February 20188 When I think of creativity, I'm always reminded of a quote from Steven Jobs, the legendary founder of Apple, who, in a 1996 magazine interview, said, "Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it. They just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while."That's sort of what happened when the World Wide Web was hitched up to computer technology in the late 1980s. Scientists just saw something and, after a while, the potential seemed obvious. The two were connected in 1989 and forever changed the way we communicate with each other, the way we seek and find information and the way we live our lives.Now, nearly 30 years later, we're into the Next Big Thing. The Internet of Things. Scientists have looked at ever-evolving computer electronics, software, sensors, controls and connectivity, and seen something; specifically, the potential to use the World Wide Web to connect and control physical things ­from vehicles to home appliances to smart watches to remote health monitoring and industrial process systems.The Internet of Things may be the greatest example yet of creativity that just connects things. And for companies that have built a reputation for FOUR FUNDAMENTALS OF INNOVATING FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGSBY LIU QIAO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, 3M JAPANcreativity and innovation­like 3M­these are exciting times. There are almost no limits to the opportunities that stand before us. If we approach things right, we can do a lot for our customers, and for our employers. But how does a company approach creativity in the age of IoT?At a simplistic level, it's business as usual. We just need to connect things that seem obvious. But in other ways, it's very different, because the scientists involved in this creativity have to think beyond the confines of the past.Let me be more specific.As I see it, there are four fundamental pillars in a winning corporate innovation/creativity plan in the age of the IoT:(1) Aggressively, yet smartly, looking to diversify your product/solution portfolio; (2) Leveraging the equity in your organization's ecosystem;(3) Collaborating within and outside of your organization; and (4) Making sure your customers are always the fulcrum of decision-making.1. Purposefully DiversifyIf you want to take advantage of the growth opportunities presented by the IoT, now is not the time to maintain the status quo. Now is the time to consider Liu QiaoIN MY V EW
< Page 7 | Page 9 >