The Ten Faces of Innovation

I don't read business/management/self-help books. Not because I don't need to, but because I'm not that interested in those types of books. So when I saw an ad for Tom Kelly's book, The Ten Faces of Innovation, I was prepared to pass it by. However as I read the list of "faces" from the ad and I became a little more intrigued. The listed faces were;

The Anthropologist - Observes real-world customer behavior
The Experimenter - Devises troubleshooting prototypes
The Cross-Pollinator - Combines the best ideas from industries
The Hurdlers - Leaps past the usual red tape
The Collaborator - Helps eclectic groups work together
The Director - Assembles the best personnel
The Experience Architect - Transforms mundane experiences into events
The Set Designer - Creates invigorating work environments
The Caregiver - Delivers impeccable customer care
The Storyteller - Turns your company's story into a legend

I'm not familiar with Tom Kelley's work. I can only guess at how he sees these different roles playing out in the workplace. I doubt that I'll ever get around to reading his book. What I'm reflecting on is how I may have seen these roles played out in my work experience and if I've been one of them. Beyond that I wonder how these roles would apply to life in general, or in other organizations such as a church.

Notes from NATURE.com

Here are a few articles from Nature magazine that I've gleaned from their e-mail newsletters over the last couple of weeks.

Shaped from clay "Minerals help molecules thought to have been essential for early life to form."
Prions suspected in milk "Sheep mammaries shown to contain agents of fatal brain disease."
Robot surgeons scrub up "Future operations could be performed from the inside."
Nanocar takes a test drive "It's the smallest thing on four wheels"
Extra brain cells curb appetite "Neural injections cause long-term weight loss in mice."
Marijuana may make your brain grow "Cannabinoid injections sprout new neurons in mice."

Growing older and less inhibited?

Old people aren't rude, just uninhibited:

This could explain a lot.

"...old people may not intend to be rude: in fact, age-related changes in brain function may explain their lack of tact... Tests carried out by researchers found that people aged 65 to 93 years were more likely to ask each other personal questions in a public setting than younger people aged 18 to 25...The ability to inhibit thoughts and actions is critical for socially appropriate discourse but that ability appears to weaken due to changes in brain function related to the normal ageing process..."

New this week from SPACE.com

I get an e-mail newsletter from SPACE.com with the lastest in space news. These are the articles I noted from this week.

Japanese Spacecraft Ready To Land on Asteroid Nov. 12

Japan's Hayabusa Closes in on Asteroid Landing Site

U.S. Military Wants to Own the Weather

Von Braun Saturn Rocket Team Lend Their Signatures to A Cause

Two More Moons Discovered Orbiting Pluto

Martian Dust Major Risk to Manned Mission

The passing of Richard Smalley

I was sadden to learn last week of the passing of Richard Smalley. A number of years ago when I was writing for a science magazine I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Smalley on his role in the discovery of buckyballs. He later shared a Nobel Prize for that discovery.

Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle has a nice article, Famed Houston scientist Richard Smalley dies.