Business Innovation Tool Kit - eBook, Insights, Annual Report

Business Innovation Resource Kit used by 500+ innovative companies worldwide - Best Seller (deployed at Nokia, EDS, Pepsi, HP, 500 more...)

Business Innovation Resource Kit includes eBook, Guide, Presentation, Annual Report and Insights on Creativity & Innovation in Business.

Innovation eBook and Definitive Guide is a 212-page collection of over 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Frito Lay, IBM, Nike, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Dell, Tata, Intel and more. With pertinent articles from this award-winning Creativity And Innovation Driving Business Blog, this Faculty eBook provides real-world examples on how the Top Innovators innovate and grow their business successfully time and again, especially during economic cycles. Creativity And Innovation in Business is a definitive guide and resource that will help you unblock creativity, uncover and create game-changing innovations, and make exponential business growth a reality.

"I teach Applied Creativity and Innovation for a College near Toronto, Canada. I gave my business students an assignment to work with one of the top 10 innovative companies and to research/report on what makes them innovative, type of innovative challenges, benefits, etc. Your report from the eBook and definitive guide was the primary document that they used for their work." - Business School Professor

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"1) Innovation and growth is not (just) a fuzzy process of screwing around vigorously (SAV) but can be a systematic process,

2) Innovation and growth is not (just) something that happens in a department like R & D or product development,

3) Innovation and growth is not just about products or solutions - it is about creating a transformational change in the way people live, work and play." - Chapter 26, Erich Joachimsthaler, author of "Hidden in Plain Sight"

Who should buy?

The Innovation eBook and Definitive Guide has been downloaded and used by over 1,000 professionals, faculty and innovators at educational institutions and businesses all around the world including EDS, Ericsson, Center for Sales Strategy, IdeaChampions, Acara Global, Byrne Dairy, Cleveland Clinic, Magpie, DOJ/FBI, HP, Hewlett Packard, Intervista Institute, Fryett Consulting Group, Satellite Shelters, ProductVentures, Speakeasy - a Best Buy company, Jarden Consumer Solutions, Hallmark, Infinium, DeakinPrime - Deakin University, Lucas-TVS, McCann Worldgroup, S.P.Jain Center of Management, Suffolk University, RiCoMan, AmpControl, Craig Rispin, Momentive, Champion Laboratories, University of Phoenix, University of Washington, SFR - Neufbox, Attwood as Edison, Academy of Sport, Ideogenesis, Principled Innovation, Meridian Partners, Ananzi, Tangibility, Syngenta Global, Speedy, The Business Lab, Deloitte, Lane Management, University of California at Irvine, Wharton Business School, Babson University, Larsen & Toubro, Nokia, Credera, Pfizer, Bilkent University, Indian Institute of Science, Bacardi, Chick-fil-A, LG Electronics, Pepsi and many more.

If you are a marketing executive, information executive, IT executive, product manager, marketer, product marketer, business consultant, product designer, brand manager, marketing manager, VP of products, VP of marketing, VP of technology, research & development director, product director, product marketing manager, marketing consultant, brand consultant, innovation consultant, chief innovation officer, engineer, engineering student, business school student, business school professor, technology student, technology consultant, design engineer, consultant, trainer, professor, sales operations manager, sales director, sales consultant or management consultant - this book and definitive guide is for you! If you are one of the key executives of the company or the CEO, buy this guide for your company!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - The Top 50 Innovative Companies In The World
Chapter 2 - The Innovation Index - Top 20 Innovators
Chapter 3 - Measuring Business Innovation Success - Key Benchmarks
Chapter 4 - Failures And Stumbles Driving Innovation - Five Takeaways
Chapter 5 - Blocking Creativity And Innovation - Nine Processes
Chapter 6 - Six Ways To Find Innovation - "See with new eyes"
Chapter 7 - Five Principles For Successful Business Innovation
Chapter 8 - Is Innovation Cyclical? - Four Common Blunders
Chapter 9 - Can Leadership Create Innovation? - Ten Leadership Ideas
Chapter 10 - Top Ten Creative Leadership Traits - Be The Leader and Innovator
Chapter 11 - Creating Team Innovation - Seven Characteristics
Chapter 12 - Creating Team Innovation - Effective Teams Examples
Chapter 13 - Creating Team Innovation - Ten Principles To Unleash Innovation
Chapter 14 - The Future Of Management, Creativity And Innovation - Upend Business Models
Chapter 15 - How Much Creativity Is Enough?
Chapter 16 - Co-Creation Driving Innovation At Top Innovators
Chapter 17 - Marketing Innovation Creating Market Leadership
Chapter 18 - Consumer Innovation Best Practices - Six Steps To Lead Innovation
Chapter 19 - The Innovation Gap - Disruptive Innovation versus Sustaining Innovation
Chapter 20 - Are Children More Creative Than Adults?
Chapter 21 - Questions Lead To Creativity, Answers Lead To Innovation
Chapter 22 - Expanding Your Business Innovation Capacity
Chapter 23 - Innovation Insights And Wisdom From Greatest Innovators
Chapter 24 - Turn Complaints Into Solutions, Innovations And Success
Chapter 25 - Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die
Chapter 26 - Ten Answers For Driving Innovation And Growth At World Class Innovators
Chapter 27 - Strategic Innovation At Deloitte - The "Apple" Of Services Innovation
Chapter 28 - Toyota's Innovation Factory
Chapter 29 - Ipod - Apple's Best Innovation
Chapter 30 - Apple Iphone Rising - Top Ten Innovations
Chapter 31 - Google Versus Yahoo - A Tale Of Two Cities
Chapter 32 - Youtube - $1.65 Billion Innovation And Counting
Chapter 33 - Blockbuster Versus Netflix - Winner Takes All?
Chapter 34 - GE And P&G - Innovations Driving Growth & Six Growth Principles
Chapter 35 - Can Dell Turnaround Dell? Seven Thoughts For Turnaround
Chapter 36 - Innovations Brewing At Starbucks ? Five Takeaways
Chapter 37 - Southwest Airlines Flying High With Ten Innovations
Chapter 38 - Innovations At Microsoft - Four Business Pillars
Chapter 39 - Direct Marketing And Direct Mail Innovation At USPS
Chapter 40 - Disruptor Zune Versus Innovator Ipod
Chapter 41 - 100% Electric Ultra Fast Innovation - Tesla
Chapter 42 - Nike Versus Adidas - The Innovation Game Is On
Chapter 43 - People Innovation - We Think Culture Of Innovation
Chapter 44 - Intel - Exponential Innovations
Chapter 45 - Five Innovations In Software Industry - Intuit Case Study
Chapter 46 - Google Versus Microsoft - The Enterprise Battle Heats Up!
Chapter 47 - Launch Of Tata Nano - A Watershed Moment in Indian Autos
Chapter 48 - How Can GM Turnaround The Business? Is Innovation The Answer
Chapter 49 - Doubleclick A Smart Buy For Google
Chapter 50 - Microsoft Walk-Off Home Run With Aquantive
Chapter 51 - IBM's $5 Billion Cognos Acquisition
Chapter 52 - Top Acquisitions By The Top Innovators
Chapter 53 - Will Yahoo merge with Microsoft?
Chapter 54 - Innovation And Stock Performance Correlation
Chapter 55 - The Innovation Index Annual Report
Chapter 56 - $1 Billion Or The Future

Eight new chapters added, including a detailed report on "Measuring Business Innovation Success"

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Innovation eBook details invaluable tools to unlock:
Creativity -> Ideas -> Innovations -> Success -> Profits

The Innovation Bootcamp On Demand Resource Kit Tools:

The entire Innovation Bootcamp On-Demand tools for your business to unleash the creativity and innovation within your own environment! You can selectively leverage the key concepts of the Innovation Bootcamp at your own pace, at your office or at your home, and share them with your team. The Innovation Bootcamp On-Demand Resource Kit includes:

• The complete Innovation Bootcamp presentation and handouts containing over 400 presentation slides to spark new ideas, channel team creativity and create innovation factory.


• 100+ pertinent strategies and tools, hands-on techniques and uncommon insights to unleash creativity and innovation at your business


• The Innovation Bootcamp Resource Kit consists presentation slides of Six Engaging Online Workshop Sessions:


• 1. Benchmarking and Leading with Innovation
• The Business Case for Innovation


• 2. Unblocking Creativity and Innovation
• The Essential Processes and Skills


• 3. Unleashing Team Innovation
• Great Teams Deliver Great Innovations


• 4. and 5. Business Innovation Case Studies
• Learn how Top Innovators Lead with Innovation (Google, Netflix, Apple, Toyota, more)


• 6. Building an Innovation Factory
• Create a sustainable, scalable Innovation Business Model


• "The Innovation Bootcamp provided an excellent orientation on the topic of innovation and I learned several new techniques for generating and successfully implementing new ideas. Plentiful real world case studies was another aspect I liked about the program. I highly recommend it." - IT Manager, Top 5 IT Services Business

There's more:

Special Offer: Buy eBook today and get the Annual Innovation Report from Creativity And Innovation Driving Business delivered FREE! (a $99 value)

About the Author

Sanjay Dalal is an innovator and entrepreneur with over fifteen years of leadership experience in Silicon Valley and High Tech companies. Dalal is the founder of India Business Network. Dalal authored and launched the Innovation Faculty eBook and Definitive Guide on Creativity and Innovation in business in 2008, used by over 500 leading organizations and professionals all over the world including HP, Hallmark, Cleveland Clinic, Pepsi, EDS, and major universities. Dalal published over 200 articles in the last two years on the real-time state of innovation in business at this blog on Creativity and Innovation Driving Business, and introduced the Innovation Index in December 2006 that correlates business, innovation and stock performance. Dalal was the president and managing director of the innovative investment company, Innovation Index Group, that systematically invested into the Top 20 Innovators of the Innovation Index. Dalal filed joint U.S. Patent on "Hands-On Labs" for delivering live, hands-on training over Web Meetings by simulating a training lab environment. Dalal has launched innovative products such as WebEx Training Center and WebEx Sales Center to market, and grown product line revenue to tens of million dollars in annual revenue. Dalal holds executive certification on Leading Management Teams from Cornell University, and is an engineering scholar graduate in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Dalal attended Arizona State University for graduate education in Computer Science. Dalal secured the first position in the 50th William Lowell Putnam Math Competition. Dalal volunteered as a basketball coach on three separate occassions for Fremont NJB, Irvine NJB, and Rancho Middle School 7th graders, as an art master for 2nd graders, and as the secretary of the School Site Council. Dalal was a member of the Technology Advisory Committee for the Fremont School District containing over 40,000 students, an appointed position by the Board of Education. Dalal is a Web 2.0 adviser for Cal State Fullerton, Extended Education and a lecturer on "Making the business case for Web 2.0". Dalal, an appointed member of the Dean's Leadership Circle of The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, is a guest lecturer at the University of California, Irvine for the Strategic Innovation class. Dalal is an active Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Newport-Irvine.

Innovation eBook is brought to you by Creativity And Innovation Driving Business based in Irvine, CA.

Address: 8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 900, Irvine, CA 92618
Main Phone #: 1-949-288-6880

Creativity And Innovation Case Studies

Creativity And Innovation Case Studies

• Can GM Turnaround? Is Innovation the answer?
• General Motors - GM - was ranked a top 20 innovative company in the world according to the BCG - Business Week 2008 survey. In early 2008, everyone was bullish about GM's future. However, in just over a year since this review was published, the big question on everyone's mind today is: "Can GM survive?" If you answer this question with YEA, then you ask the next question: "How can GM turnaround? Is Innovation the answer?"
• 2008 Innovation and Innovator of the year
• The 2008 Innovation of the year: http://www.barackobama.com/, My.BarackObama.com
• The 2008 Innovator of the year: President-elect Barack Obama and his campaign team
• Apple iPhone Goes Global - iPhone 3G
• The biggest surprise in the Apple announcement: iPhone 3G is available at half the price of the original iPhone at only $199 for the 8GB model in the U.S., and $299 for the 16GB model. And the new iPhone 3G packs twice the punch - it is twice as fast. Apple iPhone 3G will be rolled out in 70 countries globally.
• How can Apple turnaround the iPod sales growth?
• On the one hand, Apple is poised to have a great year of iPhone sales - Apple Innovation blog and Innovation Index Group, Inc. estimate that Apple will sell more than 12 million iPhones in 2008. Most of the industry analysts estimate Apple to sell more than 8 million iPhones in 2008. But will the growth of iPhone business cannibalize the growth of iPod business?
• Google innovates with Google Apps
• Google Apps Team Edition can become a useful alternative to Microsoft Office for small businesses, students, schools, small teams, non-profits and as such individuals looking to create and share basic documents, spreadsheets and presentations. It does not carry the price tag of Microsoft Office, and provides basic collaboration leveraging Docs, Calendar and Talk.
• Will Yahoo ride into the sunset?
• This is one acquisition where Google is not going to try to outbid Microsoft. There will be intense negotiations between Yahoo and Microsoft on the future of Yahoo Search, key Yahoo properties such as email and Finance, and Yahoo employees. However, in the end, this would be too sweet a deal for the Yahoo board to reject - or would they? Will Yahoo ride into the sunset?
• Apple Inc. Kicks Off 2008 with bold innovations
• Can Apple top 2007? One thing is certain with Apple and Steve Jobs: It does not idle. It does not rest. It does not quit. Apple kicked off 2008 with planned new innovations that espouse unbridled creativity.The most significant announcement from Apple came in the heavily crowded laptop segment: MacBook Air
• Strategic Innovation at Deloitte
• "Strategic Innovation at Deloitte". Key points on what drives innovation at Deloitte, and how innovation drives business. Deloitte is a worldwide organization consisting of some 147,000 employees (talent), with offices in more than 140 countries, aggregate revenues of $23.1 billion in fiscal year 2007, and serving more than 80% of the 2007 Fortune Global 500.
• Apple Creativity Innovation Case Studies
• All major case studies on Apple's creativity in business, business innovation, new products, new launches, business growth, Steve Jobs and more...
• Apple introduces new iPhone and iPod touch
• Apple Inc. today added new models of the iPhone(TM) and iPod(R) touch which have "double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go."
• Apple - iPod - Best Innovation
• iPod, powered by Apple, introduced in 2001 and masterminded by Steve Jobs, combines outstanding design, easy-to-use interface, superb performance, and an experience like no other. Apple assumed the world’s number one innovative company position and held it again in 2006 in large part due to the exponential growth of iPod – aptly called the iPod phenomenon.
• Apple iPhone Rising - Top Ten innovations
• Make calls by "simply pointing at a name or number." Visual Voicemail is definitely an industry first, a new innovation, that "lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages." And eight more noteworthy innovations.
• The Apple Google Juggernaut - besting Microsoft?
• If Apple and Google merge, the combined company will amass estimated revenue of $66.1 billion in 2009, thereby eclipsing Microsoft, whose estimated annual revenue in 2009 will be $62.4 billion. It will be a merger unlike any other in the history of mergers, and will create a powerhouse that might just topple the mighty Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) from the throne.
• What drives Apple's innovation?
• Apple’s innovation and growth is first and foremost driven by inner conviction about the outer world – a conviction that is manifested by Steve Jobs and largely led by him and people around him. This conviction is about changing how consumers live around music or entertainment. It is not merely a product focus, although it might appear this way.
• Google versus Yahoo - A tale of two cities
• When one examines the growing gap between Yahoo and Google in terms of quarterly revenue, quarter over quarter revenue growth, quarterly net income, quarterly net profit margin, yearly innovations and stock performance gains, the picture becomes increasingly clear. Google is unstoppable at this juncture!
• Google's New Search: Step in the right direction
• Google's new search technology is an early effort towards making searching for information better. Google has the right vision of integrating the search across various dimensions of Web, Images, Video, Products, etc. and providing comprehensive results. However, implementing this algorithm for new search, producing the results in parallel, and showing the results in a visually appealing and contextually easy-to-understand manner is going to be key.
• Is DoubleClick a Smart Buy for Google?
• DoubleClick's innovative technology and ad platform provides Google an ability to provide display ads from agencies and advertisers. DoubleClick provides a ready-made platform, advertisers and agencies, publishers and relationships that have taken over ten years to build.
• Can Yahoo! catch Google?
• Before Google became Google, Yahoo! owned the search business. However, since Google search came onto its own, Yahoo! search was forgotten and relegated to the number two position. No one even considered the possibility that someday Yahoo! search can generate the type of revenue that Google generates, and possibly take on Google on the core search business that it owns a majority market share by a long shot.
• Google versus Microsoft - Enterprise Battle
• With the introduction of Google Apps Premier Edition, Google has the opportunity to create new market share, and grab market share from Microsoft Office and Email applications. Google Apps Standard and Education Edition has 100,000 business customers today; at an average of 10 users per customer, this translates to 1 million end users potentially using Google Apps today.
• Google - YouTube Innovations
• YouTube will remain an independent business retaining its distinct brand identity. What is not clear is what Google will do to its own Video service. What Google will provide though is the monetization for YouTube's Video services through its advertiser relationships and global reach. If 1% of the 70 million Videos that are served daily click on a Google served advertisement, this would result in 700,000 daily click-through or 255 million click-through in a year (without accounting for any new growth).
• Microsoft Innovating or Buying Search Market
• Is Microsoft innovating by creating a new business model for Search or are the recent announcements a new attempt to catch up with Google and Yahoo! in the Search market share? Pay users to Search using Microsoft Live Search.
• Microsoft Walk-off Home Run with AQuantive
• Microsoft waited until the ninth inning and two outs to deliver the walk-off game-winning home run with AQuantive Acquisition. The home run hit was worth $6 billion!! And for AQuantive investors, a mouthwatering $66.50 a pop - all cash (no credit).
• Microsoft - The Innovator
• Ballmer talks about the four core pillars that make Microsoft's People Ready business fulfill today's business needs. Is Microsoft launching a new wave of innovation with Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 and some 30 new products? Or are these merely nice-to-have product enhancements that users were asking for, and were just delayed for the past few years?
• Cisco betting BIG with WebEx purchase
• Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced the acquisition of WebEx Communications, Inc., the leader in web conferencing, for $3.2 billion - or 7 times WebEx projected revenue of $457 million in 2007. Cisco is betting big with this acquisition on the potential upside in web and video conferencing revenue in the unified communications market space.
• Blockbuster versus Netflix - Winner is...
• Who will be crowned the winner of movie rentals? Would it be Blockbuster whose stock price has appreciated more than 80% in 2006, and importantly, has finally figured out the appropriate formula: Blockbuster Total Access. Or would it be Netflix, who has found time and again to improve upon its business model, and has shown ability to innovate with the recently announced online movie downloads?
• 3M - The Innovation Machine
• 3M this year has launched many new innovations in the marketplace thereby solidifying its position as a top innovator of technology governed by systematic processes and excellent manufacturing. A few examples of the new innovations at 3M that are both practical and ingenious, solving the innate customer need and creating new markets and growth.
• Intel - The Innovator
• Intel announced game changing, record-setting innovation in transistor technology last week comprising of two new materials used in making transistors: high-k and Metal gates. How big is this innovation? This 45nm technology represents the biggest technological change and creativity in 40 years, extends Moore's Law into the next decade, and increases Intel's lead by more than a year over the rest of the semiconductor industry with working 45nm processors codenamed "Penryn".
• How can Dell turnaround Dell?
• Dell has seen its market cap go down by about 20% in the last thirteen months, in large part due to average quarterly and annual top-line revenue growth, reduced profits, and losing the number one position as the world’s top supplier of new computers to Hewlett-Packard. Michael Dell, the founder, founding CEO and chairman of Dell Inc., took over the CEO roll of Dell again. Dell made Dell the number one computer company in the world. Now, Dell has perhaps the toughest act of his career: Turnaround Dell, beat HP, and make Dell the number one computer company in the world – again!
• Southwest Airlines - Flying High
• Southwest provides the best overall value in low cost airline travel. Southwest may not offer all the frills, but does offer clean all leather seats with reasonable leg room, along with basic compliments including pillows, blankets, snacks, juice, soda, and water on all flights. The best available feature is no charge for changes on full-fare reservations. What are the top ten key innovations that make Southwest Airlines soar higher, drive new growth, and perform better than the competition?
• Starbucks - Brewing Innovations
• Starbucks has become a pervasive coffee brand throughout the world, and the company is cleverly exploiting the Starbucks brand to launch new innovations in complementary and adjacent industries accounting for the solid revenue growth. Starbucks wants you to become that frequent customer who spends upwards of $10 each day on a combination of their handcrafted coffee beverages, sandwiches, cookies and music. Starbucks monthly allowance anyone?
• GE - Innovations Driving Growth
• GE has a daunting revenue challenge each year: create $15 billion or higher in new business each year or about the size of Nike's total revenue. The strategy at GE emphasizes sound business processes driving creativity and innovation, and is rooted on the following three pillars.
• P&G - Innovations Driving Growth
• P&G needs to carve out $7 billion in new business each year, comparable to IAC Interactive's total revenue. Large numbers indeed. The strategy at P&G is buoyed by the following three pillars driving new innovations.
• Adidas versus Nike - Innovation Game
• "We built our brand around the athlete and his or her personality, creativity and innovation. I think that's what gives the Nike brand the edge it has today," - Nike. Adidas is about to launch a new innovative campaign in the NBA praising the Team Spirit in sports.
• Toyota - The Innovation Factory
• How does an organization implement one million new creative ideas each year? And become a perennial top ten profitable companies of the world. And achieve market leadership while relentlessly pursuing perfection and delivering some of the best new innovations the world has ever seen.
• Wal-Mart - The Green Innovation
• Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott says "he wants to turn the world's largest retailer into the greenest." What is the Green Innovation? Green Innovation is any innovation that seeks to make our environment safer. Green Innovation is a win-win for the business, the environment and the community.
• Intuit - Software Innovations
• Intuit is the world's largest maker of financial management and tax software. Intuit is best known for the household software brands Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax created for small businesses, consumers and accountants. Here are the top five Innovations that Intuit created to achieve software market leadership.
• U.S.P.S. - Direct Marketing Innovation
• According to Direct Marketing Association -- DMA, direct marketing generates incremental sales of more than $1.93 trillion in the U.S, or 10.3% of the U.S. GDP. Direct Marketing delivers more than double the ROI of other marketing efforts -- each Direct Marketing dollar spent generates an ROI of $11.65 compared to an ROI of $5.29 for other marketing programs.
• Tesla - 100% Electric Innovation
• A 100% Electric car. An ultra fast car that goes 0 to 60 miles in 4 seconds flat, with a top speed over 130 mph. A car that provides 100% torque all the time - great performance and acceleration anytime from stop to start to go. A car that is six times as efficient as the best sports cars while producing one-tenth of the pollution.
• Red Hot Growth in Indian Business
• The current annual Indian GDP growth is 9% and is showing no signs of slowdown; Indian business has unprecedented access to capital, Indian innovation and entrepreneurship is booming, Indian business is riding a wave of "incredible confidence", over 100 Indian corporations have market capitalization of over $1 billion, Indian IT exports are poised to grow 30% to 35% yearly, major multi-nationals have made multi-billion dollar investments in India, Indian manufacturing, retail, real estate and exports are becoming bell-weathers -making the current state and growth of economy and business in India "absolutely red hot."
• India Software Services Innovations
• Amazon.com, Cisco, Dell, eBay, GE, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Target Corporation and Yahoo are 12 of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index who have setup their software operations or development centers in India. Each innovator is addressing its growing needs for cutting-edge software for the global customer base by creating offshore Software Operations in India.
• The Growing Global Indian Innovation
• Indian Americans are the top entrepreneurs among immigrant groups in the United States, and in setting up the largest number of engineering and technology companies over the past decade. Indian Americans account for 26 per cent of tech firms founded by immigrants as a whole.
• Innovation Lessons from eBay CEO
• eBay CEO and President Meg Whitman not only provided a historical overview of eBay and provided insights on how eBay is positioning adroitly for the future, but also shared real world lessons on Business, Innovation, Leadership and more. What are the Five things People do online? Five Principles that drive Innovation at eBay.
• Red Auerbach - Master NBA Innovator
• "Auerbach was an innovator in almost everything he did," said Jerry West, who played for the rival Los Angeles Lakers and now runs the Memphis Grizzlies. "He not only brought the black athlete to Boston; more importantly, he recognized the greatness of the athletes that he had.” The world knows Red Auerbach as the “greatest coach that ever lived.”
• President Clinton - Creative Philanthropy
• What do former president Bill Clinton, world’s richest billionaire Bill Gates, world’s second richest billionaire Warren Buffett, hedge fund maestro Paul Tudor Jones and the maverick Marc Benioff have in common? These leaders are the new innovators uprooting the old business of philanthropy by creating entirely new business models, leveraging influence, forming strategic partnerships and collaborations, creating ventures and integrated approach, engaging pro-actively with the receiving organizations and setting specific performance targets for the foundations and recipients.
• Senator Obama - Bold Innovations
• "If we act boldly, then our economy will be less vulnerable to economic disruption, our trade balance will improve, the pace of U.S. technological innovation will accelerate, and the American worker will be in a stronger position to adapt to the global economy," states Barack Obama, the Democratic U.S. Senator of Illinois, in his book "The Audacity of Hope". Senator Obama lays out a vision for reclaiming the American Dream aided by a government built on our best traditions, representing our everyday lives, uniting our common hopes and dreams, and creating an unbreakable bond.
• Senator Clinton - 9-point Innovation Agenda
• Senator Hillary Clinton unveiled a 9-point Innovation Agenda "to renew the nation’s commitment to research; help create the premier science, engineering, technology and mathematics workforce; and upgrade our innovation infrastructure". Senator Clinton emphasized that America is still an "innovation superpower," yet, Senator Clinton points out the real Challenges facing Americans today.

Download my Creativity and Innovation eBook. 212-page collection of over 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Creativity and Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Frito Lay, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Southwest, Nike, IBM, Dell and more. "Your report from the eBook and definitive guide was the primary reference that we used." Used by over 500 leading organizations including HP, Pepsi, EDS, Nokia...Learn more
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Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world

Innovation Index Reports

Introducing The Innovation Index
Annual Report 2007 - The Innovation Index gains 66%
Measuring Business Innovation Success
Innovation Index Group BUY Recommendations
Q1 2008 Report - Innovation Index ahead of S&P 500
Q2 2008 Report - Top Innovators Deliver
The Innovation Index Fund FAQ
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation
Future earnings guidance, A leading indicator
Smart Investing In Tough Economic Times
To Sell Or Not To Sell - You Decide
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies

About the Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007 based on performance model, and would have returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006) based on historical model*. This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S&P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NASDAQ: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

Creativity And Innovation Best Practices

Creativity And Innovation Best Practices

• Creating Team Innovation - Ten Principles
• Ten Principles for creating highest performing teams that produce continuous Team Innovation
• Creating Team Innovation - Seven Traits
• Seven Characteristics of a high performance team that lead to steady and substantial Team Innovation
• Creating Team Innovation - Effective Teams
• Examples of effective teams in an organization, what made them effective, what could have been done better
• Five Principles for Successful Innovation
• Five Principles for creating successful business innovations that drive growth
• Six Ways to Find Innovation
• How do you find innovation? Can you find innovation blind-folded or using the same lens? Six Ways to find innovation
• Unblocking Creativity and Innovation
• Nine Processes to create at your organization to unblock creativity and drive innovation
• Top Ten Creative Leadership Traits
• Top Ten characteristics and traits of Creative Leaders. Are you a creative leader?
• How much Creativity is enough?
• How much creativity is enough? Is there an optimal level of creativity for a person to have?
• Leadership Driving Innovation
• How are innovation and leadership linked? How do leaders lead in a way that generate Innovation? Top Ten leadership ideas to drive innovation
• Is Innovation Cyclical?
• Avoiding the innovation cycle, and Four Common innovation blunders
• Failures Driving Innovation
• How can failure drive innovation? Five Takeaways stimulation innovation
• Co-Creation Driving Innovation
• Online engagement with customers creating new innovative solutions
• Marketing Innovation and Leadership
• Marketing Innovation in Growth market, Emerging market, Existing market, Replacement market and Untapped market
• The Disruptive Innovation Gap
• Innovation driven by creativity and excellence in products, operations, and distribution
• Future of Management, Creativity & Innovation
• Upend established business models and deliver new products and services
• Ten Answers for driving Innovation and Growth
• Bring to market winning innovations consistently, achieve profitable new growth, and reinvent your business for the future
• Consumer Innovation Best Practices
• Detailed process for continuous consumer-driven innovation and Six steps to lead, innovate and grow
• Innovation Insights From Greatest Innovators
• Timeless wisdom and insights from top innovators in the world. What do you see?
• Measuring Business Innovation Success
• How do you benchmark your new innovation, and call it a success? Explore this white paper.
• Why Some Ideas Survive, Others Die
• What makes an idea successful? What makes it fail? Six steps towards hitting that home run.
• Expanding Business Innovation Capacity
• What is your organization's capacity for creating new innovations, and how do you expand this?
• Turn Complaints into Innovations
• What are your biggest complaints? Are your employees happy? How do you create an innovative culture?
• Apple Creativity Innovation Best Practices and Case Studies
• Latest best practices, insights and case studies at Apple Inc. including iPhone, iPod, Mac, applications and more
  

Creativity And Innovation in Business Definitive Guide is a 212-page collection of my handpicked 56 Creativity and Innovation best practices, case studies, articles, interviews, and insights on the current state of innovation in business. The eBook provides real-world examples on how the Top Innovators including Apple, Google, GE, Proctor and Gamble, Yahoo, Toyota, Netflix, BMW, Deloitte, Timex, Frito Lays, Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Intel and more innovate and grow their business successfully time and again, especially during trying times. Use this eBook as a guide to find and create game-changing innovations, unblock creativity, and make innovation successful at your business. The Definitive Guide is used by over 500 leading organizations all over the world including Pepsi, HP, EDS, Nokia, major universities, and professionals. Learn more...

Download Creativity And Innovation In Business FACulty EBOOK and Definitive Guide

Download Now

Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world

The Innovation Index Reports:

The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66% - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance
Learn about Innovation Index Group - Innovation Index Group tracks The Innovation Index

About The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and would have returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NYSE: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

Updated April 05, 2009

Think Outside The Box - Creativity Corporation

"Start Thinking Outside The Box" - Creativity Corporation

References:
http://www.thinknowyes.com/

Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world

Questions lead to Creativity, Answers lead to Innovations

• Creativity begins with asking questions…
• Innovation happens when you find answers…
• No questions, no answer
• More questions, better answer

“The important thing is never to stop questioning.” - Albert Einstein

Ask “This List of Questions”

• People ask these questions about objects and actions.
• People ask these questions in any situation.
• Certain questions may be silly or misplaced for certain situations.
• Often these questions lead to the most creative ideas.

Let us begin with your question…

• My Question is:
  
• ____________________________

Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world

Say, your question could be: "I just released my new user interface. And a majority of my customers hate it. What do I do now?"

There is an old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Facebook released their new interface last week, and loyal Facebook users are voicing their disapproval in hordes. Remember, Facebook got popular as a platform without much user feedback in the early years.

Now that Facebook has millions of users, user feedback becomes paramount!

One has to ask these questions:
1. What feedback did Facebook product managers get from their users before they designed the new interface?
2. Did Facebook get this right? Was this feedback accurate? Was it from a large base of users?
3. Did Facebook design and deploy the new interface properly?

What will Facebook do now?

Can it go about face and go back to the old interface? This would make Facebook look rather pedestrian. It's similar to Nintendo or Microsoft releasing their latest version of Wii or Xbox, and recalling it. But, this is web software. So, Facebook can go back to the older version. Or better yet, create an intermediate version, rather fast, to please the larger majority of users.

The longer Facebook takes to respond, the bigger this problem potentially becomes. Facebook does not want this to become news story on a Jay Leno or David Letterman for sure...

Or, Facebook, can wait, and try to ride it out... Can they do this?

What are we doing here? We are asking a lot of relevant questions about the situation Facebook is currently in.

Questions lead to new discoveries, new ideas, increased creativity. And when one finds answers to these questions, they often lead to innovations.

Here is The List of Questions that one must ask to unlock the creativity, and spark new ideas before solving any problem, creating a new innovation, embarking on a new opportunity - (adopted from eCornell and Roger Shank's book):

The first list is the Object Rules:

1. Where From
Where did you get XYZ? Is it easy to find this?
2. Function
What do you do with XYZ? Who wants XYZ?
3. Enablement
How did you get XYZ? What resources?
4. Habits
How does doing XYZ fit? What changes?
5. Associated Objects
What goes in, around, with XYZ?

6. Results

What will you do after XYZ? Before XYZ?

What if you don’t like after XYZ?

7. Problems

What issues will be caused by XYZ?

What issues without XYZ?

What is the perception of having XYZ?

The second list is made up of Action Rules:

1. Next Event

What happens or might happen next?

2. Preceding and Enabling Events

What caused XYZ? What led up? Able to?

3. Associated Objects

How do you XYZ without ABC? How did you get ABC that enabled XYZ?

4. Other Actors

Who else XYZs? Or creates XYZs?

5. Associated Actions

What happens with or goes along XYZ?

6. Physical Results

Do we want state ABC due to XYZ? Why?

7. Scripts

What else was going on to cause XYZ?

8. Reason

Why did XYZ take place? Facts causing this

9. Alternative Plans

Why don’t we do ABC instead?

Is there a different path to get XYZ?

Who will help us get there, and why?

10. History

What was going on, the frequency and causes XYZ to happen?

11. Emotional or Social Effect

Do you love XYZ? Does it make a difference? Everyone wants XYZ?

So, the next time you are faced with change, roadblock, or beginning new initiatives, ask the above list of questions.

How will Facebook react to the user feedback? I am a Facebook user myself, and will be eagerly awaiting Facebook's answer to this latest challenge. Facebook business leadership must act swiftly before the current situation becomes a juggernaut.

• Creativity begins with asking questions…
  
• Innovation happens when you find answers…

Download my leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business used by over 1,000 professionals, faculty and innovators at educational institutions and businesses all around the world including EDS, Ericsson, Center for Sales Strategy, IdeaChampions, Acara Global, Byrne Dairy, Cleveland Clinic, Magpie, DOJ/FBI, HP, Hewlett Packard, Intervista Institute, Fryett Consulting Group, Satellite Shelters, ProductVentures, Speakeasy - a Best Buy company, Jarden Consumer Solutions, Hallmark, Infinium, DeakinPrime - Deakin University, Lucas-TVS, McCann Worldgroup, S.P.Jain Center of Management, Suffolk University, RiCoMan, AmpControl, Craig Rispin, Momentive, Champion Laboratories, University of Phoenix, University of Washington, SFR - Neufbox, Attwood as Edison, Academy of Sport, Ideogenesis, Principled Innovation, Meridian Partners, Ananzi, Tangibility, Syngenta Global, Speedy, The Business Lab, Deloitte, Lane Management, University of California at Irvine, Wharton Business School, Babson University, Larsen & Toubro, Nokia, Credera, Pfizer, Bilkent University, Indian Institute of Science and many more.

This eBook is a 212-page collection of over 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Frito Lay, IBM, Nike, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Dell, Intel and more. With pertinent articles from the award-winning Creativity And Innovation Driving Business Blog, this Faculty eBook provides real-world examples on how the Top Innovators innovate and grow their business successfully time and again, especially during economic cycles. Creativity And Innovation in Business is a definitive guide that will help you unblock creativity, uncover and create game-changing innovations, and make exponential business growth a reality. Learn more...

References:

Roger Shank

Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world

Social Networking Innovation - Download FACulty eBook and Definitive Guide

Social Networking and Innovation
Creativity And Innovation in Business is a 212-page collection of 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Frito Lay, IBM, Nike, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Dell, Intel and more. With pertinent articles from the award-winning Creativity And Innovation Driving Business Blog, this eBook provides real-world examples on how the Top Innovators innovate and grow their business successfully time and again, especially during economic cycles. Creativity And Innovation in Business is a Faculty eBook and definitive guide that will help you unblock creativity, uncover and create game-changing innovations, and make exponential business growth a reality.

1) Innovation and growth is not (just) a fuzzy process of screwing around vigorously (SAV) but can be a systematic process,
2) Innovation and growth is not (just) something that happens in a department like R & D or product development,
3) Innovation and growth is not just about products or solutions - it is about creating a transformational change in the way people live, work and play.
- Chapter 20

Learn More...

Creativity And Innovation in Business asks questions and obtains answers on generating, managing and growing business creativity and innovation through proven processes. It details case studies, insights and stories on top innovators of the Innovation Index creating disruptive innovations and growing market leadership.

Who should buy?
If you are a product manager, marketer, product marketer, sales operations manager, sales director, sales consultant, business consultant, product designer, brand manager, marketing manager, VP of products, VP of marketing, VP of technology, research & development director, product director, product marketing manager, marketing consultant, brand consultant, business school professor, business school student, innovation consultant, chief innovation officer, engineer, engineering student, technology student, technology consultant, design engineer, consultant, management consultant - this definitive guide is for you! If you are one of the key executives of the company or the CEO, buy this guide for your company!

Learn More...

Who has bought the guide?
The FACulty EBOOK and Definitive Guide is downloaded and used by over 550 leading organizations including EDS, Ericsson, Center for Sales Strategy, Ideachampions, Acara Global, Byrne Dairy, Cleveland Clinic, Magpie, Department of Justice, FBI, HP, Hewlett Packard, Intervista Institute, Fryett Consulting Group, Satellite Shelters, ProductVentures, Speakeasy - a Best Buy company, Jarden Consumer Solutions, Hallmark, Infinium, Nokia, Pepsi, LG, major universities, business professionals and more.

Table of Contents of Creativity And Innovation in Business FACulty eBook

Table of Contents - Creativity And Innovation In Business
Chapter 1 - The Top 50 Innovative Companies In The World
Chapter 2 - The Innovation Index
Chapter 3 - Failures And Stumbles Driving Innovation
Chapter 4 - Blocking Creativity And Innovation
Chapter 5 - Six Ways To Find Innovation
Chapter 6 - Five Principles For Successful Innovation
Chapter 7 - Is Innovation Cyclical?
Chapter 8 - Can Leadership Create Innovation?
Chapter 9 - Top Ten Creative Leadership Traits
Chapter 10 - Creating Team Innovation - Seven Characteristics
Chapter 11 - Creating Team Innovation - Effective Teams
Chapter 12 - Creating Team Innovation - Ten Principles
Chapter 13 - The Future Of Management, Creativity And Innovation
Chapter 14 - How Much Creativity Is Enough?
Chapter 15 - Co-Creation Driving Innovation
Chapter 16 - Marketing Innovation Creating Market Leadership
Chapter 17 - Consumer Innovation Best Practices
Chapter 18 - The Innovation Gap
Chapter 19 - Ten Answers For Driving Innovation And Growth
Chapter 20 - Strategic Innovation At Deloitte - The "Apple" Of Services Innovation
Chapter 21 - Toyota's Innovation Factory
Chapter 22 - Ipod - Apple's Best Innovation
Apple Iphone Rising - Top Ten Innovations
Chapter 23 - Google Versus Yahoo - A Tale Of Two Cities
Youtube - $1.65 Billion Innovation And Counting
Chapter 24 - Blockbuster Versus Netflix - Winner Takes All?
Chapter 25 - GE And P&G ? Innovations Driving Growth ? Six Growth Principles
Chapter 26 - Can Dell Turnaround Dell? Seven Answers
Chapter 27 - Innovations Brewing At Starbucks ? Five Takeaways
Chapter 28 - Southwest Airlines Flying High With Ten Innovations
Chapter 29 - Innovations At Microsoft ? Four Business Pillars
Chapter 30 - Direct Marketing And Direct Mail Innovation At USPS
Chapter 31 - Disruptor Zune Versus Innovator Ipod
Chapter 32 - 100% Electric Ultra Fast Innovation
Chapter 33 - Nike Versus Adidas - The Innovation Game Is On
Chapter 34 - People Innovation - We Think
Chapter 35 - Intel - Exponential Innovations
Chapter 36 - Five Innovations In Software Industry
Chapter 37 - Google Versus Microsoft - The Enterprise Battle Heats Up!
Chapter 38 - Doubleclick A Smart Buy For Google
Chapter 39 - Microsoft Walk-Off Home Run With Aquantive
Chapter 40 - IBM's $5 Billion Cognos Acquisition
Chapter 41 - Top Acquisitions By The Top Innovators
Chapter 42 - Will Yahoo merge with Microsoft?
Chapter 43 - Innovation And Stock Performance Correlation
Chapter 44 - The Innovation Index Annual Report
Chapter 45 - $1 Billion Or The Future
11 new chapters added including Benchmarking Innovation

Learn More...

I am forever grateful to Creativity and Innovation Leaders, Innovators and Bloggers for helping me drive the readership on my blog, and I am looking forward to my blog readers and fellow blog writers downloading and referring this relevant resource on Creativity And Innovation in Business.

Good Luck Innovating!

Sincere regards,
Sanjay Dalal
Chief Innovator
http://www.innovationmain.com

Check out oGoing :: What's going on? oGoing connects You with your co-workers, friends & family through frequent updates & messages to this question: "What's going on?"

Join oGoing today...

Google Rises To Dizzying Heights

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced the quarterly earnings yesterday after market close. Google blew away the earnings, topped the analyst estimates, and importantly, shook off the investor worries about Google's revenue and earnings growth. There were many doubts going into Google's earnings announcement - whether Google can sustain the market share, whether AdWords is producing enough clicks, whether Google can continue the torrid growth. Google erased these doubts in one swift announcement, and investors who were on the sidelines rejoined Google's party.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index. Innovation Index Group has a BUY recommendation for Google with Q4, 2008 price target between $675 to $745.

Google shares are up 21.40% in one day at $545.90 currently. Google shares are still down 22% for the year after today's run up.

What were the earnings specifics?

"Google reported revenues of $5.19 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 42% compared to the first quarter of 2007 and an increase of 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007.

GAAP operating income for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.55 billion, or 30% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $1.44 billion, or 30% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2007.

GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.31 billion as compared to $1.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Non-GAAP EPS in the first quarter of 2008 was $4.84, compared to $4.43 in the fourth quarter of 2007."

Which Google properties showed strength?

Google Sites Revenues - Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.40 billion, or 66% of total revenues, in the first quarter of 2008. This represents a 49% increase over first quarter 2007 revenues of $2.28 billion and a 9% increase over fourth quarter 2007 revenues of $3.12 billion.

Google Network Revenues - Google’s partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $1.69 billion, or 33% of total revenues, in the first quarter of 2008.

International Revenues - Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $2.65 billion, representing 51% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2008, compared to 47% in the first quarter of 2007 and 48% in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Paid Clicks – Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our AdSense partners, increased approximately 20% over the first quarter of 2007 and approximately 4% over the fourth quarter of 2007.

Google performed rather well globally, and the all important Paid Clicks continued the upward growth with a 4% increase from the last quarter of 2007. This was perhaps the measure that most investors were worried about. Ultimately, a growth in search market share should translate into an equitable growth in Paid Clicks. The Paid Clicks growth does represent a 56% drop from previous quarter's growth of 9% (Google Paid Clicks had grown 9% in last quarter of 2007 from the third quarter of 2007). Is the Google Paid Clicks growth slowing? Would Google Paid Clicks go back to greater than 5% growth quarter over quarter once Google begins growing Search market share and make the Paid Clicks engine even more efficient?

Bottomline:

Google delivered. Google also consummated the DoubleClick acquisition in March 2008. The Top 20 Innovators of the The Innovation Index have been delivering on their earnings - IBM, eBay, Intel, Research In Motion, Nike, Best Buy have all met or beat their quarterly earnings. Whereas the market was upbeat after their earnings announcements, the market is exuberant today. The major U.S. indices are up about 2% today. Google has quenched the investor sentiments today, and if the overall U.S. economy improves in the 2nd half of 2008, watch out! Can Google be a $1,000 stock in 2009? If Google continues this growth trajectory, why not? Only time will tell.

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index has generated a gross average annual return of 40%.

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66% - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NYSE: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

References:
Google Press Release

Amazon.com Valuation - Over, Right or Under Valued - You decide

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is one of the top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index. Amazon.com just announced it's quarterly earnings yesterday after market close. At market close, AMZN had closed at 100.82, up a whopping 156% in 2007.

"The online retail giant reported earnings of $80 million, or 19 cents a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with earnings of $19 million, or 5 cents a share, for the same period last year. Revenue grew 41% to $3.26 billion from $2.31 billion last year. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings per share of 18 cents on revenue of $3.14 billion, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Financial. The company said operating earnings for the period came in at $123 million -- ahead of the $108 million expected by analysts. Last year's third quarter saw operating income of $40 million."- source MarketWatch

Four things emerged from Amazon.com's most recent quarterly earnings results:

1. Amazon.com earnings remained flat at 19 cents a share from the previous quarter. Thus, there was no earnings growth from the previous quarter. Although Amazon.com grew the revenue by $0.38 billion or 13% from $2.88 billion the previous quarter to $3.26 billion in the current quarter. Whereas the total revenue grew 13%, the earnings did not budge - the earnings remained flat. The operating income only grew by 6% from the previous quarter. Does this mean Amazon.com had to overspend to achieve the revenue growth, and hence could not grow the profits?

2. Amazon.com had a huge quarter internationally. "International segment sales, representing the Company's U.K., German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites, were $1.47 billion, up 40% from third quarter 2006. Excluding the favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, International net sales growth was 33%." Compare this to the previous quarter, when "International segment sales, representing the Company's U.K., German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites, were $1.28 billion." This means Amazon.com earnings positively benefited from the exchange rates and the increase in international business of about $0.19 billion. However, the earnings still remained flat.

3. 4th Quarter Guidance: Net sales are expected to be between $5.1 billion and $5.45 billion, or to grow between 28% and 37% compared with fourth quarter 2006. Operating income is expected to be between $221 million and $291 million, or grow between 12% and 48% compared with fourth quarter 2006. This guidance includes $54 million primarily for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets... Thus, Amazon.com is poised to grow the revenue by 62% in the final quarter, the holiday quarter when Amazon.com rakes in the most revenue. The operating income will grow by 108% from the current quarter. When the operating income only grew by 6% from the previous quarter, can investors believe Amazon.com management when they project a growth of 108% of operating income? How would Amazon.com achieve this? What products will provide the increased revenue and profitability for Amazon.com? The new DRM-free MP3 store, or memberships, or 3rd party developers? Amazon.com has recently upped the shared bounty to 20% for the Mp3 store in order to attract increased buyers through its Associate referral program.

4. Operating expenses without the Cost of Revenue increased by $54 million or 9.2% from the previous quarter. This is huge since the generation of an additional 13% growth in revenue resulted in a 9.2% increase in operating expenses. When Amazon.com grows the revenue by 62% in the final quarter, what would be the increase in operating expenses? Overall, Amazon.com's net profit margin and operating profit margins have decreased from the previous quarter. And Amazon.com is planning to not only reverse this trend, but show a healthy increase in the fourth quarter.

Amazon.com closed today at 88.59, down 12.23% from yesterday's close of 100.82.

Here is a comparison of Amazon.com's forward P/E with other retailers (from Google Finance):

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Forward P/E: 50.94
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Forward P/E: 26.86
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Forward P/E: 14.55
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Forward P/E: 32.66
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) Forward P/E: 15.30
Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) Forward P/E: 21.44

Is Amazon.com growing the fastest among all these companies to garner this upside on the earnings multiple? One note of caution: It has the lowest net and operating margins from the above companies (except Barnes & Noble).

Is Amazon.com over-valued, right-valued or under-valued at these multiples? You decide.

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index has returned 119% over the last five years. This assumes an investment in each stock of The Innovation Index (buying each stock). An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $219 as of December 29, 2006. By comparison, $100 invested in each of S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index returned $124. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by 77% over the last five years.

The Normalized Innovation Index has returned an impressive 174% over the last five years. This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001.

Alphabetical list of the top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Dell Inc. - (NASDAQ: DELL)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NYSE: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
Southwest Airlines Co. - (NYSE: LUV)
Starbucks Corporation - (NASDAQ: SBUX)
Target Corp. - (NYSE: TGT)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - (NYSE: WMT)
Yahoo! Inc. - (NASDAQ: YHOO)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2007, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: I invest in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.