COMMENT, Global — We’ve have been in a post-modernist age for some time now.
But someone forgot to tell those 1950s-loving industrialist neo-cons.
The innovation zeitgeist is with the Creative Age.
Let’s look at where that innovation is for a moment.

COMMENT, Global — The modern world seems complex.
That’s because we’re trying to understand it with modernist 1950s metaphors from the age of the soon-to-be-gone Oil Economy.
The Neo-Cons were really the last hurrah, and just look how well Iraq is working out for them.
That’s despite all the freedoms they managed to crush in Western countries by invoking a straw man of terrorism and turning a blind eye to some desert-dwelling nutcases.
But the fact is they don’t get it. The modern world. The internet. Or trends.

ANALYSIS, Global — Our town, our world, is drowning under a flood of cheap sub-standard products. Products that we can and did once live without.
This is because our modernist global economic system in English-speaking countries largely runs on the manufacture and mass consumption of cheap low-priced goods made from oil-based plastics.
Think about that for a second. What really happens?
The following chain of events was loosely based on media reports of the China pet food story, Fisher Price scandal, and recent other events.
Here is one average scenario:
A company in your city …

COMMENT, Melbourne – In Melbourne broadsheet paper The Age, today there was a neat reminiscence on ‘trains’ from staff writer, Peter Hanlon.
“WE’RE on our way home for Dad’s funeral, his grandson and I. It’s good that we’re going by train; Dad worked 35 years for the railways, back in the days when human beings sold tickets, and machines that accepted only correct change were a dream for the future.”
He goes onto say…
“Whoever wins the next tender to run the state’s public transport would do well to acknowledge that there …

COMMENT, Melbourne – There has been much debate recently over the 7 Wonders of the World,.
However no-one has focused on the most inspiring wonders representing mankind’s achievements.
Such lists may seem unimportant, but they are symbolic. Symbolic of our achievements, our history, our foibles and humanity’s potent greatness.
But how to properly arrive at a list of the 7 New Wonders?
To arrive at an updated list of the 7 New Wonders of the World we could engage in a vote (an exercise done recently), but that tends towards nationalistic results.
So we started …

ANALYSIS, Melbourne – With the recent tense stand-off in British relations, intelligent people are underestimating Russian power, when Russia has traditionally (even under the Tsar) been a pole of power in Europe.
The Russian Bear has always viewed the concept of diminished power as rather misleading, hence the recent ‘strong-man’ photos of Putin fishing as well as renewed nuclear force deployment and military investment.
Russian & America: Mein Freund?
US discussions on a missile shield in Poland/Czech republic were ostensibly to protect Europe from ‘rogue’ states.
Of course, no one in the US really …

ANALYSIS, Melbourne – Where you work is important to how you are inspired to create & then implement innovation.
Do some of these describe your workplace?
Concrete, gray, drab, cubicle, boxed-in, noisy, mobile phone ringtones from hell, low barriers, bombarded with email, ‘no door’ policy, jokes, noise, prison-like gulag?
Or is it more interesting?
Post-modernist refugee camp for cultural relativists?
Weekend-after recovery center?
Creative desert?
Angst-ridden pit of teenage romance?
So what works for innovation?
One of the perks of having worked at so  many corporations (more than 350) is you get to see what works and what doesn’t …

COMMENT, Melbourne, Australia — Most of you are aware that I am constantly researching global innovation for 2thinknow.
This can be as broad as current global themes of: environmental or climate change issues, food supply, public transport, air travel, activism, business, new technology, Web 2.0, library 2.0, social networks, Social ideas, creative ideas, art & cultural ideas.
In short, ideas & inspiration for the intellectually curious with a global mindset.
What you may not be aware is I bookmark all sorts of industry and general innovation resources in a place where they …

ANALYSIS, Sydney –The tendency to think cities are homogenous across a country is an untruth.
Melbourne CBD is vastly different to Sydney CBD. (Yes I’m in Sydney once again. City yesterday and Parramatta today.)
Sydney CBD is vastly different to Parramatta.
The culture in the northern & Eastern Suburbs of Sydney are different. Both are affluent eras generally, but the culture is different.
This goes further than cities. Any form of grouping, cities, generational, academic, social, demographic is by nature a generalization.
Grouping theories
To generalise is human nature.
And many times in writing or describing …

2THINKNOW COMMENT, Melbourne – “Left turn at Albuquerque.”
Unless you have watched Bugs Bunny you wouldn’t know that. But chances are you have. No matter where you live.
And you might know:
“Quoi de neuf, docteur ?” (Francais)

” Che succede, amico?” (Italiano)
“Hej šefe koji ti je vrag?” (Yugoslav)
“Eh, What’s Up Doc?” (English)
… or in any other language you care to name.
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon that has almost universal understanding across multiple languages all throughout the world.
Animation lends itself to universal communication.
Animation can be dubbed easily into any language. The lips moving don’t …

ANALYSIS, Melbourne, Australia — My recent visit to the Guggenheim show at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne was most informative. But not about art.
The Guggenheim was informative about positive social change (innovation) and our society.
Art of recent years allows us to view the world through artists eyes. And great artists often have eyes and insight ahead of their time.
The most enlightening Guggenheim pieces were from the last 40-odd years. The well-curated Guggenheim exhibit of modernist & post-modernist art; informed visitors like me about inspiration & innovation.
Understanding Modern …

COMMENT, Melbourne, Australia — Social networks are the next big thing, depending on where you are located in the physical world, they can be at various stages of adoption.
I asked this to a few people at WordCamp 2007 in San Francisco, and in a case of preaching to the converted, many felt blogs were already ‘established’.
But blogs & social networks have not gone mainstream yet in most markets.
(If one applies a model called the Innovation Diffusion curve, that is.)
PS. If you are reading this and twittering, you are probably not …

OPINION, Melbourne — We all keep hearing how difficult Generation X & Y are to work with. (Mainly Gen Y).
Well I’d say it has something to do with those “oh so demanding baby boomers” who were their parents.
Truth is:
if you dose a bunch of kids up on sugar, …
chauffeur them around to every single hobby that might interest them, …
tell them that all viewpoints are culturally equivalent, …
teach them to question all authority figures, …
give them what they want with no discipline,…
smoke dope yourself but lecture them on it/tell them …

COMMENT, Melbourne, Australia — First of all let me say I am not partisan. I vote right, I vote left.
Personally, I think Giuliani, Gore, Clinton and McCain would all make good presidents at different times. Professionally I think Gore, Giuliani and Clinton may all lead to good outcomes for innovation.
The Left/Right divide is increasingly irrelevant, in any case. In a prior analysis from 2thinknowTM I made the case that the real contest is between Engaged and Not Engaged. See: Election innovation: why Left & Right don’t matter.
How Bush happened:
The people …

ANALYSIS, Melbourne –I loved rail as a kid. That trip from the small town I lived in to the ‘big smoke’ always took a 5 hour bus and a train trip.
And there was something inspiring about the rattle of that train.
Nostalgia aside, railways now are once again are on their way to leading the innovation zeitgeist in transport.
Railways – Back-to-the-Future Innovation
In cold hard fiscal terms railways have a bright future with some caveats.
Most importantly, trains have a very long-term future mainly due to the fact that trains carry more passengers …

COMMENT, Melbourne, Australia — Got invited to contribute to a rather interesting site on China, China Success Stories, run by Dutch entrepreneurs.
If you are considering China as an investment destination, the site is well worth a look.
Here’s my article – 7-risk factors for investment in China on the site:
ChinaSuccessStories.Com
Take Care,

Christopher
PS. I’m working on a much longer piece of analysis, that will be posted shortly.

COMMENT, the World — Despite the aptly named ‘flat-earth’ society the world is still round.
And the world still goes ’round.
Power is about who you know.
Sometimes who you know can be improved by what you know.
But it is important to know why what you know is important to who you may know.
Money is a method of exchange and one way of keeping score.
But money is a game.
It is only by mutual agreement that those who have acquired money alone are treated as those who have power.
It would be interesting if power …

COMMENT, Sydney, Australia — There are many, many grand inspiring art galleries around the world.
But if you want to be inspired, these are the top 7 art galleries for inspiring new & great ideas, from 3 easily connected European Cities.
I would say you must visit these art galleries at a minimum to have a well-connected perspective on European art.
These art galleries are also the places I head for in Europe to lighten my soul and inspire my mind.
If you are booking a European tour, or live in Europe, these have …