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In Romanian news they mentioned that movie theaters are closing down because nobody is going to movies… they are all downloading movies and watching them at home. I’m always amazed by how advanced the file-sharing culture is on a pop-culture level here in Romania. Every bar has a PC loaded with downloaded mp3s and winamp… Direct-Connect is apparently king in Romania.

5 Big Biz Think Tank Techniques by Chris Penttila gives a quick overview of how larger companies are using innovation centers to encourage and implement new ideas.

“1. Combine ideas. Xerox Corporation looks for intersections between ideas and how they might merge. “Several ideas could get combined in a next-generation offering,” says Tom Kavassalis, vice president of strategy and alliances for the Xerox Innovation Group, which drives Xerox’s R&D-based innovation.
2. Think backwards. McDonald’s innovation team thinks in terms of “backcasting”—starting with an end product in mind and working back toward the basic idea in a way that’s practical from a cost and technology perspective.
3. Do rapidprototyping. McDonald’s puts ideas through rapid prototyping that can last as little as one day. “What we try to do is to get from the blackboard to 3-D as fast as we can,” says Koziol.
4. Create an internal incubation fund. Xerox sets aside funds that encourage employees to network and chase ideas that otherwise wouldn’t have a budget. “We’re interested in thinking of new ideas that are different from ones we’re currently funding,” Kavassalis says.
5. Take it online. Idea management software is automating the innovation proc-ess. “Everybody can contribute all the time,” says Anthony Warren, director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn State.“

Found in email box:

crumpled  up the waxed paper from  the sandwiches, tossed it under  the  ore
sparse  thickets of willows, and the horizon, beyond  the hills, was  filled
     Now  they  were moving in  a  crouch,  Indian  file,  only  their heads