BIG POTATOES

SOME TIME BACK, the authors of this Manifesto came together in London to write 10 case studies on innovation in 20th century recessions. We found ourselves impressed by some of the innovations of the Great Depression, pioneered by companies that have since proved durable – companies including Nestlé, Penguin Books, General Electric and Texas Instruments. […]

On 5 March 2010 Manifesto co-author James Woudhuysen spoke on BIG POTATOES at the University of Plymouth Innovation for the Creative & Cultural Industries initiative. Big Potatoes speech, University of Plymouth, 5 March 2010 from Martyn Perks on Vimeo.

Manifesto co-author James Woudhuysen was interviewed about managing innovation, and BIG POTATOES, by Computer Weekly after presenting to the Computer Weekly 500 Club.

In September 2009 Manifesto co-author Norman Lewis spoke at TEDxLeeds. His presentation ‘Yes We Can: Innovating out of a recession’ considered why we need to challenge the prevailing culture of limits and risk-aversion in order to foster innovation for future wealth creation. Yes We Can: Innovating out of a recession View more presentations from Norman […]

The conception of innovation outlined in this Manifesto is humanistic. Science ad technology is vital in this conception, but it’s a means to an end – a higher human quality of life and societal progress. The more humanity innovates, the more quality of life can improve enough for more people to engage in innovation. That’s […]

Since 1972, the self-evident fact that there is only one Earth has been repeated like a mantra. [1] In 2008 the WWF introduced its state of the world report with the innovative observation that ‘We have only one planet’. It went on to argue that ‘by the mid-2030s we will need the equivalent of two […]

For global collaborations around innovation to succeed, and for global flows of science and technology genuinely to convert nation states into a secondary factor in innovation, innovation needs to be internationalist in thought and deed. The innovator should aim to benefit the whole world, not any particular purse or nation. He or she should know […]

The Regulators do not trust the people. Yet the people do not trust the Regulators. Partisans of innovation need to take the right side in this dispute. It’s time for them to state unequivocally that further state laws and regulations around innovation are in general likely to circumscribe it and slow it down, not enhance […]

Innovation is not just for private firms, large and small. In different ways, it is also for nations, public sector organisations, and for other, ‘third sector’ bodies. If innovation is for every substantial body in society, it is not for everyone, sadly enough. After all, science and technology require specialisation, so that not every person […]

The more the cult of celebrity extends into everyday life, it seems, the more distaste grows for celebrity leaders of innovation. British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, New York city planner Robert Moses, Intel chip designer Robert Noyce, Russian space programme chief Sergei Korolev, Japan’s Soichiro Honda: in innovation, as in life, strong leaders are essential. […]