Innovation Is No Joking Matter

My colleague, Bill O’Connor, and I work on Autodesk innovation efforts. For example, we are part of a team that created our innovation.autodesk.com site:

Innovation_site
Check out the Autodesk site
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The other day, Bill shared this article from 2004 (when 3-bladed razors were cutting edge) with me. It has NSFW language, but this Onion story is very funny.

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Read The Onion article
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Though The Onion article was published in jest, it does contain some truths about innovation.

  • “Sure, we could go to four blades next, like the competition.”

    Innovation requires competitive separation. You need to do something that your competitors can or will not do.

  • “We got here by taking chances.”

    Innovators have to be willing to fail. You can’t play it safe.

  • “They don’t tell me what to invent — I tell them.”

    Innovation requires passion. It’s not easy.

  • “You’re taking the “safety” part of “safety razor” too literally, grandma.”

    In his TEDx Berkeley talk on “The New Rules of Innovation,”…

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