Why can’t Chinese build global brands?

By Bruce Einhorn

The Japanese did it. The Koreans did it. Even the Indians are managing to do it now. So why can’t companies from Greater China have more success building global brands? For years now, companies from China and Taiwan have been trying to develop global brand names ? and do it fast. Rather than slowly, slowly, slowly building their brands overseas, the way that the likes of Sony and Samsung did, many have tried to go global overnight by buying famous but troubled brands in the West and trying to lower costs by shifting production to China. One of the first to try was TCL, China’s top TV maker, which took over the RCA brand from France’s Thomson in 2004. TCL Multimedia, the TV division of TCL, has been sliding ever since. Lenovo, China’s top PC maker, last year acquired the struggling PC business of IBM. The verdict isn’t in yet on the Lenovo experiment, but the company has struggled beyond its Chinese home and has brought in a bunch of new executives from Dell. Investors in Hong Kong-listed Lenovo are underwhelmed. A few months ago Lenovo got booted off of the Hang Seng Index, Hong Kong’s equivalent to the Dow.

The latest flop is BenQ, the Taiwanese company that in 2005 bought the mobile handset business of Siemens. Executives spoke boldly about using the acquisition of the money-losing operation as a way to take the BenQ brand global. Last fall the company even became the sponsor for Real Madrid, the star-studded Spanish football team featuring, among many others, English idol David Beckham and French headbutt-er Zinedine Zidane The upbeat feeling didn’t last long. Last week, less than a year after the deal, BenQ announced that it was cutting off the German business. While the news is infuriating people in Germany, where 3,000 workers stand to lose their jobs, investors initially cheered the idea of BenQ finally cutting its losses from a money pit that has cost the company over a billion dollars in losses. After the fiasco in Germany, maybe more executives from Taiwan and China in search of brand-name glory will be more wary about taking on money-losing Western names.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/asiatech/

HOW- 8 STEPS Towards INNOVATION

Every question harbors a latent question: "Can it be done?" The answer is YES IT CAN.

" How: 8 Steps Toward Innovation" Brought to you by

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, connecting more than 365,000 members in 150 countries.

The tools provided by IEEE membership allow innovators to lead the world to new techincal developments, formulate internationally recognized standards, and shape the global community. Through its members, the IEEE has become a leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace and consumer electronics.

Beware the Would-Be Prophets
"The 'telephone' industry has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -Western Union's International Memo, 1876.

A Closed Mind Can Not Change
"Everything that can be invented has been invented"
-Charles H. Duel, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

"What is power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in the state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it."
-Alexander Graham Bell

Everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. But could he have done it alone? Prior research in acoustics and electricity preceeded Bell's breakthrough discovery, making Michael Faraday, who discovered electromagnetic induction, and Samuel Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, indirect contributors to the invention of the telephone.

An heir to this legacy of inherited knowledge, President of ArrayComm, Inc and IEEE Fellow, Martin Cooper built on Bell's legacy. With the invention of the mobile phone, Cooper has unraveled the lines of wireless communication.

"The key to innovation is the fearless pursuit of experiment, application and proof of the theory. IEEE allows engineers to see what is possible and pursue it with science." - Dr. Evangelia Micheli-Tzanakou IEEE Fellow, Director of Computational Intelligence Laboratories - Department of Biomedical Engineering Rutgers University

The imperative to create is beyond the scope of the individual. Every great idea builds on existing archetypes.Just as the computer did not precede the microchip, the motion detector did not precede the sensor. For every great ideas, there are millions of great individuals who saw beyond what was to see what is. And the vision of the farsighted transforms the existing landscape, making the impossible --- possible.

"Innovation is a complex process encompassing a wide range of activities. An essential ingredient is creative ideas, which originate from various sources. These represent the building blocks of the innovative process."
-Michael Bommer and David S. Jalajas "Innovation Sources of Large and Small Technology-Based Firms"

As engineers, inquiry and speculation are vital to our innovative process.
Research Development Progress
-three words encompassing years of setbacks, success, and finally an indescribable sense of accomplishment that accompanies the fruition of years of investigation.

What follows is a framework of the innovative process, to inspire researchers past the road blocks...8 ELEMENTS OF INNOVATION

1. CREATIVITY
2. KNOW-HOW
3. RELEVANCE
4. PLANNING & FOCUS
5. PRECISION & CONTROL
6. OBJECTIVITY
7. PERSERVERANCE
8. DIALOG

1. CREATIVITY
Eureka moments are spare and far between--unless you're looking for them. Passing thoughts sometime harbor the biggest breakthroughs. (Tap into these transient fantasies to open up a whole new perspective.)

2. KNOW-HOW
The creative imagination leads where the technical skill-set must follow.

In an age of continuous improvement, the "wouldn't it be great" ideas may already have supporting technologies. Keeping pace with the latest breakthroughs may bridge the juncture between theory and application.

3. RELEVANCE

Where will this innovation fit within the existing marketplace? The selling point of every technology lies in its one-upmanship over existing technologies. What sustainable advantages does this innovation introduce?

4. PLANNING AND FOCUS

Define a criterion for success -- measurable objectives that clearly outline your research goals.

Design empirical experiments that qualify and quantify the research results.

5. PRECISION & CONTROL

Troubleshooting is vital to conducting research. Testing several hypotheses provides valuable insight into what works. Adjustments to the process can save valuable research time and materials.

6. OBJECTIVITY

Detachment and clear-sightedness go hand-in-hand with innovation. Mentally polarize the intention of creation and the act of creating. Is there a better technology that might take our research further?

Be open to the possibilities that might drastically alter, but improve, your original plans.

7. PERSEVERANCE

Cling to the indefatigable strength of purpose that drove you to become an engineer.

Seek answers where they are only questions, and accomplish what can't be done.

8. DIALOG

The dialectic between theory and application is vital to innovation. Applications that bridge the gap between observed phenomenon, like ferro-electric current, and high-performance technologies, like Fe-RAM, revolutionize the technological landscape.

But communication is not bound to white paper. Consulting an expert or perhaps a peer who specializes in another field of interest may just *spark* that light-bulb moment.

While the elements of innovation are stepping stones in the innovative process, innovation is incomplete without forethought.

As innovators, the reliability and accuracy of your research is vital to protecting your investment. IEEE, a professional society whose vision is to advance global prosperity by fostering technological innovation, enabling memebers' career, and promoting community worldwide.

Sometime Some Innovation isn't so Innovative

Poor Design.
Poor Features.
Poor Functionalities or the whole intention just doesn't work out.

The Top 10 Myths & Truths about Design in China

Myth 1:
All design jobs are going to China.
Truth:
Yes and no.
Depends on how you define "Design."

Myth 2:
China designers are giving away designs for nothing.
Truth:
Might you be aware of the vast differences in cost of living in China compared to the U.S.

Myth 3:
China is ONE homogenous market of 1.3 billion people.
Truth:
China can be viewed as 30 different markets, just as Europe can be viewed as several different markets.

Myth 4:
China's market is in Beijing & Shanghai.
Truth:
China has 9 economic zones designated by the government which determines the rise of economic development in cities of these regions.

Myth 5:
China's market can be tackled remotely.
Truth:
As a developing country, China's rate of growth is extremely rapid. 2 year's research and product development time for the market will become history in no time.

Myth 6:
Localization means Chinese translation.
Truth:
Products need to fit the needs of China users not only in terms of language but also their cultural thought model, usage behaviors and political context.

Myth 7:
China does not have its own brands.
Truth:
China has numerous successful internal brands that U.S. designers might have never even heard of. E.g. TCL, Midea, Haier, Lenovo.

Myth 8:
A great product will speak for itself in China.
Truth:
Famous people or celebrities work miracles for product sales in China.

Myth 9:
Time equals to money in China. Truth:
Perception of time is different in a country with the history of a planned economy.

Myth 10:
Business success in China is done via optimizing operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness and gaining market share.
Truth:
Business success in China predominantly comes from building successful relationships and trust.

Be Creative as A Kid

Kids are the great source of creativity - they will do anything, not necessarily for any reasons. They have not yet learned their inhibitions.

Creativity is natural, but not everyone is taught to be creative. Creativity then needs to be learned and supported. Without encouragement, creativity wanes.

One way to foster creativity is to teach yourself new skills- not to perfect the craft, but knowing the general idea of how things are done helps to think about new ways to do things.



Here is how Jeff Grant, the designer from Skyline, a toy design studio of IDEO, says about devloping an idea:

Get A Good Idea
The first thing you need is an idea. It doesn't even have to be a good idea, it just needs to be an idea. You should be able to get ideas from anything you do, not just when you sit down and decide to come up with and idea.

Brainstorm
Grab a bunch of people and start to brainstorm that idea. At Skyline, this is what everyone else is there for. One person gets an idea, and says to someone else "Let's brainstorm!". This is not necessarily formal. Everyone throws out ideas, with one person recording everything that is said. Someone, perhaps the person with the original idea, becomes the owner.

Prototype
The owner is the one who organizes the ideas that everyone had and begins the prototype process. Prototyping will include mock-ups, diagrams, etc. The complexity of the prototype depends on the complexity of the idea. Prototypes are evolved until the idea becomes well thought out. It is common to ask other people to help in the prototyping process when something needs to be done that you can't do yourself (i.e., designing a circuit).

User-test
Skyline does not necessarily user-test all of the toys before the idea is sold. When done, it is to settle uncertainty in the designers' minds that the toy will be likable and usable.

Repeat as needed
The brainstorming, prototyping and user-testing is done in as many iterations are needed to convince the designers that it is a good, or bad, idea.

Capture the Idea
All ideas are captured in an idea database. Even if an idea is deemed to be a 'bad' idea, it is documented in a database. Since public tastes vary, an idea that is not good at one point in time might be wonderful in the future. Perhaps a designer was not able to obtain affordable technology now, but will be able to in the future. And, of course, it may just need a pair of fresh eyes to help it along.

Sell the Idea
The last step in the design process at Skyline is to sell the idea. Most ideas need to be tailored to the company the idea is being sold to. One decision might be whether to tailor the toy to younger children (softer materials, rounded edges, more primary or lighter colors) or older children (more sharp edges and details, darker and more complex color schemes). Character licensing also matters-- something with a Sesame Street branding will have different styling than a toy with Hot Wheels branding.

Quite Innovative - a more Secure and Thief Proof online Transaction

Pay By Touch Debuts Internet Biometric ID
Pay By Touch introduces TrueMe, a secure, on-demand biometric authentication service on the Internet. TrueMe gives PC users a secure way to identify themselves, interact and transact on the Web using their fingerprints. By sliding a finger on a TrueMe-certified finger sensor, users can securely access their Web-based accounts with no need to remember IDs, passwords or account numbers. With a TrueMe-enabled system, users��� information is never exposed to the computer operating system or to the public Internet. In addition, multiple users can share the same computer by registering their individual fingers on the TrueMe sensor without compromising security. To date, more than three million U.S. customers have enrolled in Pay By Touch's biometric payment network through 2,400 retail locations across 44 states.

article extracted from http://www.risnews.com/CSS/pages/news101706.shtml#ntstory1


some interesting products: http://www.index-security.com/index.htm
http://www.alps.co.jp/e/news_release/2003/0225_01.htm

Compare and Contrast

Pushing the envelopes..Kick it up a notch.



"Research products and make them better"



"Innovation Vs. Art"
http://www.core77.com/reactor/08.06_amit.asp

This is what the result of pushing innovation to a radical new level.

Design Education in China - What is missing?

With more than 400 design programs in Chinese schools, Asian design education is undergoing its own revolution.

However, even as schools pop up, few have evolved from a classical focus on aesthetics and products to embrace design thinking and research of the nature that HK Polytechnic promotes. The best Asian schools provide students with first-rate technical skills, but their graduates leave without the ability to work across disciplines or to use design strategically. They're not about to do much business model innovation, for example. Much of this may be attributed to Asian education systems from primary school on, which still tend to stress repetition over independent thinking. Says Justice: "The U.S. has a quick advantage. We grow up asking questions. This carries over into our advanced education. They don't have that in China, and it will take them years to develop that mindset."

Interactive Table for D-Schools Global List:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/dschools/2006/

Mind Map Fosters Creativity

David Kelley, founder of IDEO and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, uses mind maps to foster creativity. Mind maps are a popular thinking tool in Silicon Valley.

Here's why: "When I want to do something analytical, I make a list. When I'm trying to come up with ideas or strategize, I make a mind map. Mind maps are organic and allow me to free associate. They are great for asking questions and revealing connections between seemingly unrelated ideas."

Here's how: "I start in the center with the issue or problem I am working on and then as I move farther away I get better and better ideas as I force myself to follow the branches on the map and in my mind. The cool thing is that you allow yourself to follow your inner thoughts, which is different than making a list where you are trying to be complete and deal with data."

How babies will like it?

These days, baby-bottle nipples are designed in dozens of shapes. However, none of them are as perfect as mother's real breasts.

Design Continuum is developing a customized nipple ��� custom-made based on a 3-D scan of the mother's breast. The bottle is oriented to allow a baby to better nuzzle against the mother's cradling arm, promising a position more similar to a natural breast-feeding pose than bottles currently available. The design firm does not yet have plans to bring the Imprint Custom Nipple to market, but isn't it fun to know how babies feel about it?

IPOD CRAZED..is it INNOVATION ?

DO you own an "IPOD" ...what would you do to an ipod? Have you seen the latest innovation with it? What would you do to improve it? What would you like to be additional features? Or is it all "over kills" for something that simply plays music?
Share your opinion and thoughts here.

I'm incorporating DivX 5.1 Hi-Def Videos Here

No video? Get the DivX Web Player for Windows or Mac

Design and Innovation: Seven Tools and Trends to Watch

Great products make use of great ideas and materials and companies are always on the lookout for for new ones. What tools are blue-chip brands and smaller start-ups alike using to accelerate the creative process? We gathered up a selection of accessible tools and hot trends ��� from software to Web sites to process���that savvy managers are tapping into for imaginative results.


TOOL: Materials Are Hot

Inventables, a product innovation consultancy, sends out DesignAid packets of materials to a client list that includes Motorola, Samsung, and General Motors. They contain the latest new materials, preselected and offered up as a springboard for "Eureka!" moments. (Material ConneXion)


TOOL: Social Network Mapping

Managers are mapping informal collaborative relationships to foster creativity. Accenture created a graphic web of social networks within clients' companies to analyze management. Siemens made a social network chart to show how its global software development team would work. Procter & Gamble joined a 53-member social network analysis consortium headed by University of Virginia professor Rob Cross, a prominent researcher on the topic.


TOOL: TRIZ

Although it's gaining steam as a trendy method for fostering structured innovation, TRIZ (a Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a 60-year-old strategy conceived by the late inventor and patent inspector Genrich Altshuller. Altshuller devised a matrix of 39 basic engineering problems and 40 possible solutions to solve them. Consultants say an updated, broader version can teach inventiveness. Avon, BMW, Electrolux, GM, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Pfizer, Samsung, and Toyota are all using TRIZ. But managers beware: This pet tool of engineers is wildly complex and best suited for solving technical dilemmas.


TREND: Simulations

Companies are turning to simulation technology to create digital models of systems, products, Web sites, and software before making physical prototypes, writing code, or marketing new products. Starwood is using the virtual world of Second Life to design a new hotel concept. Wachovia, Sprint, and Deloitte Consulting are using iRise simulation software to test user interfaces of customer Web sites before programmers write code. Cold Stone Creamery uses a simulation video game to train sales staff. And frog design created a Flash simulation of an oven control system for TurboChef's new residential oven before making it.

TREND:Rethinking the Workplace

In the age of telecommuting, creative companies are reinventing the office to entice employees to work together face-to-face. The Googleplex, Google's Mountain View (Calif.) HQ, features a series of solid, transparent "tents" made of acrylic that offer coveted personal space as well as a sense of, well, transparency. Legendary furniture designer Douglas Ball recently remade the standard office cubicle for Herman Miller. Called My Studio Environments, the system features translucent walls and doors to offer both privacy and openness. A Swedish company, Offecct, has the most radical solution to the generic cubicle: The Cloud, a self-inflating, 215-square-foot fabric bubble, targeted at corporate users seeking an alternative to conference rooms.

TOOL: Mapping Collaborative Work

History Flow, a data visualization project developed at IBM's Watson Research center, is a free-for-download tool that illustrates how collaborative authors work together and construct vast, fluid documents together on wikis. It has been used to track traffic and vandalism on Wikipedia, but its creators, Martin Watternberg and Fernanda Viegas, are now studying how different wiki designs might affect what types of ideas and texts are produced. Because History Flow is still a research experiment, expect bugs -- although users can e-mail their questions and comments and contribute to the further development of this work-in-progress.


TREND: Really Fast Rapid Prototyping


More than 20 years after rapid prototyping first became popular among engineers, the concept is being used in video-game production and consumer-product design. Both Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center and the Indie Game Jam, a popular video-game industry event, focus on making games as fast as possible to jump-start creativity. Consultancies such as IDEO and Smart Design create early versions of gadgets and devices in cardboard and foam to see quickly what form factors are most ergonomic. And frog design has a new center that fabricates rapid prototypes for their clients.

Eight Principles To Brilliant Brainstorming

1. Use Brainstorming To Combine And Extend Ideas, Not Just Harvest Them
Andrew Hargadon's How Breakthroughs Happen shows that creativity occurs when people find ways to build on existing ideas. The power of group brainstorming comes from creating a safe place where people with different ideas can share, blend, and expand their diverse knowledge. If your goal is just to collect the creative ideas that are out there, group brainstorms are a waste of time. You may as well stick to a Web-based system for collecting ideas. Even an old-fashioned employee suggestion box is good enough for this limited task.

2. Don't Bother If People Live In Fear
Groups bring out the best and the worst in people. If people believe they will be teased, paid less, demoted, fired, or otherwise humiliated, group brainstorming is a bad idea. If your company fires 10% of its employees every year, people might be too afraid of saying something dumb to brainstorm effectively.

3. Do Individual Brainstorming Before And After Group Sessions
Alex F. Osborn's 1950s classic, Applied Imagination, which popularized brainstorming, gave sound advice: Creativity comes from a blend of individual and collective ``ideation.'' This means building in time for people to think and learn about the topic before the group brainstorm, as well as time to reflect about what happened after the meetings.

4. Brainstorming Session Are Worthless Unless Ideas Lead To Action
Brainstorming is just one of many techniques that make a company creative. It is of little value if it's not combined with observing consumers, talking to experts, or building prototype products and experiences that provide an outlet for the ideas generated.

5. Brainstorming Requires Skill And Experience Both To Do - And Especially - To Facilitate
Not everyone can walk into a room and lead a productive brainstorming session. It is not a job for amateurs. Brainstorming is treated as a skill that takes months or years to master. Facilitating a session is a leadership skill that takes even longer to develop.

6. A Good Brainstorming Session Is Competitive - In The Right Way
In the best brainstorms, people compete to get everyone else to contribute, to make everyone feel like part of the group, and to treat everyone as collaborators toward a common goal. The worst thing a manager can do is set up the session as an ``I win, you lose'' game, in which ideas are explicitly rated, ranked, and rewarded. The resulting fear and dysfunction drastically reduced the number of ideas generated by what had once been a creative and cooperative group.

7. Brainstorming Sessions Can Be Used For More Than Just Generating Ideas
Brainstorms are places to listen, learn, and educate. Project teams use brainstorms to get input from people with diverse skills throughout the company. Knowledge is spread about new industries and technologies. Newcomers and veterans learn about who knows what. The explicit goal of a group brainstorm is to generate ideas. But the other benefits of routinely gathering rotating groups of people from around an organization to talk about ideas might ultimately be more important for supporting creative work.

8. Follow The Rules, Or Don't Call It A Brainstorm
This is true even if you hold only occasional brainstorms and even if your work doesn't require constant creativity. The worst brainstorms happen when the term is used loosely and the rules aren't followed at all. Perhaps the biggest mistake that leaders make is failing to keep their mouths shut.

This is "our" goal..we want to achieve a team of innovators.

We want to have solution for other companies or how we can innovate and improve lives and how we can contribute as much as we can. Our dream is to have a group of people with similiar minds and goals. It is an easy concept at start, but we want to alway improve and improvise new ideas. If those of you whom think you can participate and want to be part of our collective synergy, with the motivations and the dream (big dream) to think big. We would like to hear and share your ideas here. Comments and supports the growth and expansion of this "innovation concept". We all will prosper together. Eggy-Innovation want to reach out globally and have a strong network all over the world. We want all to contribute little or some of their time and possibly be headquartered or based everywhere around the globe.

Here is something to leave you with - - for a clearer picture of the idea behind a simple product or knowledge which we can improve everything that we use, eat, enjoy, play, work, etc.

Let us have FUN.. enjoy...and be successful in all that we do and innovate as a team. We have a chance to have a group of our own, to be recognize one day for an accmoplishment that fulfill our contribution to society and leave a mark in history.

How about this as a Logo in place of the "B"

This Logo is Clear..looks clean.

Instead of hostiing the images on another site like photobucket or flickr, we can upload a picture onto here as a blog post to able to extract the URL as it is hosted here. It's reverse engineering to get our image logo active. Once that is completed, we are able to delete (this blog post) and still be able to have the logo served.

Suck Your Ideas Out!

Too many ideas? Too much thoughts?
Weird? Not realizable? Crazy but funny?

No problem. Here is a stage to share our ideas and get a lot of fun from it!