Innovation Centers

Here’s a fun game Cisco employees love playing: try and have your friend or partner explain what you do for work. For most of us, it isn’t that easy! Working at Cisco can look like all sorts of things, and if your designated descriptor isn’t in the world of tech, the result can be quite amusing. Wh…

What exactly is innovation? How would you define it? While business leaders seem to agree that innovation is necessary to survive in today’s competitive marketplace, coming to a consensus on exactly what that means is easier said than done. For some business leaders, innovation means developing enti…

In today’s rapidly changing digital economy, enterprises can no longer afford to be innovation tourists. Innovation fairs, mission statements, internal competitions—they’re all great but not enough anymore. Innovation can’t be a one-time event. Innovation must now be an enduring mindset that’s embed…

Co-innovating with startups—newcomers and existing partners alike—can become highly contagious. I get no better satisfaction at work than getting to know inspired entrepreneurs who want to get together to change the game with new business models. The rewards of co-innovation just keep astonishing me…

Co-authored with Dani Schrakamp The Glass Half-Full: We as a human race have so much to be proud of and excited for – look at us, we’ve learned to fly, gone to the moon, overcome horrific tragedy and invented a little something called the Internet, which connects us all regardless of where we physic…

Cooperation, co-development, co-opetition. What does it take to succeed in the “co-economy”? Just as the “sharing economy” has changed the basic assumptions upon which the hotel and taxi industries are built, the “co-economy” is changing some of the fundamental ways we think about developing and bri…

What do idyllic beaches, a breathtaking harbor, iconic opera house, efficient agriculture, smart transportation – and the Internet of Things – all have in common? Answer: Sydney, Australia. Now, one of the world’s most vibrant communities and tourist locations is rapidly becoming another kind of glo…

At yesterday’s inauguration of Cisco’s ninth Innovation Center in the world, Berlin’s smartest new facility was abuzz with startup-like excitement for the possibilities of what the new digital world can deliver. I mingled with Cisco colleagues, customers, partners, app developers, entrepreneurs, tho…

Last week, I attended a very interesting meeting in San Francisco for a program we call CHILL – Cisco Hyper Innovation Living Labs. The session, facilitated by the Factory, an incubator backed by Skype co-founder Janus Friis, included key leaders from retail, consumer products, and finance industrie…