Cute video. What do you see?

August 15, 2012 · Posted in innovation · 2 Comments 


This is a video of a cute Japanese girl but I saw much more when I watched it.
I see:

  • parts are staged to get different camera angles
  • the child is having fun
  • how the town is designed
  • the low counter at the store making it easier for people who can’t reach higher such as the little girl or someone in a wheel chair
  • lots of video editing
  • planning to get the video
  • a relationship between the child and the videographer
  • USA commercialism in her clothing
  • people watching the video, some such as me on the other side of the world who will probably always be strangers
  • an impact doing this will have on the girl’s development
  • the video being a wonderful gift to future generations

All of that went through my mind while I was watching it the first time. I didn’t watch the video more than once. I didn’t think about it afterwards. Those were all of my thoughts while watching the video. Of course I also saw how cute she was and the scenery.

How many different perspectives do you have on things you see, or hear?

Ham boning robot, Abundance Report

February 11, 2011 · Posted in abundance, innovation · Comment 


Meat cutting is a dangerous, physically stressful, and tedious job. Replacing human meat cutters with robots is all around better if the humans have an income.

The representative repeatedly says the robots can cut oddly shaped soft objects. He is making clear that cutting ham is not the only use. The robot can cut a wide variety of foods but also non-food. They’ve likely chosen ham boning as their first task because the size makes it easier than smaller or more delicate food like fish and improving ham processing is higher value than vegetables. Defining the goal properly and finding the best entry to the market is very important for innovation success.

The makers of the Hamdas robotic meat cutting machine, Mayekawa, also make many environmentally friendly energy saving innovations. They are looking at the full range of interconnected innovations. They are using what Predictive Innovation® calls a Future Map. Each of their innovations builds on part of the other thus making each one less expensive and less risky to develop and higher value.

Many of the comments to the video bring up the concern jobs being eliminated. How can human meat cutters have an income when the job of cutting meat is done by machines? The common answer of making or repairing robots is fatally flawed. Repairing robots will not require as many people as the jobs the robots replace. The best way for meat cutters to have an income when robots are doing the work is to own robots. This way the people are still meat cutters, they just aren’t doing the physical work.

Another alternative for displaced workers is to do something else that robots makes possible. This unfortunately will likely displace other workers. Automation replaces people in any task that is done more than once. The solution is to focus on things that can’t be replicated. Personal experiences are one thing that can’t be duplicated. Satisfying those desires will be large growth area over time. In the short term, anything that helps individuals and small groups own the machines that makes things will be a crucial part of making the transition from economics to abundance.

Predicting the next Disruptive Innovation

November 6, 2009 · Posted in innovation, prediction, strategy · 2 Comments 

In The Perils Of Extrapolation: Who Knows What The Next Disruptive Innovation Will Be Mike Masnick points out how important it is for an entrepreneur to be able to respond to changes. If you can accurately predict the next big innovation its easier for you to respond to change or even be first to market.

Traditionally forecasting doesn’t work well for innovation. Trend analysis isn’t very accurate for predicting the future because it’s looking at the past rather than what makes the future happen. That is why most people thing, “It’s always difficult to predict which innovation is actually going to hit”.

Predictive Innovation changes that and puts you in control, increasing profits, decreasing risks, and neutralizing competition.

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