design mind On Air
A podcast discussing fresh perspectives on industry trends, emerging technologies, and global business culture.
The Business and Innovation Trist
Image from swissmiss via ffffound.com
Business and innovation are in a symbiotic relationship. Innovative products and systems can be revolutionary but if they don’t take hold in the marketplace they will likely fail. So, how do innovators stay creative while also playing the role of business partner to reassure clients that innovative ideas won’t trump the bottom line?
Yobie Benjamin is an entrepreneur, investor, and activist with expertise in innovation, technology, and new business models. As someone who straddles the line between the tech and business worlds, Benjamin has a unique perspective on what makes a good user experience and what sells. Beyond beautiful aesthetics and experimentation, Benjamin stresses that the most important thing is for the product to achieve is business purpose: if it doesn’t appeal to buyers, retailers will pull it off the shelf.
In this episode of design mind on Air, Benjamin shares his insights while also describing what he looks for when he looks at companies for potential investments. He also shares his thoughts on the future of mobile, the changing population of those who have Internet access, and his own personal goal to participate and contribute to efforts and companies that have profound environmental and social impacts.
About Yobie Benjamin
Yobie Benjamin is an experienced senior executive with expertise in innovation, technology and new business models. His last startup was a progressive ecommerce company called GoodStorm.com which was acquired by a Kleiner Perkins-funded Zazzle.com. Before becoming an entrepreneurial founder and CEO, Yobie was a management consultant and focused on technology, innovation, risk and information technology. His consulting career started as Chief Knowledge Officer at Cambridge Technology Partners. Benjamin moved on to become a Partner at Ernst and Young where he held three roles - Chief of Strategy, Distinguished Fellow, CTO - Security and Technology Services. After E&Y, he joined Computer Sciences Corporation as Partner and Managing Director of the Business and Technology Risk Management group. He began his career in technology as an engineer at Lotus Development Corporation.
Other highlights: writer, social activist, innovator in the consumer products space, software architect and engineer, and perpetual geek. Interests include: all things technology and music related, and good food.
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There proof that business
business rating services - June 22, 2010
There proof that business and innovation work well together is the whole world of today. We've come so far in only decades and I think this is huge. It's almost impossible to predict what comes next in business and innovation because everything is going on such a fast pace.
Innovation
Ernie G. - June 30, 2010
I just stumbled upon this podcast as I was doing research on Innovation & Business.
I could not agree more with Yobie Benjamin's point of view. If the current recession teaches us anything - it's that the old jobs and the old ways of doing things are gone forever. American companies cannot rely on delivering the same products, doing the same old things and still expecting results from the yesteryears.
Only invention and innovation will save the American economy. The sad sate of affairs though is US companies are slow in innovation. Take an example of Sears... one of the great innovator of centuries past. While they invented the first iterations of commerce innovations - mailCommerce, Sears has utterly failed against the likes of Amazon. While Amazon is continuing to forge ahead with new technologies. Sears remains a laggard in the new world of eCommerce and is trying to become the Amazon of 2000. If Sears wants to move forward, it needs to be the Sears of 2020 leap frogging all notions of eCommerce we know of today. Innovation is not trying to be like your competitor.
This is a not a riff on Sears or even Amazon. It's just a real world illustration of what the American business landscape faces. Recessions are not about credit availability, cost reduction and hyper optimization. Recessions are corrections of historical sloth and economic failure. To get out of recession, companies have to innovate and build better products and services for their customers. Failure to do so is a corporate death sentence.
My .02 cents.
If you say business or
Trianz - July 3, 2010
If you say business or innovation my mind always connects them with Trianz. This company helped me to improve my life and my fortune over this few years. Thanks to them I managed to start my own business and perfectly manage it.