As always, thoughts and/or comments are greatly appreciated.

This issue:

• Birdmen and the Casual Fallacy [Malstrom's Articles]
  It’s always wise to have a clear understanding of the market you are really in. Wang was a good example of this, repositioning from mini computers to office automation with some success. Nintendo might have taken this method to an entirely new level, using an innovative blue water strategy and a superior understanding of the dynamics of their chosen market to put their competitors in a potentially impossible position.
• Kelly’s 14 Rules [Lockheed Martin]
  Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works is a good example of supporting a disruptive, innovative organisation within a larger, and much more conventional, business. Here are the fourteen rules the Skunk Works lives by.
• At G.M., innovation often suffers for profits [New York Times]
  G.M. has no shortage of innovative ideas to persue. Why then, does G.M. have such a hard time getting innovative products out the door?
• Forget how the Crow Flies [Spirit in Business]
  John Kay one one of the first to put forward the idea of Obliquity as a business strategy. Obliquity is not a new idea; the concept that sometimes the best route to success is an indirect one. Apple is a great example of this, with their proclaimed desire to simply make products that they, themselves, would love, often resulting in category defining products. Obliquity is an idea worth reminding ourselves of.

As always, thoughts and/or comments are greatly appreciated.

This issue:

• What Apple learned from Kodak [BusinessWeek]
  Sometimes repeating what was done in the past is the best path to innovation.
• Miyamoto unplugged [Edge Online]
  Back before the Wii was released no one took them seriously, but Nintendo’s focus on simply making fun games has paid off and they see no need to change strategy now.
• The role of business in society [John Kay]
  Sometimes the best approach to success is to approach it indirectly. Apple focused on making products they themselves would love to use, while Nintendo wants to make fun games everyone can enjoy. Obliquity might be the best approach to innovation: try and be the best you can, rather than trying to be the most innovative.
• In which innovation leads to injury [Wondermark]
  Not all ideas work out the way we expect.