Tim Harford, in his quite brilliant book Adapt, said: “Few company bosses would care to admit it, but the market fumbles its way to success, as successful ideas take off and unsuccessful ones die. When we see the survivors of this process – such as General Electric and Procter and Gamble – we shouldn’t merely see success. We should also … Continue reading »
Education in India: Time for a Bold New Experiment
Published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review – March 13 2013 It rained hard last night in Delhi, and the narrow street in one of the city’s slum colonies—home to no less than four private schools—is ankle deep in mud. In one school at the far end of the street, I am helping nine-year-old Divesh … Continue reading »
I failed: some reflections on the pitfalls of innovation
Recently I blogged about my new barefoot running shoes. I hailed them as a disruptive innovation, successfully applied with promising early results. Four months later it is a beautiful winter’s day, perhaps with a touch of spring in the air. I am gazing out the window as I sip my coffee, noting the perfect running … Continue reading »
How do you solve a problem like diarrhoea?
The Zambian sun is burning fiercely in the bright blue sky. Mothers and children, queuing at a clinic on the outskirts of Lusaka, receive little relief from the thatched gazebos meant to protect them from the heat. Many have walked long distances to be here, carrying babies on their backs and holding small children tightly by … Continue reading »
Impact: It’s on my mind
Each time I log into Facebook it asks me “what’s on your mind?”. My mind can be a muddled place where there are rather too many musings about the meaning of Leonard Cohen lyrics (is there really a crack in everything? What about time? In Crazy to Love You does he make reference to the Wire?) … Continue reading »
Barefoot Forward
I have become a barefoot runner. This merits a blog post, it being the first time I have applied disruptive innovation to my running since I begrudgingly pulled on a pair of trainers a few years ago and hauled myself around Hyde Park for a charity 5k (at a pace that would more accurately be … Continue reading »
An unintended consequence of innovation?
I spoke on a conference panel today about innovative technology and health care. Once I got over my stage fright I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. It was a privilege to speak alongside some very talented innovators. And the great audience participation meant I was able to crowd-source lots of new ideas. I was speaking about … Continue reading »
The Capital of Happiness
There are few earthly delights that compare to a pleasant morning in East Africa, sun burning and city bustling, with a good cup of coffee in your hand. Until recently this could prove to be a tall order. The poor quality of coffee served in East Africa, a region that produces some of the best coffee … Continue reading »
Fail again, fail better
Given the subject of this blog it would be remiss of me not to post this collection of wisdom about failure by Tim Harford. I find the quote by Tristan Tzara particularly poignant: “Let us try for once not to be right”. Tzara was a brilliant poet and a tireless anti-Fascist campaigner who founded the … Continue reading »
Incremental Disruption
I had a (good-natured) disagreement with a friend last week. We were talking about innovation and our point of contention was around the value of incremental versus disruptive innovation. I believe both are equally important. He believes that only disruption will stimulate needle-shifting change. A few days later a fleeting reference to Roger Bannister in … Continue reading »
