Today at SXSW, Intuit founder Scott Cook gave a talk on Leadership in the Age of Innovation. Turns out, it’s pretty simple: the role of the leader is to provide the environment and systems for experimentation, but not the decision. “Too many great ideas don’t get attention because of hierarchies,” he said. Leaders need to stop standing in the way. And what about pesky legal teams that place stringent barriers in front of great ideas? Change the guidelines. Make them broader (Intuit did just that).

Let the experiment make the decision, not the boss.

KC in Austin.

futuristgerd:

What is the future of cars? Corporate futurist for Ford predicts megacities and self-driving cars. - Slate Magazine

thetravelbelle:

More from our trip to Detroit this week — unexpected inspiration.

After further exploration, we discovered how residents are filling up the empty spaces. They’re reinventing the city in places like Lafayette Greens, an urban garden that has replaced a vacant lot (and it’s just one of many that are popping up around town). The Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art exhibit in east Detroit that has been around since 1986, remains a reflection of what’s happened in the last few decades, yet it is a tribute to the creativity and hope that prevails. And a sort of crowdsourced photography exhibit, Reveal Your Detroit - on display now at the Public Library - has captured life in the city through the lenses of dozens of residents. 

Despite the difficulties, Detroit-ers are surprisingly upbeat and resilient. Mantras of positivity are posted all over town, spray painted on abandoned buildings or empty storefronts - “It will be OK.” “One Step At A Time.” “The Dream Is Now.”

Truly makes you believe.

^^ From our trip to Detroit this week. - KC 

(Source: tuaw, via emergentfutures)

Kickstarter is funding an era of product development uncompromised by focus groups and committees.

(Source: laughingsquid, via david)

gregmelander:

Malcolm Gladwell reviews Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. It suggests that Jobs was much more of a tweaker than an originator. He suggests that Jobs’ genius was making something better, not necessarily new.

“The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world. The tweaker inherits things as they are, and has to push and pull them toward some more nearly perfect solution. That is not a lesser task.”

“The StreetScooter is a $7,000 EV with a 74 mph top speed and an 80-mile range. It relies on leased batteries and uses a heat pump for heating and air conditioning, and shipping company DHL has already ordered 3,500 of them — but the most interesting thing about the vehicle is how it came to be.”

A great story about collaboration at it’s best, from Wired: 50 Companies Team to Create Open Source EV

There’s a new book out about the development NYC’s incredible High Line Park, a project borne out of a community board meeting, driven by two men who didn’t have any experience in parks and recreation. 

from Cool Hunting: “The road to creating one of New York’s most beloved parks was not unlike the unruly terrain that Friends of the High Line co-founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond were determined to transform. Stretching from the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, the mile-and-a-half-long elevated park represents the extraordinary rescue of an abandoned, overgrown eyesore by two inexperienced but dedicated individuals, and the rally of strong community involvement. “

futuramb:

Car Warns When Your Blood Sugar Is Low - Technology Review

Your car may soon be able to warn you if your blood sugar dips, alert you to high pollen counts, and remind you to take your medication. Ford demonstrated the new in-car technology—currently a research project—this week at the Wireless Health 2011 conference in La Jolla, California.

Many car manufacturers are now focusing on connecting their cars to everything. The question is if the car isn’t the wrong thing to connect everything to. At Volvo Cars 10+ years ago we were pretty convinced that personal mobile devices would take that niche so the car would provide the most value if it - if needed - became a seamless supporting infrastructure for all the personal devices. I still think we were right…

emergentfutures:

The Future Of Medical Technology Is Apps, Games, and Movies

An Oscar-winning producer talks about his interest in moviemaking, medicine, and scaleable (storytelling) design.

Including:

“Need to do some rehab after recovering from an injury? Hook up your Microsoft Kinect (with its ability to see every movement) and play an emerald mining game that makes the chore of rehab exercises a game. Not only is the patient experience improved, but there will be more physical therapists to go around, energy savings, and vast cost savings. Need to improve your lung function? I’ve seen an iPhone app that can hear how hard you blow a whistle and has the potential to be both musical and entertaining.”

Paul Higgins: I can see the gamification of medicine and rehab being big business and bringing huge benefits to lots of people

Full Story: Fast Company