Charles Buchwald & Friends » innovation

World’s Largest Top Ten List

Charles — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:55:14 +0000

Here is an interesting bit of shameless self-promotion collected while reviewing the archives… each of these companies laid claim to “world’s largest” as a former client:

world’s largest bicycle tool manufacturer: Park Tool USA
world’s largest law book publisher: West Publishing (now part of Thompson Reuters)
world’s largest premium car manufacturer: BMW
(one of the) world’s largest food producers: Pillsbury
world’s largest manufacturer of helicopter firefighting equipment: SEI Industries
world’s largest repository of Minnesota materials: Minnesota Historical Society
(one of the) world’s largest manufacturer of backpacks: Gregory Mountain Products
world’s largest commercial weather services provider: Kavouras, Inc. (since merged with Telvent)
world’s largest printer of checks: Deluxe Corporation
world’s largest on-demand publishing company: Trafford Publishing

Greenway Partners

Charles — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:18:29 +0000

Sometimes Facebook can actually be useful and productive. A case in point: I recently reconnected with a friend from Northfield High School. David Narum is a partner with Greenway Partners in Arcata, California, promoting and using regenerative design to go “beyond sustainability”. It’s great to find like-minded people working to reconnect people and the planet.

From their site:

GreenWay Partners provides a range of design, planning, research and engineering services to improve our clients’ economic, environmental and social performance. Our mission is to play a leading role in the development and implementation of the policies and practices that effectively regenerate both human and natural systems.

We work with governments, tribes, schools and universities, private firms, and other organizations using a design perspective and innovative methods to develop solutions that respond to the unique context and specific needs of each of our clients.

See more about their successful “Plan It Green” conference, too. And if you are working to make the world a better place, please connect with me on Facebook or here on the web.

Dead Simple Site Building Tools

Charles — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:13:02 +0000

We are firm believers in open source CMSs (Content Management Systems). They make it easy to manage a web site… so easy that you don’t have to rely on us to edit and expand your content. It’s great for us, because it avoids those call like, “I’ve noticed an errant semicolon on page 2, paragraph 2, sentence 3. Could you change that ASAP?” Workflow like this is not efficient for anyone. And it empowers you to build more valuable content into your site, which is great for SEO, attracting new visitors, and retaining visitors.

Sometimes, though, even a simple, powerful tool like our hosted WordPress is too much. In that case, there are a few web building tools out there that are even simpler. The Codeless Website lists them and provides thumbnail reviews. (Be sure to check the comments on the article for a few they missed.)

Why would I tell you about sites that you can build and run entirely on your own? Our goal is not to sell you services, it’s to help you succeed. We measure our success by how your endeavor is measuring up to your yardstick. Greener processes? Happier clients… and employees? Higher profit margins? Often a well designed, green marketing program can work wonders. Sometimes it’s a sophisticated, interactive website. We’ll help you figure it out. And if the answer involves a site that doesn’t involve us, then “more power to you”!

Abundance vs. Scarcity Thinking in Tech

Charles — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:46:12 +0000

Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine’s Editor in Chief, has written a thought-provoking article for the latest edition of said magazine. Tech Is Too Cheap to Meter: It’s Time to Manage for Abundance, Not Scarcity presents views from his latest book about how the falling prices for information technology have the potential to change our thinking and feeling.

The central premise is that most of our business and organization thinking is based on promoting scarce materials, products and ideas. But falling tech prices present a different paradigm, where it’s our thinking and creativity that are the main limitations. This chart was very helpful:

Note that the audio version of the book is currently available for download within the body of the article.

What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Update: Cannondale’s Folder Keeps Getting Closer

Charles — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:22:09 +0000

I wrote about this beautiful folding bike a while back. Then, reading through the latest issue of Outside Magazine, I saw it again… with a claim that it’s headed for bike shops next year. Checking in, I see than C’dale says it’s getting closer to production. And what an amazing amount of press this design has had! It really says something about the value of design and innovation as a marketing tool.

For more, check out Cannondale’s ON sketchbook.

Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests

Charles — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:40:31 +0000

Mere words cannot describe the magic beauty of these kinetic sculptures. Dutch artist and inventor Theo Jansen has brought sticks and string and pipes to life as these creatures that walk along the sand of the beach, powered by the wind. The simple leg mechanism is fascinating, not just for it’s uncanny motion, but as a potential “reinvention” of the wheel.

Please watch the video on YouTube and be amazed!

See Theo Jansen’s website or the Wikipedia entry on him for more.