DON’T PRINT

THIS PAGE
2 Welcome to BIF-5
5 About BIF
8 Think
12 Learn
16 Do
24 Connect
29 The Hosts & Storytellers
98 BIF Members, Special Thanks & Sponsors
“Today, authenticity and credibility are what
we value most. It’s why I’m here at BIF-5,
returning to co-host this unique experience.
Where else can you interact with some of
the most talented innovators in the world?”
— Bruce Nussbaum, BIF-5 Co-host
 Welcome to
2
the Conversation

“One of the most important things anyone can

do to promote innovation is to bring together
creative people from all walks of life. BIF’s
annual Collaborative Innovation Summit pro-
vides the chance for people to meet and share
notes. You may not know where the conversation
is going to lead, but you can have great con-
fidence that it will lead somewhere and make
a real impact somewhere down the line.”
— Bill Taylor, BIF-5 Co-host
 3

It’s been five years since we launch - stories in an environment that supports
ed the business innovation factory. connection and collaboration.
Over the years, many things have changed. A lot may have changed in the last five
We’ve grown and brought new talent aboard. years, but we still find great joy and satisfac-
Our network has expanded in ways that tion in storytelling.
we simply could not have imagined five years For everything that is wrong with our
ago. We’ve established new offices. Most economy right now, it’s a good time for
importantly, we have seen our vision to build innovators who are using the downturn to
a set of real-world laboratories come to life, advance radical ideas that couldn’t get traction
creating spaces and places where our partners a year or two ago. The need for innovation
can design and test new ways of delivering is now so great that people are hungry for
value to those who need it the most. bold, new ideas. The BIF Summit is the
Amidst all this change, one thing has perfect forum for exactly this conversation.
stayed the same: BIF’s obsession with using Over the next two days, you’ll hear first-
storytelling as a catalyst for innovation. hand accounts of what it takes to challenge
This commitment to storytelling is reflected the norm, resist tradition and drive innovation.
in every BIF Summit, looking back even In the following pages, we invite you to
to BIF-1, which some of you may remember learn more about the BIF-5 storytellers. Most
was held in a cramped hotel ballroom in importantly, we urge you to connect with
October 2004. them, share your own stories and seek out
People have told us to scale-up the Sum- ways in which you might collaborate.
mit. Go bigger. Add more “stuff.” But each
Thank you for being part of our community
year we say no. And it’s not because we don’t
and part of the conversation.
think about how the Summit should evolve
to reflect the changing needs of our commu- — Saul, Melissa, Chris and Tori
nity. It’s because we still believe that the
formula works: Let great people tell great
“The Business Innovation Factory is addressing
one of the essential components to the business
model innovation process — experimentation.
While most business model innovators are both
willing and enthusiastic about wading into com-
plexity, they still need reliable testing proce-
dures that demonstrate the validity of their new
models. The platform BIF is developing provides
an opportunity for innovators to explore and
experiment with creative ‘what might be’ solu-
tions in a real-world environment.”
— Roger Martin, BIF Research Advisor
THE BUSINESS
INNOVATION FACTORY 5
 Enabling
6
Collaborative
Innovation
The BIF model is based on four simple tenets:
THINK, LEARN, DO, CONNECT

We share the best THINKING We LEARN from the experts

about business model innovation. and from each other.

We DO through projects that encourage experimentation

in an environment that poses less risk and minimizes disruption
to current operations.

We CONNECT by building an innovation community driven by

the exchange of ideas, information and experiences.
 7

An independent, non - profit organi - Through projects in BIF’s Experience

zation created in 20 04 , BIF brings Labs, events and other programs, BIF has
partners together to collaborate across created a national network of innovators
traditional boundaries on experiments that who are passionate about radically rethinking
deliver transformative, systems-level how value is delivered across the public and
innovation and address the most pressing private sectors.
problems of our time. The BIF community has few borders.
The BIF model is simple: THINK, Embedded in our DNA is a determination to
LEARN, DO, CONNECT. Through this aggressively communicate our activities to
model, we seek to offer our community the people outside our organization to stimulate
best thinking about business model innova- new ideas and drive change.
tion, we offer hands-on learning experiences This is why we have put a high priority
that reflect the best thinking about creating on capturing and sharing the stories happen-
innovation, we run projects that put these ing in and around the innovation community.
ideas into action, and we are committed Our Innovation Story Studio contains
to creating a community of innovators that volumes of video interviews, narrative stories
is passionate about radically re-thinking how and other digital material. It’s a treasure
value is delivered across the public and trove of innovation ideas, inspiration and first-
private sectors. hand insights from some of the country’s
best and brightest.
We invite you to learn more, get connected
and let us know how we can help.
thin k
BIF is committed to offering its members access to
the best thinking on business model innovation.
k
“It’s important that new ventures — both public
and private — have a solid foundation for
success. The Business Innovation Factory is
a place where good theory can be applied
in a safe, manageable environment.”
— Clay Christensen, BIF Research Advisor
 Leading our efforts to share the best thinking on innovation is BIF’s
Research Advisory Council. Comprised of business and academic
innovation thought leaders, the council shapes BIF research initiatives
and helps guide our innovation conversation. Current members include:
10

Mickey Ackerman is a professor and Diane Hessan is president and chief

former head of the Industrial Design Depart- executive officer of Communispace where
ment at Rhode Island School of Design. she helps global organizations build, manage
and facilitate private, online communities.
Robert Ballard is best known for his 1985
discovery of the Titanic. A world-renowned Larry Huston is founder of innovation
ocean explorer, he directs the University of consulting firm 4 INNO and a leading
Rhode Island’s Institute for Archaeological Oceanography. practitioner of connected innovation.

Alph Bingham is a pioneer in the field of Jean - Pierre Jeannet is the F. W. Olin
open innovation and an advocate of collabora- Distinguished Professor of Global Business and
tive approaches to research and development. director of  The Glavin Center at Babson College.
He is also co-founder and former CEO of InnoCentive.
John K ao is a leading authority on the
John Seely Brown is a visiting scholar subjects of innovation, organizational
at USC and the independent co-chairman of transformation and digital media. He’s the
the Deloitte Center for the Edge. author of the bestselling book Innovation Nation.

Clayton M . Christensen is the Robert Larry Keeley is president and co-founder

and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Admin- of Doblin, Inc., an innovation strategy
istration at Harvard Business School. firm known for pioneering comprehensive
innovation systems.
Richard Florida is author of the national
and international best-selling book, The Rise Ellen Lev y is vice president of corporate
of the Creative Class. He is also director of the development and strategy at LinkedIn.
Martin Prosperity Institute.

Andrew Hargadon is an associate Roger Martin is the dean of the Rotman

professor and director of Technology School of Management and author of The
Management Programs at the UC -Davis Opposable Mind.
Graduate School of Management.
 11

Edward M . Ma zze is the recently retired Eric von Hippel is a professor and head of
dean of the College of Business Administra- the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group
tion and holder of the Alfred J. Verrecchia at MIT Sloan School of Management and
Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business at URI. author of Democratizing Innovation.

Christopher Meyer is the chief execu- Harry West is president of Continuum,

tive of Monitor Networks, a division of  The where he uses the study of human behavior
Monitor Group and the author of It’s Alive: to create better products.
The Coming Convergence of Information, Biology and Business.
John Wolpert is best known for his
Bruce Nussbaum is contributing editor work at IBM’s Extreme Blue incubator for
for BusinessWeek, responsible for covering talent, technology and emerging business;
design and innovation, and professor of today he is managing director at Team upStart LLC.
innovation and design at The New School.
Richard Saul Wurman is an architect
Jeneanne Rae is co-founder of Peer by training and a pioneer in the practice
Insight and a nationally-recognized innova- of making information understandable. He
tion management and design strategist. has written and designed more than 80 books and
founded the popular TED conferences.
Clay Shirky is a writer, consultant and
teacher talking about the social and econom- David Yaun is vice president, corporate
ic effects of Internet technologies. He’s the communications at IBM Corporation
author of the bestselling Here Comes Everybody. directing the company’s worldwide internal
and external communications programs.
William Taylor is co-founder and
founding editor of Fast Company magazine, Robert J . Zimmer is the president of
and the co-author of Mavericks at Work: University of Chicago.
Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win.

Stefan Thomke is a professor of Business

Administration at Harvard Business School
and the author of Experimentation Matters.
Lear n
BIF offers learning experiences that reflect the best
thinking about creating innovation and driving change.
n
Reading about innovation — even in the best
journals — is no substitute for hands-on experience
with other innovators. From exciting workshops
to our annual Collaborative Innovation Summit,
BIF offers a set of experiences designed to help
you master new techniques for creating innovation.
 New Techniques
14
for Creating
Innovation
Real innovation — the kind that creates insights with others) is a central part of the
deep, transformative change — is difficult Business Innovation Factory’s mission. In
and disruptive. There are few guiding addition to gaining real-world know-how
principles, and even fewer best practices. through our collaborative innovation projects,
Those who want to collaborate across tradi- BIF members benefit from a series of experi-
tional boundaries and innovate through ences designed to educate, inspire and enable.
public/private partnership often find them- Past programs have included workshops with
selves blazing a trail through uncharted great thinkers and doers such as Larry Keeley,
territory, doing their best to live and learn Clay Christensen, Frans Johansson, Andrew
along the way. Hargadon, Harry West and the Continuum
Helping our community learn about Team, author Steven Johnson and commu-
collaborative innovation (and share their nity building expert Diane Hessan.
jeremy withers
 15

“The Business Innovation Factory shares my

passion for creating experiences that spark
intelligent conversations. Their Collaborative
Innovation Summit attracts smart individuals
who tell fresh stories about their passions,
ideas and failures. BIF understands that when
you look in the gray area between disciplines,
good, inspiring concepts will arise.”
— Richard Saul Wurman,
BIF Research Advisor

l — r: Bruce Nussbaum interviews Richard Saul Wurman;

AIDG deputy director Cat Lainé; BIF-5 co-host Bill Taylor;
37signals CEO Jason Fried
do
Through its Experience Laboratories, BIF focuses
on Collaborative Innovation Projects that bring
public and private sector partners together to
explore better ways to deliver value.
“Belonging to a central, organized place for
business model innovation gives you secondary
effects you can’t find elsewhere. It’s a virtuous
cycle of shared learning. By championing
innovation through experimentation, the Business
Innovation Factory is developing the language,
the anecdotes, the case studies and the metrics
around what it means to deliver value.”
— Ellen Levy, BIF Research Advisor
18
BIF Experience labs
Off the White Board,
into the Real World
If the current recession has taught us one models several times over a career and
lesson, let it be this: we are not going to establish an ongoing process to explore new
“increment” ourselves to a better world. What business models — even models that might
we need — across all industries and all of our threaten the current one.
civic services — is transformative innovation. Organizations must establish R&D for
But if it were that easy to design and develop new business models the way they do R&D
systems-level, transformative innovations, for new products and services. Business
everyone would be doing it, and many model innovation needs a discrete focus or it
of the burdens our communities face would will get marginalized, again producing only
be relieved. incremental change.
In any organization, a strategy that focuses This kind of complex, far-reaching and
solely on incremental tweaks to products and game-changing innovation can only be tried,
services, rather than on truly transforming how tested and proven in real-world environments.
value is delivered, is cause for alarm. Business To find the next big idea, innovators need an
models (business jargon for the underlying environment where they can explore, experi-
operational and financial model that defines ment and implement with less risk and cost.
how you deliver value to an end user) aren’t The Business Innovation Factory’s
lasting as long as they used to, and most CEOs Experience Labs are a neutral platform where
have only had to lead a single business model partners from across industries and disciplines
throughout their career. The half life of can design and test big-win innovations in
a business model is rapidly decreasing, making a low-risk environment, then transfer what
business model innovation a necessity. Increas- they learn back to their own organizations.
ingly, leaders will have to change business
 19

Our platform for

collaborative innovation BIF works with project partners to create
Projects in the BIF Experience Labs enable a real-world test bed for designing and testing
innovators to: new ideas. Using experimental design-thinking
approaches, BIF helps partners access and
• test new business model designs and create
recruit the right test participants and set up
proofs-of-concept;
the “rules of engagement” to test complex
• learn how others overcome implementation
ideas and measure results in a real-world
challenges;
environment. This iterative approach uncovers
• understand implementation realities to speed
hidden dependencies, unintended conse-
time-to-scale;
quences and interconnected outcomes,
• connect to a consortium of partners
locating leverage points for deep change.
motivated to develop new collaborative
BIF offers a portfolio of enabling services
models for delivering value;
that helps partners prepare for successful
• justify the return on innovation investment.
experiments and enables organizations
BIF helps organizations focus on the ambitious to absorb and communicate the outcomes.
end of innovation by radically redesigning These services include the capture of custom-
the delivery of value to focus on the customer. er insights, rapid prototyping and concept
Experience Labs offer a platform where testing with customers, outcomes packaging,
collaborators focus on common goals. As and communication through traditional and
a non-profit, BIF excels at facilitating collabo- new media.
ration partnerships and enabling collaboration
across traditional silos.

“Today, economic value is driven by our knowledge, synthesis and creativity rather
than manufacturing. The world desperately needs new social and economic models
and the Business Innovation Factory is paving the way for the exploration and
testing of new and innovative business models.” — Richard Florida, BIF Research Advisor
20

The BIF Elder Experience private spaces, care for body and mind, and stay
Lab: A Living Laboratory connected with the world. We couple this with
for Transforming Elder a unique storytelling capability to bring the elder
Care in America experience to life in a new and exciting way and
help our partners transfer these insights back
BIF created the Elder Experience Lab in 2008
into their organizations to accelerate innovation.
to create a platform for experimentation where
partners can design and test new solutions to From simple things like eating and dressing to
improve the elder experience. In our quest to the challenges elders often face staying con-
build a living laboratory for transforming elder nected to the community, the BIF team has
care in America, we began with one simple chronicled the elder experience, using narrative,
premise: put the elder experience at the center. video and photography to reveal and illuminate
Our methodology and unique non-profit posi- opportunities for transformative innovation.
tioning has enabled BIF to create a lab where
We have the great pleasure of working with an
elders are directly engaged in an ongoing effort
especially talented group of elders at Tockwotton
to better understand the elder experience
Home, an assisted living and skilled nursing
and drive R&D work aimed at improving it.
center. They share their experiences with great
The BIF Elder Experience Lab works directly candor and grace and, through their generosity,
with elder volunteers to conduct deep research help the BIF team lay a strong foundation for
into elders’ everyday experience. We use these work in the Lab.
insights to illuminate opportunities for trans-
The Lab also has a special focus on the experi-
forming the elder care system, and with help
ence of elders aging in place. We believe that
from the Lab’s elder participants, put new ideas
designing and developing ways to enable more
to the test in a real-world environment.
elders to age at home is an important part
The BIF team uses an observational/ethnographic of transforming our country’s approach to elder
approach to understand how elders interact care. Today the Lab includes five major partici-
with their environments, utilize shared and pant groups: elders aging in skilled nursing care,
 21

elders aging in assisted living environments, BIF’s non-profit platform and embedded story-
elders aging in place, elder caregivers and baby telling capability enable us to broadly share lab
boomers living independently. output. Most importantly, collaboration between
partners working in the Lab enables a flow of
With every activity in the Lab, we strive to put
information and insights critical to developing
elders in the driver’s seat of a new kind of R&D.
networked business models that link capabilities
Too often, the conversation about elder care
across traditional boundaries.
innovation is dominated by the institutions that
provide services. That conversation takes on BIF is committed to using this platform to
a new dimension when the elder experience is accelerate the design and development of trans-
put center stage and elders use their own voices formative solutions that cut across the elder care
to share first-person insights about what works system and integrate insights and capabilities
and what doesn’t. from across traditional industry and sector
boundaries.
This experience has only strengthened our
resolve that systems-level transformation is
the only pathway toward delivering to our elders
the support they deserve. We believe that
experimentation is key to breaking through old
ways of thinking to create truly novel approaches
to elder care.
stephanie alvarez ewens

Building this foundation, we put elders in the lab

to work through workshops, focus groups and
“deep dive” investigations into focus areas of the
experience. Working with the Lab’s researchers
To transform elder care, we need platforms for
and designers, elders are empowered to act like experimentation where partners can understand
design students and examine current aspects of the elder experience and design new solutions in
a real-world environment. In the Lab, we challenge
the experience in the context of making it better. elders to share their experience, experiment with
new ideas and help us think about a new system
that delivers a better experience.
22

BIF student Experience Lab The first order of business is to make the student
experience central. Most conversations about
The second of BIF’s Experience Labs to come education reform reflect the perspective, needs
online, the BIF Student Experience Lab was and agenda of the institutions that provide
launched in 2009 to bring the student experience educational services, rather than the needs
to life in a new way and make the student voice of the students they serve. We believe that
more central to our conversation about trans- bringing the student experience — and the
forming education. At BIF we care deeply about student voice — to the center of the conversation
education and believe that the U.S. education is the first step toward developing educational
system does not deliver — at sufficient scale — an services and solutions that better meet
educational experience that prepares students students’ needs.
with the skills they need to compete in today’s
knowledge-based global economy. With an initial investment from the Lumina
Foundation for Education, BIF launched the Lab
with an initial phase of work focused on illumi-
nating the college student experience and
creating a platform to experiment with new ways
to increase college-attainment levels, enhance
the college student experience and improve the
effectiveness of the U.S. higher education system.

The Student Experience Lab is using a combina-

tion of observational and ethnographic research,
self-reporting and interviewing to characterize
the experience of current, former and prospective
The BIF Student Experience Lab has captured more
than 100 hours of video of students sharing first-person postsecondary education students at various
perspectives on issues that effect their educational ages and from diverse racial and socioeconomic
experience.
backgrounds. To bring the first-person perspec-
 23

tive to the fore, the team captures its primary The team is packaging its findings in a highly
research on video, empowering students to visual and interactive form that uses video,
take an unapologetically personal stance on the audio, photography and first-person narrative
issues that enhance and hinder their higher to tell the story of the postsecondary student
education experience. experience in a manner that allows experts
and non-experts to understand the human,
Primary research is supported by secondary
environmental and systems-level factors that
research and the team has engaged with
most impact degree attainment.
education experts and advocates from all sides
of the debate. But the strength of the work Once the team has created a detailed map of
hinges on the time the team spends working the current student experience and a prioritized
with students, engaged in interviews, meeting list of opportunities for improving the experience,
informally and visiting students’ homes and the Lab will offer a collaborative environment
classrooms. where new ideas for improving the student
experience can be designed, tested and refined
The team uses a network of researchers
in a real-world laboratory with direct student
from across the country to capture the experi-
engagement.
ences of students at a variety of schools and
at many stages of life. The Lab has already Participants can engage in the Lab remotely
conducted more than 60 deep interviews with by joining an online forum where the team posts
students from all walks of life and garnered outputs and encourages dialogue about their
input from dozens more. They have met with findings. For more information, to meet the
high school students considering college, team and see outputs from Lab activity, visit:
students already attending school, adult www.businessinnovationfactory.com/SEL
learners and many who have failed or dropped
BIF thanks the Lumina Foundation for Education
out of school.
for making a catalytic investment in the launch  
of the Student Experience Lab.
con n
Join the conversation, share your insights
and learn from others who believe
that collaborative innovation can deliver
real value.
nect
“I believe in the value of stewardship. The simple
but powerful idea that any community or institution
we are fortunate enough to be a part of should be
stronger when we leave it than when we found it.
BIF is a connected community with a shared purpose
of delivering value in sectors that need it the most.
We may have a lot of work to do but we’ve got our
eyes on the prize.”
— Saul Kaplan, BIF Founder and Chief Catalyst
 fostering
26
collaboration
A PLACE TO THINK, LEARN, VISIT BIF’S INNOVATION
DO & CONNECT STORY STUDIO
BIF is a network of informed, inspired More than just an archive of cool videos,
and involved people. Community is central interviews, audio and narrative pieces,
to everything we do and we’re committed the Innovation Story Studio is BIF’s platform
to strengthening our relationships, expanding for helping our innovation community
our community and catalyzing new project learn from each other and revel in the out-
opportunities. We invite you to join us and comes of our experiments, whether they
offer several ways to get connected with succeed or fail.
our community.
JOIN our experience lab
TALK BACK ON THE BIFSPEAK BLOG online forums
Hosted by Chief Catalyst Saul Kaplan, Both our student and elder experience
BIF-Speak covers important topics related labs have associated online forums where
to business model innovation, collaboration people across the country gather to contribute
and design strategy across the public and their thoughts and ideas and participate
private sectors. in specific activities and guided discussions.
Join us at elderexperience.ning.com and
JOIN US FOR An EVENT studentexperience.ning.com.
Each year BIF hosts a series of events designed
to bring our community together to share JOIN the BIF BOOK CLUB
ideas, learn new skills and connect with some There’s simply no better place to find a good
of today’s best and brightest thinkers and doers. read and have a lively conversation with
an engaged community of interest. Join us at
bifbookgroup.ning.com. New members are
always welcome!
 27

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BECOME A MEMBER OR PARTNER @skap5, @melissaAtBIF, @chrisflanagan

As a member, you can:
• Gain access to BIF’s collaborative innovation Start a conversation —
projects and view pilot projects in high- Business Innovation Factory Community
impact areas such as wireless, healthcare and
education. Become a fan —
BIF Collaborative Innovation Summit
• Participate in collaborative pilots with highly
motivated partners to explore possibilities
Watch a video —
and test new ideas. Members can also recom-
www.businessinnovationfactory.com/iss
mend new pilots that have innovation
potential.
• Receive complimentary tickets to BIF’s
Visit our Ning Communities —
innovation events and annual Collaborative
Innovation Summit. BIF Summit
www.bifsummit.ning.com
• Participate more deeply in BIF’s experience
labs and have the ability to directly engage BIF Bookgroup
with BIF’s collaborative innovation projects. www.bifbookgroup.ning.com
Elder Experience Lab
VISIT US ONline TO LEARN MORE www.elderexperiencelab.ning.com
www.businessinnovationfactory.com Student Experience Lab
www.studentexperiencelab.ning.com