Innovation

Innovation

a painting of a group of men standing next to each other.
From landscaped gardens to road systems, the Persians were among the first to create many things we still enjoy today.
A hand holds up a small gold trophy against a dramatic sky with lightning and a burst of light, symbolizing victory when you lead with love.
When leaders embrace positive personal energy, everyone feels the benefits — in trust, innovation and creativity.
A pixelated silhouette of a leaping cheetah, inspired by d/acc aesthetics, appears to disintegrate into square particles against a blue grid background.
AI is unlocking unprecedented capabilities — and exposing new vulnerabilities just as quickly.
Book cover of "True Color" by Kory Stamper, featuring illustrations of twelve colored book spines—echoing the era of the dye famine—arranged in a grid on a beige background.
When America lost access to German dyes, the crisis revealed a startling truth: color was chemical, tactical, and essential to warfare.
Book cover of "The Algorithm" by Jon McNeill, featuring a bold red background with yellow patterns that evoke the complexity of the algorithm, along with striking white and black text.
Inside GM’s race to build the electric Hummer lies a powerful lesson in speed, simplicity, and the operating system required for exponential growth.
Illustration of several modern office buildings with geometric shapes and overlaid graphs on a grid background.
Cities and organizations alike risk becoming highly efficient — but indistinguishable — unless leaders actively preserve space for imagination and deviation.
A robotic hand holds a striped rocket in front of a green upward-trending line graph on a black patterned background.
Higher productivity drives increases in wealth, wages, and living standards. AI could be just what we need to solve many of today’s problems — if we manage the gains wisely.
A modern office building with overlapping empty picture frames and a stylized computer monitor superimposed over the structure against a clear blue sky.
Many organizations are missing a key catalyst for excellence — and it’s not a new software program or workplace perk.
Book cover of "Our Best Work" by Nilofer Merchant, featuring a torn paper design that reveals the subtitle: "Break Free from the 24 Invisible Norms That Limit Us." Perfect for anyone seeking to do their best work.
To bring the best out of your teams, don’t flex like Maximus — lean into a “helpful fight” instead.
simple collage of runner
Technology, shifting rules, and human ambition push athletes beyond biology’s perceived limits.
Angus Fletcher, a man in a suit and glasses, stands in profile, touching his face in a dimly lit room with blurred lights and equipment in the background.
The great investor instinctively knew that humans are much smarter than computers in volatile environments. So he bet on common sense.
Book cover of "No Fear No Failure: Five Principles for Sustaining Growth Through Innovation" by Lorraine H. Marchand with John Hanc, published by Columbia Business School—fostering an emotional connection to inspire lasting growth.
Why the link between understanding customers and retaining them is forged from emotional connection.
A laptop made of a rough, brown, stone-like material with green squiggly lines emerging from its screen, set against a black background.
AI is not a rupture in history, but a continuation of intelligence emerging where information becomes systematically arranged.
Book cover titled "Governing Pandora" by Andrea Bonime-Blanc featuring a colorful, geometric open box on a black background with white text—reflecting themes relevant to the Age of Pandora.
Why we should balance innovation with stewardship — while reframing the “techno-optimists versus doomers” polarization.
A man with glasses and a beard works on a clay sculpture using a tool, set against a collage of historical art images and decorative patterns inspired by traditional Pasto varnish techniques.
The revival of Pasto Varnish shows how living heritage can survive if knowledge is passed on in time.
A tortoise wearing a blue "1st Place" ribbon on its shell, posed against a plain light background.
Many top performers start behind — and overtake the early leaders later.
Illustration of two hands shaking, with basketballs and a digital pattern overlaying the hands on a green and beige background.
Practical guidance for navigating AI’s role in modern learning organizations.
Book cover titled "Friction: A Biography" by Jennifer R. Vail, featuring an image of a matchstick angled on a matchbox striker—capturing the spark of friction—set against a light blue background.
The deep study of friction and surfaces — so crucial to industrial manufacture — emerged from a mid-century engineering conference.
A colorful silhouette of a person sits at a desk, using a computer with a monitor displaying horizontal static lines—an image inspired by the innovative creativity of Jeff DeGraff.
AI may be rewriting “how” we work — but not “why” we work. And this has profound implications for leadership.
The Golden Gate Bridge is shown in a halftone style, with its left side tinted red and right side tinted blue, against a light background with hills.
Tech leaders may have backed Trump in 2024, but the majority of the community still leans left -- and has a big opportunity ahead.
An orange silhouette of a standing child is overlaid on a background made of ASCII art and dense lines of text, resembling digital code or data.
AI can now generate entire worlds from text prompts. What does this mean for how we think, create, and connect?
A vintage photograph shows a Wright Brothers-era biplane flying low over a sandy hill as four people on the ground watch.
Our algorithmic age encourages us to over-index on probabilities — but we should instead exercise our “storythinking brain” and focus on possibilities.
A checkerboard pattern of blue and beige squares features line art of people, abstract graphs, black pixel clusters, fingerprint-like textures, and hints of AI lessons woven throughout the design.
Handled right, AI has potential to bring back middle-skill jobs lost to the rise of computers, economists argue. Or, like the mechanized mills of the past, it could toss whole sectors out of work.
A person with a shaved head, beard, and blue-framed glasses—reminiscent of Demis Hassabis—looks at the camera with their hand resting on their face against a dark background.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Simon Squibb, a middle-aged man in a blue shirt, stands outdoors in an urban setting, holding a small microphone with his arms crossed.
British entrepreneur Simon Squibb made his fortune and retired — then amassed legions of followers by giving away sharp business advice for free.
nuclear fusion
The Department of Energy's newest mission seeks to make a unified AI platform across all national labs. Will it help US science, or kill it?
A crowd of people wearing sunglasses looks upward; Brendan Foody is featured on the left side of the image, where a rising line graph appears on a dark background.
AI “eval” outfit Mercor is one of the fastest growing companies in history. But will their rocket run out of fuel? Big Think investigates.
Book cover titled "The End of Driving: Automated Cars, Robotaxis, Sharing vs Owning, and the Future of Mobility" by Bern Grush, John S. Niles, and Andrew Miller, Second Edition.
Robotaxis can transform cities by improving mobile efficiency, equity, and safety — if cities adopt policies that prioritize the public good.
A silver space pen with its cap removed appears to write swirling white lines against a blue, starry background.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.