Recent reports in the Harvard Business Review question the efficiency of the traditional Silicon Valley venture capital innovation funding model and more emphasis is now being placed on how to manage the innovation process in a low finance environment. In this article we look at one grass roots movement that is providing a model for creating the widest possible innovation culture, at the same time bringing this new innovation management thinking into the mainstream.

While the US and Japan remain leaders in global science and technology innovation, increased competition from growth markets, notably China, suggests a changing landscape. According to a new report by the Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs, research and development spending in Asia surpassed EU levels in 2005, and is likely to overtake US levels in the next five years, thanks primarily to striking growth in R&D investment in China. The new geography of global innovation is further supported by the globalization of higher education, particular in science and engineering (S&E) fields.

When managing innovative thinkers, we must constantly reassure employees not to be afraid of failure because they are inevitable and necessary to come up with creative ideas. In this video the racers, designers, engineers and managers of Honda share their personal experiences with failure and how it led them to great success.

WASHINGTON — Google and a New York financial firm have each agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion transmission backbone for future offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Seaboard that could ultimately transform the region’s electrical map.

The 350-mile underwater spine, which could remove some critical obstacles to wind power development, has stirred excitement among investors, government officials and environmentalists who have been briefed on it.

Google and Good Energies, an investment firm specializing in renewable energy, have each agreed to take 37.5 percent of the equity portion of the project. They are likely to bring in additional investors, which would reduce their stakes.

It’s easy to think that when your computer starts slowing down and hard drive space fills up, the only option is to buy a new computer. The conventional wisdom says you should pay the couple hundred or one thousand dollars to get a brand-new computer. I’m here to tell you this isn’t so. I will show you how I upgraded my computer for $50 and how you can to. Simple changes can make your computer feel like new in terms of speed, storage and overall awesomeness. This is good news for your wallet, bad for Apple, Dell and other computer manufacturers.

THIS ARTICLE REFERENCES NEWEGG FOR COMPUTER PURCHASES AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM FOR COMPETITIVE PRICES, EXCELLENT SERVICE AND TIMELY SHIPMENTS AS I HAVE PURCHASED FROM THEM AND AM VERY HAPPY..... RICH BENDIS

Next week, Bob Dylan will release The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, a collection of 47 songs that the artist recorded for the M. Witmark & Sons publishing company, all before his 24th birthday. The young Dylan knocked out these tracks in a sparse 6×8 foot studio, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, harmonica and piano. And, right now, you can stream 23 of these demos (for free) on NPR’s First Listen site. The lineup includes some of his finest early singles – Blowin’ In The Wind, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, Girl From The North Country, Mr. Tambourine Man, The Times They Are A-Changin’… You get the gist.

Clean energy industry supporters who signed up to be part of the Kauffman Foundation's online Energy Innovation Network (EIN) (www.energyinnovationnetwork.org) now have another way to stay connected. The Foundation today launched a monthly online newsletter that will arrive in network member e-mail boxes to keep them informed of EIN news and events.

The first issue of the Energy Innovation Network newsletter invites readers to participate in a survey, provides information about the Southwest Energy Innovation Forum to be held on Oct. 18, 2010, and introduces the new EIN blog.

The EIN is designed for clean energy researchers, entrepreneurs, buyers, investors, and decision-makers eager to make connections and support high-growth energy businesses. The Network seeks to close the innovation gap between energy research and the market by: 

• Connecting entrepreneurs with researchers who can develop new technologies
• Linking startups with energy buyers
• Helping corporations find energy partners
• Informing states that want to enact policies that will encourage clean energy  development 
• Enabling regions to scale state-level innovation strategies

Visit www.energyinnovationnetwork.org to sign up and receive the EIN newsletter.

Despite the nation’s flagging economic recovery, chief executives of venture-backed companies remain optimistic–at least when it comes to their compensation.

In a small poll of its members by ExpertCEO, an online community for senior executives, 76 CEOs from venture-backed companies on average expected modest increases in salary this year and in 2011.

These executives reported an average salary of $238,000 in 2009, and they expect that number to climb to $250,000 this year and $262,000 in 2011. Their bonus on average is expected to remain flat at $94,000 this year, however, well short of an average target bonus of $131,000. The average target bonus for 2011 is estimated at $130,000.

Into the life of every office worker, some rain must fall… and often that rain takes the form of the latest jackass fad that your management latched onto. In most cases, a new management fad means endless meetings, new buzzwords for the office toadies, and extra work that ends up either driving you crazy or your company out of business.

This post contains the eight most heinous, stupid, painful and useless management fads that I’ve ever encountered. It also provides invaluable advice for how to survive the fad until it finally goes away. (Which it will… eventually.) Of course, a fad usually goes away because management latched onto a new one, but hey, nobody said work life would be easy.

The Gap (GPS)’s decision to spike its new logo — which everyone hated — teaches us five things about brand management:

1. Consumers own brands, not management. Your brand doesn’t exist, doesn’t have any equity, except what’s inside the minds of your best customers. You might feel your business needs to be rebranded or relaunched, but your opinions are irrelevant: You work for the company. You’re so “inside” you can’t see outside. Proceed with caution!
2. Consumers are savvy about design in just the same way as they are about media and advertising. The 21st Century has really stripped the mystery from design and advertising. Most consumers have better software on their laptops today than professional designers had on their desktops 20 years ago. You can’t pass off lame work in quite the same way you could back in the day.

America has enough untapped offshore wind power to power itself four times, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

While the U.S. has the largest amount of land-based wind power capacity, NREL believes the U.S. is missing a huge opportunity to tap offshore winds since it doesn't yet have any offshore wind power to speak of.

The following is an excerpt from Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire by Braden Kelley:

Too often we treat people as commodities that are interchangeable and maintain the same characteristics and aptitudes. Of course, we know that people are not interchangeable, yet we continually pretend that they are anyway — to make life simpler for our reptile brain to comprehend. Deep down we know that people have different passions, skills, and potential, but even when it comes to innovation, we expect everybody to have good ideas.

Previously, Catherine Mott, an angel investor, stressed the importance of investing in “coachable” entrepreneurs who surround themselves with solid management teams. As chief executive and founder of BlueTree Allied Angels in Wexford, Pa., Ms. Mott says she knows one when she sees one. But during a recent conversation, I asked her to try to specify what she looks for when investing in start-ups. A condensed version of our conversation follows.

Q. How do you define coachable?

Ms. Mott: It’s very challenging to identify. I wish it were black and white, but it’s more of an intuitive gut feel. During our due diligence process, which includes five to six meetings with a start-up’s management team, we hope to see that the founder is the kind of person who takes advice because we know and understand there’s lots they won’t know. They’ll make mistakes. In effect, we’re giving them tuition money. But we want to mitigate how much of it they’ll lose.

BRUSSELS -- Majorities in the U.S., the European Union, and China associate themselves with attitudes often ascribed to entrepreneurs. Americans, however, are more likely than those in the European Union and China to see themselves as risk takers, competitive, and confident they can accomplish difficult tasks.

These findings are from a Flash Eurobarometer study in December 2009 that investigated attitudes toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in the 27 European Union member states, the U.S., 50 Chinese cities, and a handful of other countries.

More than 8 in 10 Americans agree they are generally willing to take risks, compared with nearly 2 in 3 respondents in China and the European Union as a whole. Within Europe, however, opinions vary: Romanian, Cypriot, and Irish views align closest with those of Americans, with 73% each saying they are generally risk takers. Lithuanians and Hungarians are least likely to share this attitude; 46% and 43%, respectively, see themselves this way.