Mills Scofield

MARCH 27, 2011

There are many areas in which to innovate. Everyone thinks of products and services first. But, you can innovate processes, procedures, your supply chain…how you define ‘work’! No area of innovation is ‘easy’, but some seem harder than others.

Supply Chain 105

Supply Chain Innovation Process Productivity 105

Mills Scofield

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Some came from AT&T corporate product management & marketing. AT&T corporate product managers and marketers [.]. But how did we learn about these problems? Some we just thought up. But few came from seeing customers firsthand, so we ended up using ourselves as ‘examples’ – not good.

Innovation 142

Innovation Marketing Productivity Products 142

Mills Scofield

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

You know when you have an idea for a new business, product, service or process and you tell someone and they pick it apart? They tell you all the reasons it won’t work. You get really really peeved and annoyed and say to yourself, “They just don’t ‘get it’ ”? Frustrating isn’t it?

Innovation 105

Innovation Advice Marketing Planning 105

Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 5, 2014

Once upon a time, before the era of big data analytics, corporations had similarly routine business growth issues and threats: i.e.: after years of being the market leader in a specific product category, they quickly begin to lose market share, they wanted to introduce their product into a new market. Product Intelligence: What Is It?

Stage-Gate 128

Stage-Gate Productivity Products Innovation 128

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

What is your image of an inventor or innovator? Increasing evidence shows most innovation comes from two or more people…one of whom might even be a woman! We stereotype innovators as men and mainly in STEM* products. Fast-forward ~ Innovating Women launches today! Get Innovating Women.

CTO 142

CTO Engineering How To Innovation 142

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

I'm still trying to process the last week; a wonderfully relaxing and productive (not an oxymoron) sabbatical on the dock in Maine, a day at Brown with terrific kids (I'm ready to go back) and BIF-6. If you are ever, ever able to attend BIF's annual conference, spare nothing and go.

Innovation 107

Innovation Conference Process Productivity 107

Mills Scofield

MARCH 2, 2020

Borrowing an example from the Innovation Network, a highway construction company’s outputs are project design and the number of highway miles built and repaired. Outputs are important products, services, profits, and revenues: the What. And let’s define outcomes as the difference our stuff makes—keeping your child safe in the car.

Management 127

Management Travel Constraint Workshop 127

Mills Scofield

JUNE 3, 2014

As someone who works with a variety of organizations in my roles as strategy and innovation consultant, venture capitalist, professor, and mentor, this question intrigues to me. The differences were more along traditional business characteristics: virtual vs. physical product or service, B2B vs. B2C, etc. All businesses are social.

Business Model 175

Business Model Venture Capitalist B2C Entrepreneur 175

Mills Scofield

JANUARY 29, 2024

Since I can’t ignore my “professor” tendencies, there are a lot of questions for you to reflect on, ask yourself and your team, and use to guide the development of your product or service. You’ll learn about some famous and not-so-famous successes and flops, highlighting obvious and not-so-obvious causes and solutions.

Books 103

Books Mentor Book Value Positioning 103

Mills Scofield

MARCH 2, 2020

Borrowing an example from the Innovation Network, a highway construction company’s outputs are project design and the number of highway miles built and repaired. Outputs are important products, services, profits, and revenues: the What. And let’s define outcomes as the difference our stuff makes—keeping your child safe in the car.

Management 91

Management Travel Constraint Workshop 91

Mills Scofield

JANUARY 8, 2014

This guest post is by fellow mentor/advisor to the Social Innovation Fellowship (formerly C.V. This is a must read for innovators and entrepreneurs of any type. Fortunately, this young social innovator lives on to fight another day, stronger for the experience. The social innovation sector is filled with perverse incentives.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Innovation Incentives Mentor 124

Mills Scofield

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Innovation doesn''t always have to be grand, expensive and complicated.sometimes, simple is really great. Lowe’s launched the Lowe’s Innovation Labs in June 2014. Human-Centered Design Innovation Lowe''s Strategy User Design User Experience Value Proposition Design'

B2C 70

B2C Retail Innovation Entrepreneur 70

Mills Scofield

JANUARY 16, 2013

At Assured Labor, I tested the adoption of new products into new markets to understand product-market fit. First is the bandwidth to test out new ideas and to maintain a constant stream of innovation. As young companies move towards establishing their business models, rarely does a lack of ideas keep them from innovating.

Short-term 187

Short-term Innovation Entrepreneur Learning-by-Doing 187

Mills Scofield

APRIL 15, 2012

And finally, business model innovation is getting the recognition it deserves. That’s why I was thrilled when my friend and one of business model innovation’s gurus, Saul Kaplan , wrote a must read book sharing his real world experiences - The Business Model Innovation Factory. The Business Model Innovation Factory.

Kaplan 151

Kaplan Business Model Levitt Christensen 151

Mills Scofield

APRIL 1, 2019

Our world is filled with poorly designed products we use every day without thinking twice. Some of the best designed products are simple and long-lasting – like the paper clip! And there are products that just entice us with their elegant, beautiful and comfortable design – like the Vespa, globally recognized as an icon of design.

Globalization 168

Globalization Productivity Products System 168

Mills Scofield

JUNE 5, 2013

Mrked is a tech accessories company that not only offers quality, fashionable products, but also a chance for you to “Leave a Mrk” on the world. We wanted to take a product that we use everyday and provide girls in Asian and African countries with a concept that we also use everyday, education.

Fashion 194

Fashion Education Library Quality 194

Mills Scofield

APRIL 14, 2019

Boeing 737 Max in production. How many other intricate, interdependently constructed products made in the 1960s are still around? Boeing, FAA, airlines, …) In your business, with your products or services, what are you assuming will ‘fix the problem’? As far as we know, the physical laws of nature are true and fixed on earth.

Software 173

Software Supply Chain Airlines Leadership 173

Mills Scofield

JANUARY 18, 2015

Revenue, profit, productivity, etc. An organization that has maximized its ROI m has a more open and innovative mindset, understands customers’ real needs, gives employees opportunities to experiment, learn, apply, and iterate and is in the best possible position to provide value to customers, create jobs and give back to its community.

ROI 70

ROI Short-term Long-term Metrics 70

Mills Scofield

JUNE 9, 2014

Examples include Method Products, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s and two of my favorites, Runa and Susty Party. While there are good reasons for some companies to remain non-profits, there is no reason that a socially-impact minded business cannot be for-profit.

ROI 132

ROI Business Model Venture Capitalist Early Adopters 132

Mills Scofield

AUGUST 27, 2013

This has profound implications for our innovation and economic success and national security. ” Through shared language, students can become sensitive global activists and pursue productive community partnerships. Angela Maiers Brown University Culture Economic Development Education Innovation Language Leadership Learning'

Education 169

Education Globalization Politics Learning-by-Doing 169

Mills Scofield

APRIL 1, 2019

Our world is filled with poorly designed products we use every day without thinking twice. Some of the best designed products are simple and long-lasting – like the paper clip! And there are products that just entice us with their elegant, beautiful and comfortable design – like the Vespa, globally recognized as an icon of design.

Globalization 91

Globalization Productivity Products System 91

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Jack Kearney : When you've got the skills and team to start building a product, it's really easy to get carried away and just 'go'. We learned a hard lesson this summer: make sure the product that you're trying to build is really needed BEFORE you start building it. The problem with this sort of thinking is that you aren't your user.

Learning-by-Doing 138

Learning-by-Doing Creativity Brainstorming Skills 138

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

Data helps us figure out to eliminate unnecessary steps, improve productivity, reduce costs, etc. Culture Data Data-Driven Decision Making Efficiency Innovation Leadership Optimization Qualitative Strategy' Yes, efficiency (or optimization to be more eloquent) still rules for most of business today.

Efficiency 142

Efficiency Engineering Trends Marketing 142

Mills Scofield

MARCH 5, 2015

A recent tweet by 7billCORPORATE ( @7billcorp , part of @7billionideas ) really nailed the truth about innovation and business. Here ’tis: So many think that innovation happens quickly, smoothly, without roadblocks or bumps. Culture Disruption Growth Innovation Leadership Nextsensing Strategy' Porsche image from [link].

Innovation 70

Innovation Tools Operations Engineering 70

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Special guest blog post by Don Esch, President of Bettcher Industries of his story at BW-Center For Innovation & Growth 's Innovation Summit. In meat plants, tens of thousands of operators are “whizzing” meat products everyday in over sixty countries around the world.

Succession 70

Succession Industry Stage-Gate CFO 70

Mills Scofield

APRIL 14, 2019

Boeing 737 Max in production. How many other intricate, interdependently constructed products made in the 1960s are still around? Boeing, FAA, airlines, …) In your business, with your products or services, what are you assuming will ‘fix the problem’? As far as we know, the physical laws of nature are true and fixed on earth.

Software 91

Software Supply Chain Airlines Leadership 91

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Allowing my staff see a more personal side of me has led to a more intimate and productive office. We have to innovate, test, fail, and try again, in order to ensure a true impact on such a societal problem. They come to know me better when I share personal experience, or spend time with them in an informal setting.

NGO 175

NGO Short-term Delegation Finance 175

Mills Scofield

MARCH 5, 2015

A recent tweet by 7billCORPORATE ( @7billcorp , part of @7billionideas ) really nailed the truth about innovation and business. Here ’tis: So many think that innovation happens quickly, smoothly, without roadblocks or bumps. And that may be true, for a few.

Tools 70

Tools Innovation Operations Engineering 70

Mills Scofield

JUNE 5, 2013

Mrked is a tech accessories company that not only offers quality, fashionable products, but also a chance for you to “Leave a Mrk” on the world. We wanted to take a product that we use everyday and provide girls in Asian and African countries with a concept that we also use everyday, education.

Fashion 87

Fashion Education Library Quality 87

Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 10, 2013

Raj’s thesis is that the privatizing/enclosing of public/open spaces turned labor from being production for oneself to being an asset (human capital) for someone else. Bitcoin Culture Discovery Innovation Leadership Networking Status Quo Strategy What If Why' Next week, ask your team to ask Why twice a day and see what happens.

Human Capital 141

Human Capital Constraint Media Banking 141

Mills Scofield

APRIL 15, 2014

As we let ourselves be vulnerable, we also leave ourselves more open to new ideas, new ways of thinking which leads to empathy and innovation. As we let ourselves be vulnerable, we also leave ourselves more open to new ideas, new ways of thinking which leads to empathy and innovation. Photo: Stephanie Alvarez Ewens CS : Absolutely.

Efficiency 132

Efficiency Energy Senge Resources 132

Mills Scofield

MARCH 5, 2015

So the next time you’re observing to learn – to build a new product or service or feature, to understand a customer segment or need – ask yourself what’s missing. Culture Ethnography Innovation Leadership Learning Negative Space Observation Pattern Recognition Serial Strategy' Why wasn’t that there?

Innovation 70

Innovation Strategy Productivity Products 70

Mills Scofield

APRIL 10, 2017

So often, when a project or product doesn't go well or fails, organizations do "post-mortems" - they go over what went wrong, why, sometimes rushing to blame people first instead of looking at processes. What if we started doing pre-natals instead of post-mortems?

Project 70

Project Productivity Products Process 70

Mills Scofield

OCTOBER 2, 2012

” There were to be no limits to our design, creation and iteration of these products – except, of course, they had to be made out of duct tape. and a clear vision laid out in our sketchbooks, we started on our third and final product for the week’s assignment. ” Brilliant.

Class 178

Class Project Long-term Engineering 178

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

Sure, it's harder to get it due to increasing geo-political entanglements, environmental and regulatory constraints and access to product, but it still has a strong profit margin and, you believe, defines your brand. You've spent years investing in that rare and unique caviar. It's a valuable niche!

Constraint 118

Constraint Resistance Business Model Politics 118

Mills Scofield

JUNE 19, 2023

For instance, you want your employees to be industrious and effective contributors to your business and your kids to be thoughtful and productive members of society. It’s an age-old question: How do you motivate people to do what’s right? But what’s the best way to achieve that goal — control or empowerment?

Commitment 91

Commitment Follow-up Morale Micromanagement 91

Mills Scofield

MARCH 5, 2017

Learn how to code, make bookshelves, do graphic design, become a product manager for 3D-printed products, understand the Patagonian ecosystem, discover biomedical uses of Antarctic sea anemones, para-sail? Think about the next 2-3 years, maybe 5. What do you want to learn, explore, discover, and/or experience?

Guidelines 70

Guidelines Learning-by-Doing Planning Goal 70