Late last month when the Supreme Court met to hear arguments on same-sex marriage, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched a show of support for marriage equality. On March 25th the HRC urged its followers (and their friends and families) to change their Facebook profile pictures to the red and pink equal sign. […]
My biggest challenge in writing this post was picking which film to highlight. Go to Focus Forward where you’ll find a series of 30 three-minute films, “about innovative people who are reshaping the world through act or invention.” World-acclaimed documentarians tell the stories of people with life-changing ideas. A businessman has introduced the internet to 10,000 Pakistanis […]
Human-Centered Design. For inspiration watch IDEO’s David Kelley interviewed by Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes. Kelley’s work evolved from design to design thinking. He set up the D School at Stanford that’s focused on human-centered design. Bonus: watch the behind-the-scenes video, too. Rosie the… Sorry I couldn’t think of anything clever that rhymes with Riveter. See Katya Andresen’s […]
Crowdfunding. Social Citizens presents the stories of two women who used crowdfunding to boost their dream businesses. Kate Jenkins launched the Intentional Quarterly and Roxanne Turpin (pictured) created Amazing Capes. They offer helpful tips on how to best sell your idea. Celebrities Who Care. Miratel Solutions has identified the Top 20 Celebrities Gone Good […]
Chances that you’ll soon find a way to raise giant sums for your cause are slim. Your chances over time to find a way to raise giant sums are actually good — if you keep at it. And one best ways to think long term is the flywheel, a concept from […]
A patient at LeBonhuer Children’s Hospital in Memphis is greeted by Spiderman. You’ve got to occasionally clean all those windows, so washers with American National Skyline put on Spiderman costumes to the delight of patients and their families. Photos: Brandon Dill/AP via NBC News.
This desalination solar still (based on the same design bootleggers used to use) costs only $50. The article in Fast Company describes the simple, open source design, that can make a once expensive process more available to many millions who need drinkable water.
I’m on a plane in Central America in 1981. The guy in the next seat, who works for 3M, shows me these little pads that I later learn are called Post-it Notes. He enthusiastically describes how useful they’ll be in the work place. I remember being skeptical; obviously I was wrong. Post-its were invented […]
Innovation never travels a predictable road, but there are patterns. If there were a sure-fire method for innovating, we would long ago have cured the diseases and built space colonies. In fact, the innovative process is messy. It’s frustrating and exhilarating. And much advice on the subject seems to contradict itself. […]
I was recently in a conversation where this piece I wrote years ago came up. It was first published in World Ark, a magazine I started in the early nineties. I said I’d re-share it. No longer small, Eliot is taller than me, so this is becoming more his world than mine. Since […]
