The Innovator's Innovation

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Google's Lab of Wildest Dreams." The article begins, "In a top-secret lab in an undisclosed Bay Area location where robots run free, the future is being imagined." It continues, "It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. Your robot could go to the office while you stay home in your pajamas. And you could, perhaps, take an elevator to outer space."

Questions for Discussion:

1. Do you think that it is more important to think about the past, the present, or the future? Why? Is it important to think about each of these time periods or just one or two? Explain!

2. If you could invent just one product to make your life easier, a product not mentioned in this article, what would you invent? Why?

3. If you were investing in a company what three characteristics would you consider the most important predictors of success? Do you think that a company must think about futuristic ideas in order to be successful? Do you think that a company must be innovative to be successful?

4. What is the difference between a bad idea and a good idea? Can one idea be both bad and good? What is the best idea that you have ever heard of in your life?