At Reebok, the cushioning in a best-selling basketball shoe reflects technology borrowed from intravenous fluid bags. Semiconductor firm Qualcomm’s revolutionary color display technology is rooted in the microstructures of the Morpho butterfly’s wings. And at IDEO, developers designed a leak-proof water bottle using the technology from a shampoo bottle top.
via How Seemingly Irrelevant Ideas Lead to Breakthrough Innovation – Knowledge@Wharton.
The idea that boundaries and limits can produce boundless and limitless thinking seems counterintuitive and paradoxical. But if we further examine the mechanisms at work when we face constraints, perhaps we can identify which kinds best promote, rather than diminish, creativity.
via How Intelligent Constraints Drive Creativity  – Harvard Business Review.
Powerful cloud-based software programs have progressed to the point that users can now collaborate on a wide array of projects ranging from simple document building to sophisticated engineering schematics that need input from massive number of people.
New technologies are blurring the lines between physical and digital space, making remote interactions with co-workers and even objects, a richer and more engaging experience.
Social contact lists are being paired with intelligent algorithms to help workers better understand the people inside their existing networks and identify individuals with whom they should be doing business. Address book applications gather existing information from users’ social networks to provide cues on how workers are connected to others. Business minded services are also leveraging geo-location data to create timely connections between contacts based on their proximity to one another.
