We Have a Serious Innovation Deficit Says Silicon Valley Thought Leader Judy Estrin
By Tom Foremski - August 22, 2008
I just got back from a very inspiring conversation with Judy Estrin, a serial entrepreneur, former CTO at Cisco, and one of Silicon Valley's top thought leaders.
I first met Ms Estrin about 7 years ago when I profiled her achievements in the Financial Times. What makes Ms Estrin interesting is that she is a dyed-in-the-wool Silicon Valley entrepeneur spanning several decades and she is not afraid to speak her mind.
Over the past few years she has been sounding the alarm about the lack of innovation in Silicon Valley, and in the US. We are living off of investments in innovation made many years ago and we are not creating the conditions for a new crop of innovation. And we need to harvest a bumper crop of innovation if we are to solve four major crises: energy, climate change, healthcare, and security.
Her work has led to a new book - Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy
Her research includes many interviews with corporate leaders and many others around the US.
"It was wonderful to get out of Silicon Valley and talk to people about what is happening to innovation," Ms Estrin said. "Too often we get caught up in our own little world in the valley, and we don't see what is happening elsewhere." She discovered that we are running a national innovation deficit, and that we need to act now to avoid serious consequences. She describes the problems and offers solutions.
I will have a video and podcast audio of my interview with Ms. Estrin coming up on SVW.
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http://www.theinnovationgap.com/
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August 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comment | Subscribe to SVW
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Comments (2)
Ms Estrin is not seeing what I'm seeing. I'm seeing an innovation rebirth happening on a scale as big as any ever seen in Silicon Valley. It's true it may not look the same as the others - may not be as visible on the surface or share the same characteristics or metrics as the others - but in terms of rapid and significant global impact, this wave will out do them all. No question.
Innovation is still accelerating and I think we are again at an inflection point. Hold on, the brakes are gone.
Posted: August 22, 2008 5:53 PM
Don, are you talking about innovation across sectors are just in the telco/Ribbit niche?
Posted: August 23, 2008 3:00 PM