In various ways, the award-winners reflected true innovation, which is taking the practical step of bringing creativity into the world, so let me dig in the bag to share a few with you. I'm reaching past the discount cards, freebies, magazines, promo pens and brainteaser game (thanks, John Kennedy). Now I'm briefly massaging the strawberry shortcake-flavored gum from Wrigley, the thumb-sized flashlight from Tripp-Lite, the natural sweetener from Pure Via and the noise-isolation ear buds from Molex. Not bad. Here are a couple more:
>>The Master Lock Speed Dial--Here's a sturdy lock for people who have difficulty remembering combinations (most of us?). Instead of numbers that you can easily forget, you open the lock using directional movements (like a video game joystick), so you can open the lock one-handed, without looking, based on remembering the movements you've chosen.
>>Probably the most unusual goodie-bag item I've ever gotten, here's a "Water Saving Fill Valve" from MJSI, whose HydroRight won this year's award. You actually install this one in your toilet to save water.Innovation can be best defined as actualizing creativity in a way that provides real value or, as designer/innovator Dan Buchner recently asserted in this video (click here), "the implementation of an idea that improves someone’s life and brings meaning to their life.” Just as MJSI's innovation can make a meaningful difference, so can these other award winners whose actual products did not quite make it in the goodie bag. They include:
>Abbott Labs' recently FDA-approved HIV test, with much earlier detection ability.
>SoCore Energy's portable solar panels that can be rented and installed more easily.
>Smart Medical Technology Liftaem Patient Transfer System, which uses a cushion of air to reduce time and injury from lifting patients.
>CrowdSPRING, now the world's largest online marketplace for creative services.
>Chicago Transit Authority's Bus Tracker, an online tool to tell you exactly when your bus will arrive.
You can decide how meaningful these innovations are to you or others--and learn more about them here. But clearly the creative spirit is infusing some companies here in the midwest. If Rocky Wirtz can turn around the very recently woeful Blackhawks, miracles can indeed happen, especially if we make time for, promote and honor innovation, as these awards have aptly done again this year.