Sue Lebeck's Blog (90)

Brian Huey from Sprint took the time to answer InnovatingSMART's questions regarding communications support for Smart Grid innovators and entrepreneurs.   Check out Brian's detailed answers below.  THANK YOU, Brian! 

And check out The Sprint Open Solutions Conference Nov. 2-4, 2011, in Santa Clara, Calif. Registration is now open for the conference -- Half-off…

My husband and I are repainting our historic Victorian home, and hold grand visions for what will emerge.  Today, the workmen came to put up the scaffolding necessary to get the job done. 

After a day of them erecting metal structures and laying down planks into strategic and stable configurations, I behold in amazement the result.  There now exist pathways and bridges providing access and support to the painters for every stage of their work to come -- whether removing…

This past weekend, my husband and I had the pleasure of hosting guests from London who came to town to participate in the annual San Francisco Marathon.  As a former three-miler (make that two) and a current hill-climber (the urban kind), I fell naturally into a state of awe and admiration. Twenty-six-plus mile-markers to be overtaken by foot in the terrain of the cable-car seems…

While musing about independence on the 4^th of July, I found myself inside of an unexpected but provocative question.  Asked then: “What is our modern tyranny -- the ‘arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power’ from which we seek freedom” today?

After sitting with this question for a couple of weeks, I…

Expressions of stakeholder-driven triple-bottom-line value creation can be found at Wikipedia and from Andrew Savitz, author of the book The Triple-Bottom-Line.



Additionally, the following slide identifies some of the forms of triple-bottom-line value I work to help create myself, directly and indirectly, through the innovation alliances work of…

Innovation, or creating new value, is a key driver to success in today’s business climate.  Innovation is a very human activity, which can occur along many dimensions.  These correspond to the dimensions of human activity itself. Modern psychology tells us that the dimensions which comprise a…

With today’s spotlighted story,  I find myself thinking about myths.  What is a myth?  Myths are  powerful narratives, which both validate and guide human experience.  Myths are sometimes held as lies, and other times held as the things most true.  Dying myths tend toward the former, living myths enjoy the latter.   

With 4th of July celebrations just behind us,…

In Vinod Khosla’s tough-love speech, delivered to the electricity storage community at their own annual conference earlier this month, and expertly reported by GreenTechMedia, he focuses on the concept of Certainty.  



When it comes to energy in America, Certainty has most certainly become…

Last month at the SVII Innovation Society, which I program directed before taking up my current initiatives, Bill Veltrop of MISA made a compelling presentation invoking the important and timely distinction between finite and infinite games.

Finite games, our cultural habit, succeed when a winner and a loser…

Great title, yes?  It's not mine!  This title and the inspiring book behind it belong to Bob Johansen, Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future.  The full title, published in 2009, is Leaders Make the Future:…

Last week, our editor took a mini-vacation to honor the birthday of a family member.   I decided to take that opportunity to give him – and our cast here at InnovatingSMART – a break. So instead of issuing our usual weekly “Brief!”, we experimented with a change in our publishing rhythm.   We are pleased to return to you today.

But our experiment begs a larger Community Question about working…

The IEEE has created a particularly accessible video explanation on the scope and necessity of the Smart Grid.   Enjoy it here:

"With energy, all of the other problems can be solved. Without it, everything begins to fall apart." -- Deepak Divan, Georgia Tech

Here at InnovatingSMART, our mission is to listen.  We seek to listen to today's sustainability-driven innovators -- entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs alike.  We seek to hear about their goals, their achievements, their learnings, and the meaning they are making in the world.  And... we seek also to listen to you, our loyal readers!  Thanks so much to all of you who, several weeks ago, responded to our first Community Question.  Thank you for your creative…

Wisely, we are beginning to design new efficiencies and enlightened qualities into our systems.  From energy to water, from cars to buildings, from materials to business models -- these systems have all been enjoying a serious second look.  This is both essential and innovative in its own way.   But sometimes, to really change how things work, we need to turn a system on its side.

This kind of thinking is what today's highlighted story represents - literally.   Our featured…

Check out this great event, hosted by InnovatingSMART's nonprofit collaborator -

Join Sustainovation for an In-Depth Dialogue with Patti Lee-Hoffmann, Author of…

Innovation is about conducting experiments.  Here at InnovatingSMART, we've been conducting lots of experiments, and have a few more in store. But before we do try anything new, we'd like to hear from you!  

To that end, we have introduced the Community Question.   Here, we check in with our readers about an area we want to do our next experiment in.  We wish to take our next Creative Direction from you.  So, please help us by responding to our first…

You know by now that I like to quote from Vision 2050: A new agenda for business.  If 30+ leaders, mostly from the C-suites of the world's largest companies, took the time to write it, I think it only right that I should take the time to read it.   

This week's quote is a nice support for our spotlighted story (our first "Conversation") on Innovation Alliances for the 21st…

At the SSV WEST Summit back in December, InnovatingSMART assisted Sustainable Silicon Valley in their collection and display of reflective and inspiring art pieces, underscoring the greater meaning and mission behind this intelligent and often exciting work.

At that time, we made several musical animations, developed through the creative tools at …

From our good friends at Sustainable Silicon Valley.

Hope to see you there!



Cheers, Sue



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Have you ever wondered how to get management, employees or citizens to fund or participate in sustainability programs? How do you sustain momentum once the luster of newness wears…

Among the many things I admire about Marianna Grossman, Executive Director of Sustainable Silicon Valley, is her flair for the artful and the true.  A favorite example can be found with this week's SSV event - Making the Case: A Story-Telling Workshop- to be held unapologetically on none other than April Fool's…