Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Entrepreneurs in Canada

In my social entrepreneurship class, we were presented with a very interested article which was posted in the Globe and Mail last year. Throughout this article, it was reported that "Canada has one of the highest levels among Group of Seven countries. It ranks No. 2 after the United States and tied with Australia among industrialized nations. The paper, released Friday by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), suggests that Canadians have an embracing attitude toward entrepreneurship, and that many are turning to it as a career path" (Globe and Mail 2015). It is no surprise that Canada has had an increase in entrepreneurs as our very own Kitchener, Waterloo is known to be one of the top places for small business. However, I particularly liked how this article broke down which provinces which explained where the highest levels of entrepreneurs are present. 


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canadian-innovation-at-a-peak-but-struggling-to-move-up-business-ladder/article24680299/

Thursday, 23 February 2017

The Rise and Uncertainty of the Creative Class

According to Richard Florida (2003), the creative class are people who help build the economy of a given society and transform its cultures. Most times people assume that the creative class is mostly artists or dancers or musicians but they are more than that. Basically, the creative class comprises of those who work in the society. Talking in lines of technology, we see how a lot of these engineers are not given as much opportunities as they should; there are not enough jobs or enough equal opportunities.
Based on Devin Ross' article, there is a high amount of inequality in employment of those in the creative sector and one reason is gentrification. We even see this in the Kitchener/Waterloo Region, how houses are being turned into condos and companies. So the question is where do those people that lived there go to? Having this as an issue, people in the creative class find it hard to get jobs that are in their close proximity; the good jobs are in expensive places. Even if they may afford the housing, the standard of living in general will be costly.
According to Florida and Martin (2009), they talk on how the Ontario government is trying to make ways in which there will be economic transformation in the lives of the creatives through transforming short term work to long term and making their skills in demand by the industry.
In my opinion, as of now, those in the tech industry are in great demand, especially in Canada. And though it may be economically difficult, they have more leeway in creating their own company.

Do you think engineers are more susceptible to gaining employment? Do you think engineers in Canada are more likely to stay here or move to America because of better opportunities? Is the Ontarian government actually impacting change in all the sectors?


Devin Ross https://studybreaks.com/wpcontent/cache/supercache/studybreaks.com/2017/02/15/creative-class//index.html.gz
Florida (2003) http://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/4%20Cities%20and%20the%20Creative%20Class.pdf
Florida & Martin (2009) http://martinprosperity.org/media/pdfs/MPI%20Ontario%20Report%202009%20v3.pdf

Friday, 17 February 2017

The Transformation to Innovation

As we discuss innovation in this course in a number of different ways, I found this article to be relevant as it discusses some of the ways to transform an organization from one that is innovation-averse into a forward-thinking mindset. This article titled “4 Steps to Cultivating an Innovation Mindset in Your Organization”, written by Aaron Agius, outlines some ideas of how companies can overcome many problems by becoming more innovative. He states that the lifespan of an average company has significantly decreased, from lasting around 67 years in the 1920s, to lasting only about 15 years today. 

The steps that Agius discusses includes the idea of making time for innovation by giving employees breaks and making time for leisure activities, allowing them time to think and be creative. He mentions Google's "20 percent time" in which they give their employees 20 percent of their time to work on personal projects. He also suggests encouraging activity, such as promoting exercise as exercise can promote creativity as well. Overall, he explains some ways in which companies can structure their working environment and their schedules to promote innovation.




Thomas Frank discusses a similar idea in his chapter titled "The Blue State Model" when he mentions the facilities he visited in Boston. He explains that he visited many innovation centres, each housing unique features such as bright furniture, open workspaces, as well as ping-pong tables and other games. 

Another point raised by Agius in his article is that he sometimes hears from organizations “that’s the way we’ve always done things.” This sounds like a phrase that would be used by an established company that has been around for a long period of time. However, in today’s society when innovation appears to be crucial for any business to thrive, I wonder how any established company is going to remain successful if they do not alter their business model to adapt to the changing times.

What kind of problems do you see arising for companies who take this problematic approach to innovation? Is there any way they can remain successful or will they be required to adapt to a new model of innovation?

Article: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/287795
Image Source: https://9to5google.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/340x_20-p-time.jpg

Communication is Key: The Case of Slack



On November 1, 2016, Slack the internal team/workplace communications platform for messaging company did something unexpected.

Slack took out full-page ad in the New York Times with a letter in response to Microsoft who released Microsoft Teams, a new product that would compete with Slack. I found it was interesting how they used the good ol' fashioned newspaper, which I think was another reason why it caused so much media attention. Slack also released the same letter on their blog for those who didn't have access to a hard copy of the NYT. There was also a great discussion going on in the StartupNorth Facebook group.


[Slack's letter to Microsoft on the back page of the New York Times; Photo: Stewart Butterfield (Founder of Slack)]


What I noticed on the blog post, is that they highlighted this statement:

"Communication is hard, yet it is the most fundamental thing we do as human beings."

We learn so much in the Communication Studies program from theorists like McLuhan, Innis, Horkheimer, and so much more. Communication is so important. We've been communicating every day since we were babies. The medium is the message and Slack is a new technology, that decided to use print as a medium to release this public letter. I believe that this created a different relationship in how it was perceived, as many would have expected that a new tech company would have used online media to send their message. Social media and online messaging is a large part of how this new generation communicates with one another. Celebrities don't talk trash to each other in person, they tweet at them, but some of the negative things they tweet, I doubt they would say those words in person to the other person's face. These social platforms give individuals and groups a voice and the ability to join in on conversations and share their ideas, values, and beliefs.

I wonder, would the response be different if Slack did not release the letter in print?

I personally really admired what Slack wrote. It was truthful, but still acknowledged the competition. Microsoft obviously has a wide variety of products, but Slack has millions of companies using their platform and it's a really good one too. So why did they feel the need to created Microsoft Teams? We can also relate this to Instagram who released Instagram Stories, which is basically Snapchat, but with better drawing and tools. Then again, Facebook was originally an exclusive version of MySpace that evolved and became a publicly traded company. Are they really being innovative though?


["Why I'm quitting Tobacco," fictional piece published in the New York Times in the show Mad Men]

Additionally, the letter reminded me of Don Draper's letter in response to Lucky Strike in the TV show, Mad Men. Draper released a full-page ad in the New York Times, like Slack did in response to another company. If you've watched the show and seen this episode, you would understand why I included this in this blog post. If not, you can read more about this episode here. In a nutshell, tobacco company, Lucky Strikes broke relations with doing their advertising with Don's company and his response was via a public letter in this widely popular newspaper, revealing that he doesn't want to be advertising a product that he knows will kill people (even though he continues to smoke cigarettes throughout the rest of the show's running). But Draper's partners were not happy at all that he published this letter.

TL;DR Like Slack's letter to Microsoft, Draper's letter to Lucky Strike caused mixed feelings from different parties and individuals, but the medium in which the message was presented played a huge part in how it was received.

Works Cited

Slack. "Dear Microsoft,." Several People Are Typing - The Official Slack Blog. Several People Are Typing - The Official Slack Blog, 2 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <https://slackhq.com/dear-microsoft-8d20965d2849#.pygykle5m>.

Federman, Mark. "What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?" What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm>.

Warren, Tom. "Slack shows it's worried about Microsoft Teams with a full-page newspaper ad." The Verge. The Verge, 02 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/2/13497766/slack-microsoft-teams-new-york-times-ad>.

Goodbye Waterloo, Hello Silicon Valley: Why Waterloo-Region Tech Companies are leaving The North

[Photo from Georgette Packaging]

Despite the Waterloo-Region being commonly known as 'The Silicon Vally of the North' (*some active within the tech sector actually hate that term and believe that the Waterloo Region shouldn't even be compared to the valley), there have been a number of companies founded within the region, but have left this entrepreneurial community and move ship to the San Francisco Bay Area. The list goes on: Redwood City, Cupertino, Palo Alto, etc., there is an abundance of tech companies located in the valley among tech giants such as Google, Facebooks/Instagram, Snapchat, Uber, and Airbnb.



A number of my friends have done co-ops in Silicon Valley, working at companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google. They said that the wages were much higher when compared to similar jobs in Toronto/KW, but when you take into account rent, food, and transportation, you end up with the same amount as you would in Toronto/KW. They said they decided to work there to get that experiences and learn what the culture in like within The Bay Area and within large tech giants to see if that is something that they want to do after graduating. One of my friends who I've worked with in the part is Cole Jones, Founder and CEO of Local Line (and Laurier Alumnus). He said that when he went to San Francisco for meetings with VCs, prospects, and companies, that people there love walking meetings. They don't sit down at a restaurant or coffee shop, they like to walk with you from place to place. To Jones, everything there is fast-paced and go-go-go, especially compared to the startups and other tech companies within the Waterloo Region.


[Sam Altman: President at YCombinator, VC, entrepreneur]

However, there are a number of local companies that leave KW for The States. Located in Mountain View, CA lies YCombinator (YC) -  a prestigious incubator, providing seed funding to top startups. The "bootcamp" runs twice a year, 3 months at a time and works with startups on their ideas/products. These entrepreneurs are supported by investors and executives from Silicon Valley and at the end of the bootcamp, they pitch at Demo Day in from of some of the world's most successful tech investors. There's been a number of startups from the Waterloo Region that were accepted into YC including Thalmic Labs, BufferBox, Pebble, Vidyard, PiinPoint, Georgette Packaging, and Lace. The founder(s) moved their companies to Mountain View for at least 3 months, some did not return to Kitchener-Waterloo. YC helped many of these companies shape who they are and develop their products. Some globally-known companies that "graduated" from YC include Airbnb, Stripe, Reddit, and Dropbox.


[Co-Founder and CEO at Vidyard, Mike Litt]

One of the KW startups that graduated from YC was Vidyard. Co-Founders and CEO, Michael Litt is very passionate about his home and his company's home being in Downtown Kitchener (DTK). As a Waterloo native, Litt said, "I was never allowed to come to downtown Kitchener" citing his parents reasons of sex trade workers, drug dealers, and the crack epidemic that flooded the area when he was young. But times have changed and DTK is filled with office of booming tech companies with a "large community impact." Litt and Co-Founder, Devon Galloway moved to Los Gatos, located near San Francisco in 2010 for YC. He also did co-op placements there when he was an undergrad at The University of Waterloo. Litt and Galloway could have moved their company's headquarters to The Valley, but they decided to go back home to the Waterloo Region. Why? They fell in love with the community here. (Pender, 2016)


["Canada's Biggest Startup Champion," Razor Suleman]

On the other hand, Razor Suleman (Laurier BBA '99) founded Achievers (formerly I Love Rewards) - a software company that helps engage employees and drives performance globally. One of the most well-known venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital backed his company. In total, from six investors, Suleman raised $52.42 million in 5 rounds, later selling his company to BlackHawk Network. I saw Razor speak at a tech/entrepreneurship conference in Toronto a year ago and he mainly talked about his journey and the lack of venture capital in Canada. He moved his company to the Bay Area for the marketing and sales talent, for greater opportunities with VC funding, and to scale up the company globally. Once Achiever was acquired, he moved his family back to Canada saying, "we're Canadian by choice." A reason why he moved back was because of the community here and how he wanted to help build and give back to it (Soltys, 2016). But at the talk I attended that Suleman spoke at, he mentioned that the main reason he didn't grow his business in Toronto or KW was because of the lack of venture capital here. He showed a visual diagram of all the large VC firms and the amount of funding they had given out, comparing Canada and the U.S. Suleman wants to see Canadian tech companies grow and is waiting for the next big thing saying, "It's our time for Canadian tech."

Works Cited


Achievers | CrunchBase. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/achievers#/entity>.

"About Y Combinator." About Y Combinator. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017. <https://www.ycombinator.com/about/>.

Canal, Emily. "The 20 Least Affordable Places To Live In The U.S." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 June 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilycanal/2016/06/24/the-20-least-affordable-places-to-live-in-the-u-s/#3d2208d94e9e>.

Dingman, Shane. "Waterloo tech startups absent from Y Combinator's roster." The Globe and Mail. Waterloo, Ont. — The Globe and Mail, 20 July 2015. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/waterloo-tech-startups-absent-from-y-combinators-roster/article25595601/>.

Pender, Terry. "Vidyard CEO wants techies to love downtown Kitchener." Vidyard CEO wants techies to love downtown Kitchener. Waterloo Region Record, 09 Jan. 2017. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://www.therecord.com/news-story/7055594-vidyard-ceo-wants-techies-to-love-downtown-kitchener/>.


Soltys, Douglas. "One year after returning home, Razor Suleman remains Canada's biggest startup champion." BetaKit. N.p., 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://betakit.com/one-year-after-returning-home-razor-suleman-continues-to-be-canadas-biggest-startup-champion/>.


*


City of Waterloo and Laurier to launch Innovative CityStudio project

       Found on the Laurier website, it provided an article in 2016 stating the launch of a City of Waterloo/Laurier partnership for a CityStudio project. For those in the dark, the CityStudio project first began in Vancouver 2011, and now in Waterloo will be an innovative hub where city staff, students, and community stakeholders co-create new ideas and resolutions confronting city-wide challenges. This will allow students the opportunity to engage in the actual field and offer goals and objectives to current strategic plans. The collaboration of students, academics, and business will improve the quality of life for the City of Waterloo and harness the creative potential of our student demographic.
      In relevance to course materials, a report prepared by Richard Florida and Roger Martin titled "Ontario in the creative age" provided an agenda for Ontario if they want to progress in this new aged economy. They stated that the role of education must be reformed and provide individuals with analytical thinking skills - such as problem solving and finding new methods. I believe the CityStudio initiative provides students with those exact tools to help them progress in this creative driven economy. This is an immersive, team learning/building environment that combines interdisciplinary skills with the complications of collaborating within a group setting. Requiring students to engage with communities, research existing urban interventions and design activities to improve the city around them. In my opinion, this is a fantastic way to cultivate the needs and tools necessary to develop a generation of creative thinkers.



https://www.wlu.ca/media/news-releases/november-2016/city-of-waterloo-and-laurier-to-launch-innovative-citystudio-project.html

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6920182-waterloo-laurier-partner-for-citystudio-project/    

Canada's Startup Hot Spots Take a Dive in New Startup Genome Ranking

      This report from ITbusiness states that Canadian startup ecosystems have slowed down relative to the rest of the world over the last 5 hears. Vancouver and Toronto are among the examples on the list that fell furthest since the last Startup Genome report was released. Toronto fell from number 8 to 17 and Vancouver moved from number 9 to 18 - and notable Waterloo slid out of the top 20 altogether.
     This is due to the fact that Canada hasn't been able to accomplish "big exits" or billion dollar additions, displaying clear challenges. "This can have a pervasive effect on ecosystem growth because very large exits galvanize the local entrepreneur and investor communities and investor communities, while a lack therefore depresses them. This does not create international poles of attraction, in fact it does the opposite. Also leading to lower returns on venture capital and lower investors.

     In our reading "Waterloo, The David vs. Goliath of Startup Ecosystems" it stated that "a factor contributing to the lack of large exits in Canadian Ecosystems, and generally, in other lower performance ecosystems, is a local funding gap". An evident lower proportion of startups are obtaining funding from private investors. The reading also states that although Waterloo produces better business ideas and high technical talent, fewer startups get series A funding.

I found this quite interesting and provided a peer-to-peer platforms attempts to increase the flow of access to finance and private investors, called Lendified Holdings.


The Lendified story begins with an abundance of banking experience, knowledge of the Canadian financial services marketplace, accompanied with cutting edge technology. Their understanding of the financial needs of business owners and the gaps in traditional lending practices that impact their access to funding gives Lendified a unique perspective. Their passion is to support the economic engine of our country - small businesses. I believe if platforms like Lendified continue to appear then the opportunity for locations such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Waterloo to move in the rankings is quite reachable.

ITbusiness report - http://www.itbusiness.ca/news/canadas-startup-hot-spots-take-a-dive-in-new-startup-genome-ranking/58307

David vs. Goliath reading - http://blog.startupcompass.co/waterloo-the-david-vs-goliath-of-startup-ecosystems/

Lendified - https://www.lendified.com/?ads_cmpid=672087357&ads_adid=35246218558&ads_matchtype=p&ads_network=g&ads_creative=145280782518&utm_term=lendified&ads_targetid=kwd-143184199243&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gclid=Cj0KEQiA25rFBRC8rfyX1vjeg7YBEiQAFIb3b-dSRdwWVJD0-WZv8L3TaM7skY3wMlRuIlgZXcvZC2UaAgCU8P8HAQ



The Problem of the Creative Class


In an article titled “Housing the creative class is a problem in New Orleans”, the author Teresa Wiltz discusses the issues that have arisen in New Orleans as a result of their increasingly popular music scene. The creative class is having difficulty finding housing, and Wiltz mentions that if musicians and cultural artists are not able to find affordable housing, it will have a negative impact on the overall cultural economy. She states that an artistic community can have many benefits on a city, including gaining a competitive edge, spurring economic development, and creating jobs. Therefore cities are faced with an issue of preserving their unique creative culture while the artists are unable to live there. 

In Jamie Peck’s article “Creative Liberties”, he outlines Robert Florida’s idea of the creative class by explaining that it is beneficial for cities to cater to the needs of the creative class, as they are the primary drivers of economic development. While this may be true for a number of reasons, catering to the needs of the creative class and structuring cities to revolve around their needs can be problematic when there are serious housing issues, as Wiltz discussed.


How can the problem of affordable housing be resolved in cities attempting to preserve their artistic culture? Waterloo is a city with many factors that might make it attractive to a creative class. Can you see the issues discussed by Wiltz becoming a problem in the Waterloo region? 

Article: http://www.pressherald.com/2017/02/12/commentary-housing-the-creative-class/

TD & Canadian's Taking Over Bay Street


I read this financial post article in my spare time and was primarily appealing to me when they started discussing silicon Valley – as we discussed it in class and prior to class discussion I had minimal knowledge of the topic. It discusses a Canadian banker who taught himself how to code and managed to build a software startup. He now works at the TD downtown office that is similar to that of the Google head quarters and is compared to the perks that Silicon Valley provides. 
The goal with all these benefits is to engage their workers, keep their brains encouraged in order to benefit from new ideas. As much as this would be fun in a work place, I feel like id find myself distracted and not focused on my job. The concept of artificial intelligence is discusses and how it may benefit the company in regards to learn customers spending patterns – but this goes back to my argument of privacy. All the technological advantages ARE beneficial but are they worth the lack of privacy we have in return? Attached is a webpage that expresses the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence and how it is already and is going to further impact our society.
The lure of Silicon Valley and the array of opportunities that other companies in the technology ecosystem can offer down the line are hard to compete with” (Shariar). With the experience of Silicon Valley it is easier to switch to a company you desire and with that, a handful of the TD head office employees are Silicon Valley retiree’s. Personally, I do not agree with this whole cool office thing that is occurring within industries to be more appealing to employees as it reallocates funds to unnecessary activities. What happened to being influenced by physical activity or sketching? Since when can ping-pong trigger creative ideas?
http://business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/meet-the-new-canadian-banker-the-tech-rockstars-who-are-taking-over-bay-street
https://futureoflife.org/background/benefits-risks-of-artificial-intelligence/
Neff, Venture Labor, Chapter 1,  “The Social Risks of the Dot-Com Era” and Chapter 2, The Origins and Rise of Venture Labor”


The Zuckerberg Manifesto

As we are all well aware, Mark Zuckerberg and his creation of Facebook altered the way society interacts and communicates. This article discusses his question “are we building the world we all want?” (Zuckerberg). With 2 billion users,  Zuckerberg discusses the next steps he has in store for Facebook, which is rather than continuing to connect with friends and family, he wishes that the platform will encourage a more informed community and public. He claims that in times like this, people are left behind with globalization and with more connection the world is headed in the right direction. 
This thought of Zuckerberg slightly confused me. Don’t you find that we are already incredibly connected with the use of social media? Friends I haven’t seen in 5 years know where I went on my lost holiday, and my close friends are capable of locating me through find friends. All these applications and social media we have today, I feel, has it TOO connected. Furthermore, he wants strangers to be able to connect on a more engaging level. Users are already comfortable using Facebook to connect with people they don’t like that have a similar issue or illness as them. However, I would argue this is an invasion of privacy – for one stranger to engage with another stranger in regards to something person. This could be beneficial in regards to support – but doesn’t it diminish the concept of privacy? With being even more connected with the use of social media than we already are with privacy become distinct? Mazzucato states, “ the fact is that not enough attention is given to the question of who the real risk takers are within the innovation process” (197). 


I think this applies to what Mark Zuckerberg is trying to do by expanding Facebook. Is he really thinking about the benefit of the user? or the benefit of himself? Further, he argues that he is trying to create a healthy society but aren’t there more negative impacts in regards to family and friendships in regards to technology (think of high school or university long distance relationships and the issues technology creates)? And more so, Facebook is launching an applications for smart TV’s for users to watch their social videos on a larger screen – so is Zuckerberg about creating a better culture in the tech industry? or is he driven by money?

Mazzucato, M. The entrepreneurial state, Chapter 9, “Socialization of Risk and Priviization of Rewards: Can the Entrepreneurial State Have its Cake and Eat it too?”

Waterloo: An Alternative Location to Silicon Valley

     While Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area has been the world leader for tech startups in recent history, the Kitchener-Waterloo region of Ontario often proves to be a viable alternative for entrepreneurs to run a successful startup. This article, featured in the Financial Post, discusses why running your startup in Waterloo is a healthy alternative to staying in Silicon Valley.

     Companies such as Thalmic Labs and BufferBox are living proof that you do not need to stay in Silicon Valley to operate a successful startup once you have received the correct funding and incubation assistance. With innovation and work culture being such a dominant theme throughout this course, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the insights of tech startup founders from the Kitchener-Waterloo region. The article I chose to share with the class provides a number of insights on why the founders of Thalmic Labs and BufferBox chose to operate in Waterloo instead of Silicon Valley.

     The most pertinent feature that appeared throughout this article was the ecosystem that Waterloo provided for these companies to succeed. With a tremendous startup culture and support system, Waterloo is home to some of the world's most talented engineers. For the founders of Thalmic Labs and BufferBox, operating in Waterloo made the most financial sense. They were able to establish strong relationships with the University of Waterloo and acquire talented engineers that were loyal to the company and cost half the amount that engineers in Silicon Valley would.

Article Link: http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/why-three-innovators-are-running-their-companies-in-waterloo-instead-of-silicon-valley?__lsa=6cda-f592

The Importance of Fostering Innovative Cultures

     As discussed in our readings and lectures throughout this course, fostering an innovative work culture is becoming increasingly important. According to the class reading "Canada: A Nation of Innovators," The Canadian government believes that the goal of education should focus around making every Canadian "innovation ready," in order to make them more aware of possible opportunities and emerging trends. In order to become "innovation ready," Canadians must develop a mindset that fosters risk taking and creativity.
   
     In the article titled "Creating a Culture of Innovation," author Edward Goldman also explains the importance of risk-taking and innovation. Goldman's article focuses on the relationship between risk, reward, and innovation. In Goldman's point of view, many companies simply focus on incremental improvements and small steps. In other words, these organizations are not taking any risks. It is this lack of risk taking that hinders organizations from becoming leading innovators. By simply thinking about the next step, or the next task, Goldman claims that organizations will no longer be able to drive innovative thinking. Organizations focus too much on rewarding small successes and not learning from failures. It is Goldman's view that in order to be fully innovative, organizations must focus on the end goal they want to achieve and embrace and learn from the mistakes they make along the way.

     In order for Canadians to become "innovation ready," and become successful innovators, it is important for them to take risks and learn from failures more so than successes. Organizations need to implement work cultures that don't simply reward only success, but drive innovative thinking and allow individuals to cultivate ideas that support the ideals of the organization's end goals.



Goldman's full article can be found here.

Thursday, 16 February 2017

Innovation: Getting the Word 'Right' in Canada




 As apparent throughout the course, the word 'innovation' can have different meanings depending on who you're talking to. As explored in class, Mazzucato refers to innovations with three qualities: they are pervasive in that they spread into many sectors, they improve over time and should keep lowering the cost to their users, and they make it easier to spawn innovation through the invention and production of new products and processes. Schumpeter would also add innovations connect goods and services to new markets and can include innovation in the raw materials used to crease new products and services.

However, Jim Balsillie, co-founder of Blackberry, offers a very specific definition of innovation: "the commercialization of ideas across all industries and sectors". He goes on to distinguish between invention: "science and technology...what universities do" and innovation: "getting money for [those] ideas". In fact, he suggests that defining innovation as anything else actually has adverse effects to the Canadian economy which is one of the primary reasons Canada lags behind the USA's economic growth. 

It is important to consider the meaning behind the rhetoric used when speaking about innovation because as Balsillie highlights, improper or inconsistent/fragmented definitions of economic terms can result in negative economic growth outputs.  This is because the rhetoric we use informs the development of public policy which either inhibits or exhibits effective innovation ecosystems.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/leadership/jim-balsillie-interview/