http://www.scandinavianminds.com Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:12:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Elvis fans have Graceland. Michael Jackson fans have Neverland. IT-geeks have Silicon Valley. Next week I’m going to Silicon Valley, California and it is my Graceland. Since my teenage years I’ve been fascinated by Silicon Valley. All the new exciting computer and electronics stuff came from there, and the area was ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/silicon-valley-my-graceland [caption id="attachment_208" align="alignright" width="150" caption="43% of Danish companies are innovative"][/caption] Last week I read in the Danish business newspaper ErhvervsBladet that 43% of all Danish companies were innovative in the years 2005 to 2007 – according to Statistics Denmark. Statistics Denmark considered a company to be innovative if it had introduced new ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/danish-companies-are-innovative For decades we have heard business consultants tell us that people are the most valuable resource in the company. Well, I would like to challenge that statement seen from an innovation perspective. Don’t get me wrong – I do recognize the importance of creative, hardworking people. But can a company ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/can-innovation-be-people-independent Companies, products, services etc. does in my opinion not have to be rocket science, advanced technology or something like that to be innovative. Let’s look at my definition of innovation, which is the quote of Peter Drucker: “Change that creates a new dimension of performance”. If you agree with that ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/innovation-internal-external Bang & Olufsen recently launched their new flagship audio system BeoSound 5. The design is really different from the other Bang & Olufsen audio systems, and I see the design as an indication of where Bang & Olufsen are going. I like the design and it clearly stands out from ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/product-review-beosound-5 Swedish car makers Volvo and SAAB are having difficulties. Volvo because of its owner Ford is in difficulties and SAAB because they can't make money and their owner GM has cut the financial cord. SAAB is now under a formal restructuring and haves three months to come up with a ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/the-swedish-affair-volvo-saab Scandinavian companies are successful on the American market. Brands like Volvo, Ikea, Bang & Olufsen, Nokia, Danfoss, Vestas, Novo and Lego are well-known in the US. Why do these and more Scandinavian companies have a chance on the American market, where the financial resources for research, the talent mass and ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/scandinavian-innovation-advantage You probably know the situation. You get a great idea for a new product or you need to make a mock-up to illustrate the idea. You can du a lot with a PowerPoint but nothing beats a working mock-up. Over the years I have used a lot of different development kits ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/innovation-tools What is the first step for getting an innovative product approved for market launch? To get the management  to green flag the project. So before the new innovative product hits the store shelfes, you have to sell the idea to the management - the company's key stakeholders. Some years ago I ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/the-stakeholders First of all welcome to my new blog! I will use this blog to discuss innovation, which is one of my greatest interests. To get startet I would like to give you my difinition of the word innovation. If you browse the web you will see a lot of definitions of ... http://www.scandinavianminds.com/my-definition-of-innovation