Category: innovation

career, innovation, invention, New York City, product, product development, women

Zakkerz: women of New York, save your pants

Christa Avampato

A professor at my business school teaches a new product development class and her first set of advice to her students is, “if you want to create a new product, think about what gives you pain in your life. And then find a way to solve it.” Chances are if it’s causing you pain, it’s causing others pain, too. The ladies who invented Zakkerz did just that.


It’s a simple product: a pair of strong magnets wrapped at opposite ends of a piece of fabric used to hold pant cuffs in place. “Who needs that?” you may be wondering. Every working woman in New York City, and every other city in this country where commuting to work by public transportation is necessary. I recently gave up a job in New Jersey and the associated commute by car, to work downtown and commute by subway. Great for my quality of life, bad for the hems of my pants. I put on my sneakers or my Privos to get to work – problem is my pants are hemmed for heels. Enter Zakkerz. I cuff my pants, snap on a set of Zakkerz per pant leg, and off I go. 

I just had dinner with some girlfriends having this same exact problem I was having, and recommended the product to them. So simple, and yet so ingenious. It’s products like this that make me wonder, “now why didn’t I think of that?” I’m glad someone did.  

Get a pair for yourself, available in a variety of colors, at http://www.zakkerz.com/index.html
business, education, innovation, writing

Where to place our efforts

Christa Avampato

While in business school, I participated in the Innovation Challenge – a program that asks teams of business school students all over the world to solves a set of business challenges put forward by a handful of sponsor organizations. This year I was invited to be a judge in the competition and just completed the first round of judging. 


Someday, when I am old and wise (or at least old), I’d like to teach a class at a business school for one very simple reason. While I think our business schools may be teaching the fundamentals of how to value a bond and manage a P&L, they aren’t teaching a skill that is so crucial to success that many assumed it was an ability that everyone has – being able to write clearly and concisely. This afternoon, I would have settled for written proposals for the Innovation Challenge that were at least free of typos, used correct grammar, and exhibited a grasp of basic English vocabulary. 

Of the 11 proposals I was asked to judge, 2 of them were well-done. The ideas and solutions put forward by 2 teams were innovative and creative with sound success metrics and a long-term vision. Beyond those feats, they were also well-written. The other 9 were awful. Truly awful. Forget about the solutions not being feasible or short-sighted. Several were so badly written that I could barely read them. Those 9 badly-written proposals have nothing to do with talent or education level. It has everything to do with care and concern, or lack thereof. 2 teams put together the best case they possibly could. 9 of them slapped together some sentences in record time and handed it in.  

I considered writing a long set of notes for each team, and then I considered that that wouldn’t be fair to the 2 teams that put in so much of their own effort. So I wrote a paragraph for the 9 who didn’t care about the project, and saved my lengthy responses and comments for those 2 teams who got their act together.

After I completed my evaluations, I thought about my work experience and my own business school education. No matter what company or set of circumstances are in place, there are always a few people in the pack who shine because they are concerned about the quality of their work and how their work reflects on them. As business leaders, or teachers or judges of a case competition, our role is not to dwell on the ones who don’t put in the time or care or concern. That is a road to nowhere. It’s important to place the emphasis on the ones who want to do well and will take the time to put together the best they have to offer. That best won’t always be perfect – sometimes it won’t even be any good. I’m happy to spend time helping those who want to help themselves rather than spending it on people who don’t even care enough to run the spell check on their writing before they hand it in. 
career, creative process, creativity, GEL conference, innovation, job, travel, work

Arizona

Christa Avampato

I’m in Arizona for the ATM, Debit, and Prepaid Conference. Please contain your excitement. There is actually some good information on offer. It’s just packaged up by boring people in boring conference rooms. I’ve been a bit spoiled by innovation conferences like GEL where there are rooms full of fascinating characters. Weird, but fascinating, which is exactly just the right kind of fascinating for me. 


But enough about the conference. I’m really struck by Arizona. And not because it’s “maverick-y” as Tina Fey (or is it Sarah Palin?) would say. As I was driving from the airport, I was reminded of the book Women Who Run with the Wolves. In the introduction, Clarissa Pinkola-Estes talks about how the life in the dessert seems small on the surface and yet is huge underneath. There are intricate root systems and creatures of dazzling diversity that live below ground. There is a whole ecosystem that survives and thrives away from the watch of the human eye. Pinkola-Estes talks about how many people, women in particular, have these huge wells of emotion and thought and concern that exist beyond any other person’s grasp or understanding. 

The beauty of Arizona is stark. It’s another world here, like nothing I have seen or experienced anywhere else. Here, everything feels and looks foreign. My boss was commenting today how the food, the art, the culture, the history, and the landscape are unlike those in any other state. And you might think that sounds a bit odd to be some place so foreign in our own country. Somehow though, in it’s foreign-ness, it’s opened me up to new possibilities, to new ways of seeing everything in a different light than I saw it just yesterday. My stress from the last few days is gone. Anxiety vanished. How did that happen?

I believe in that saying, “So often what’s needed is a change of self and not a change of scene.” But for me, a change of scene provokes a change in me that I desperately need and can’t always ignite in my everyday living patterns. On occasion, our systems need a little shock and travel can do that for us, particularly to a place wholly unfamiliar. I needed to expand my mind to take in the new possibilities that my current tasks are providing. And I needed to get away from my computer screen, even for a little while, and not troll though my usual set of tasks. I guess the universe gave me exactly what I needed exactly at the time I needed it – Arizona.  

education, health, healthcare, innovation, politics

One Thing We Don’t Want to Change

Christa Avampato

Thomas Friedman wrote a brilliant article in the Times last week about innovation in the U.S. At the moment, we are the most innovative country in the world, though that is changing. Quickly. And though there are a lot of people in the press these days talking about change, few are talking about innovation, much less the need to foster that effort in our people. And it needs to be addressed, head on. Now. 


We are spending a lot of time talking about how to save manufacturing. The trouble is we can’t save manufacturing if we don’t save the innovative processes that dictate what to manufacture. And we can’t save the innovative process and its wonderful outcomes without seriously addressing education – and that includes K-12, college, and graduate school, the latter of which is nearly becoming a non-negotiable credential for those who want a modicum of job and financial security. In the case of K-12 education, the improvement child health and well-being is critical. And without K-12 education, we don’t have a prayer. 

Despite the fact that I have been a fan of Barack Obama since his entry into politics, I voted for Hilary Clinton in the primary. Many people ask me why when she seems so divisive and polarizing. One simple reason – I believed she would fix healthcare, which leads to better K-12 education which fosters innovation that supports our economy and global competitive advantage. Healthcare is a root cause to so many other problems we have in the U.S., and around the world. And if were going to talk about priorities and what to focus on first in this next Presidency, my wish would be that we make good health for every American a non-negotiable goal.       
change, habit, happiness, innovation, routine

Change for Notice

Christa Avampato

I had dinner with my friends Chas and Amanda over the weekend and we got into a discussion about the importance of change. On Friday I needed to stop by the post office in midtown and it would be best for me to take the ACE to Times Square. I couldn’t recall where I’d seen the ACE sign though I know I see it everyday when I got off at the subway stop at work. Turns out it’s actually the same stop that houses the 23 (my line) and the ACE. Everyday I look at that sign and couldn’t recall the ACE symbols. Chas was telling me that at his former job they would change the colors of important signs around the office so people wouldn’t get numb to seeing them the way I did with the subway. 


On my way home from dinner I thought about the comforts and dangers of routines. How quickly we can get used to circumstances the way they are and grow apathetic to them to the point where we don’t know how we got from point A to point B. We stop being present and fall into this mental fog that clouds our ability to fully experience our lives. And that fog is heavy to lift, and diminishes joy. 

I’m wondering if there is a time for routines and a time for changing everything up. Are routines ever good for us? Do we have to recognize that they serve their purpose for a short period and then we have to break from them and find a new way? Is renewal critical to happiness?
friendship, innovation, New York City, product, retail

Exchange: Honda for Granny

Christa Avampato

Recently I was visiting my friend Moya in Washington, DC. One of her roommates was running out to the store and taking the Granny cart with her. One of those rickety metal bin type things with wheels that look like they are about to fall off at any moment. Clunky, and too expensive if you ask me, but they get the job done when one if car-less with arms full of stuff.  


As I was cutting up mangoes for the fruit salad I asked Moya why in the world someone doesn’t invent a better Granny cart that doesn’t make everyone who owns one feel like a loser. She stopped mashing up the avocados for the guacamole, looked over at me, and said, “I nominate you.” And then she went back to her guacamole. 

I have been thinking about this now for weeks. I was toddling around the Container Store this weekend because I am on the brink of trading in my beloved Honda which has seen me through more moves than I care to admit, and many a tough time. I’m joining the legion of Granny cart owners in NYC – and those metal rickety things are indispensable here. You must have one for laundry, groceries, etc., unless you are fortunate enough to have some big hulk-y man follow you around for the express purpose of carrying all your packages. I don’t have that man, so it’s me and Granny. And because I refuse to spend $40 on something at the corner store that might make it a month or so before falling apart, I bought one that was slightly more expensive from those wonderful people at the Container Store. 

Not to be purposely critical, but the Container Store could do better. Or as Moya told me when I sent her a picture of the Container Store model, “You could do better.” She’s right, and I need to stop complaining and start prototyping. I am critical by nature – my mother will back me up on this one – and I am now at a point where I can improve products and bring them to market if I put my mind and muscle to the test. 

Already I’m compiling a list of improvements to Granny. The challenge is I haven’t the slightest idea of how to get a product like this made so I have begun researching manufacturing, shipping, etc. It’s fascinating to learn how all of these products that we take for granted in a store actually get on those shelves. And I’m excited to work on the project. So if you’ve been wishing for a better Granny, she’s on the way!    
career, innovation, work

Innovation is an investment, not a cost, not a luxury

Christa Avampato

In case no one else has told you, the sky is falling. According to an article in the New York Times today, we’re going to hell in a hand basket, at least for the time being. This puts people like me who work in the innovation field into a bit of a bind. I whole-heartedly support (actually vehemently encourage) employers to consider how and how much each member of a team adds value. I’ve seen too many companies burn money in the street because they’re uncomfortable with asking every team member to articulate how they add value. And companies are worse off for it.

What I do object to is the idea that areas such as innovation, product development, and research are luxuries. Prada shoes are a luxury. Gourmet meals at 5-star restaurants are luxuries. Innovation, product development, and research are a company’s lifeline to the future.

Paull Young from Converseon sent me a blog post yesterday that is so good, I have to pass it on. http://bankervision.typepad.com/bankervision/2008/06/innovation-is-a-luxury.html
In the post, James Gardner, who works in innovation at a UK bank, talks about the five ways that innovators within companies add value. And suggests that if we wants to preserve our place within our companies, we should develop each of these five areas: invention, influence, entrepreneurship, thought leadership, and sponsorship.

The trouble I see is that areas like innovation are viewed purely as a cost – a nice to have if you can get it for $0. Bad idea. Innovation is an investment. Over time, it generates cash flow and does wonders for getting the best and brightest minds to beat down your door to play a part. And with tough times ahead, that talent is the only way a company is going to save itself from going under.

Picture above can be found at: http://www.aqua-aerobic.com/images/aquaology_innovation.jpg

creativity, innovation, technology

Bulbstorm.com – a meeting space for innovators

Christa Avampato

You have a great idea for a product, or a service, or a business model, and you need some honest, credible feedback. And that doesn’t mean calling Aunt Sally or your best friend or chatting about it with your neighbor. They know you’re brilliant and innovative and achieve everything you set your mind to. But you have this nagging suspicion that you need to get advice from people who don’t know a thing about you, and self-identify as innovators. Your prayer to the innovation spirits has been answered and its name is http://www.bulbstorm.com.


Though still in beta, I suggest signing up to be kept up-to-date on its progress, and to possibly score a place in the beta test. Because everything is so well documented on Bulbstorm, with witnesses, your idea will not be stolen, and the service will connect you to investors and customers who are interested in working with you, along with fellow innovators who can give you feedback and inspiration. 


We’ve entered what I believe historians will regard as the Age of Design. And you might as well take your rightful place among the ranks of those who are advancing our society forward with creative thinking. I look forward to interacting with you on Bulbstorm, and sharing ideas! 

experience, GEL conference, gel2008, innovation

GEL2008 – making time for special moments

Christa Avampato

There are a pile of posts just waiting to be written about my experience at the GEL conference. They will be coming shortly. There are a few points that I think are worth making in a separate post.

I have never been to this type of conference – it’s not focused on a particular industry, but a particular aspect of every industry. Good (G) Experience (E) Live (L). From the first female film maker in the UAE to the Chief Innovation Officer at the Cleveland Clinic to a Brew Master, this conference was filled with speakers and participants that are all interested in making time for and creating special moments for employees, for customers, and inspiring others by reaching out and sharing the stories. This is particularly interesting to me because of my early career in theatre, which was very much focused on experience and taking people out of their element by sharing a story with them.

The first day of GEL2008 was filled with different activities to choose from – I chose the game of Werewolf and a trip to a farmstead cheese farm in NJ. And then Day 2 had a slate of speakers, most of whom I had never heard of. I walked away inspired and energized. I felt like the creativity of the world was buzzing all around me. It was empowering, and made me believe that there is no end to the extent of the work and impact that impassioned people can have.

Posts to come on the speakers…stay tuned.

creative process, creativity, GEL conference 200, innovation, work

GEL Conference 2008 – Let the game begin!

Christa Avampato

Tomorrow I head to my first innovation conference – the GEL conference. I’ll spend the day learning to play Werewolf, visiting a cheese farm, and then partying on behalf of Google with some of the best and brightest innovation minds in the country. We all have one common goal: to generate ideas that inspire and produce the best possible user experiences within our respective companies.

Then Friday, I will head to Times Square to hear from a mixture of artists, scientists, and business executives about their own creative endeavors. What could be better? – oh, yes, it’s all happening just a few block away from my apartment, the weather is supposed to be summer-like, and my boss paid for it. I love it when it a plan comes together!

Check back here over the next few days for updates on what I’m learning and who I’m meeting.