Innovation stagnation

The New York Times had this great article yesterday about how difficult it is sometimes to look beyond what you know and think like a beginner. Innovation becomes more difficult as knowledge and expertise increase.

I'm reminded of the clever "ideating" ad campaign from IBM.

Creating knowledge from data

IBM uses computers, lasers and satellites to help the PGA Tour track, record and analyze every golf shot hit by every player. They turn mere statistics into knowledge and knowledge into entertainment.

Watch the video here.

We are awash in data. In this age of information it's not the data or even the access to data that makes someone or something valuable. It's being able to interpret the data and turn it into information that creates real value.