand and supported this life-changing technology. Earlier, Robin was the VP of Marketing at Maxis, a division of Electronic Arts where she established SimCity as one of the most recognized brand names in entertainment software. She was named one of the Marketing 100 by Advertising Age/Newsweek .