INNOVATION
UNIVERSITY
Why Innovation University?
"Innovation"--it's everywhere--in print, on the airwaves, on the tips of tongues of managers, and always on the minds of CEOs.
Why are some companies more innovative than others? How can we repeat our successes if we don't know what we did right? What are the theories on how innovation occurs? Are there thinking and management principles that guide cutting edge leaders? What are the practices that embody these principles? How do we integrate these principles with systems thinking, continuous improvement, or other management philosophies? These are only a few of the questions we can ask to explore the mysteries of innovation.
Innovation Network and its members have been making these inquiries, informally, for years--long before "innovation" became a buzzword. In 1996, IN saw a need for formal study of innovation theories and practices, but not in a theoretical vacuum. Business people need to understand innovation in its application. It's the difference between watching a giant organism live and grow and performing a post-mortem and wondering how it lived.
Innovation University is launching its fourth Fellowship group with a site visit January 23-26 in San Francisco, CA. Click here for more information on the 2001-2002 program. IU offers a varied menu of study opportunities intended for managers who want to elevate their organization's abilities to innovate.
Fellows enrolled in the first three years of the fellowship program include Greg Furrow, Eli Lilly; Laurie Dunnavant, 3M; David Bardach, Kraft Foods; Dana Wolcott, Eastman Kodak; Jimmy Tan, Thomson multimedia; Sarah Palmer, Enron Corp.; David Keating, BP Amoco; Joe Bowman, Dow Chemical, and Larry Mucha, The Coca-Cola Company.
Program faculty led by Deanna Berg, Ed.D., Innovation Strategies Intl include: Charles W. Prather, Ph.D., CW Prather Associates., Inc; Joyce Wycoff, Innovation Network, and James Higgins, Ph.D, James M. Higgins & Associates.
Check out the list of current and past Innovation University attendees and site visits.
What Our Past Fellows Say:
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"An excellent program! Doing a project made the Fellowship a very valuable experience. And, I have benefitted over and over again fromt he contacts I made!"
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Laurie Dunnavant, Product Analyst Manager, 3M Health Systems
"My experience with IU helped me grow both professionally and personally. The exposure to innovation and creativity experts moved me light years ahead in my professional endeavor toward developing expertise. The knowledge I gained in tools, techniques, and theories proved to be invaluable in moving our organization forward."
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Jack Johnson, Quality Coordinator, The Smithsonian Institution
"I have gained a lot from the site visits and talking with companies that I had never thought of contacting, like Cirque du Soleil. It's a terrific advantage to be in close contact with other companies studying innovation, and the diversity of companies represented in the Fellowship group offers great opportunities for comparison."
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Larry Mucha, Manager Future Technologies Engineering, The Coca Cola Co.
"The project I've worked on has been a journey of discovery, both about myself and about innovation. The experience has stretched my expectations of the possiblities for research in this area. The work we've done has been truly exciting and thought provoking."
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Greg Furrow, Manager, Quality Assurance, Eli Lilly and Company
For more information or to register, go to: http://www.thinksmart.com/innovationinpractice.html or call Andrea Woodward at (805) 967-4893 or Ruth Ann Hattori at 303-604-1981 or e-mail director@thinksmart.com.
For other Advanced Study Programs, Click Here.