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I was drawn to the article by Robert Cooper titled, Accelerating Innovation: Some Lessons from The Pandemic, because of the relevance to current events occurring at many companies. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to change on the fly. I believe one of the more positive outcomes innovation. Many people, from individuals to restaurants, to live performing artists and musicians, to large industrial corporations created many innovative products and services in record time. Robert uses the example of the COVID-19 vaccine development as an example of focused project teams which went really well. This is an excellent example of teams coming together to push bureaucracy out of the way and develop something in record time. He also discussed prioritizing projects at regular portfolio reviews as a way to eliminate excess projects and focus the team on the most promising. He cites many other excellent examples in the article which show companies and groups coming together to innovate and create products and services to, not only survive the pandemic, but also to create entirely new categories of products.

            One area on which I would like to focus is digital tools used to accelerate knowledge creation. Cooper discusses augmented and virtual realities used to simulate construction vehicle development at Volvo. I want to discuss another use of technology which led to a sort of revolution of industry. Streaming technology changed the movie industry quickly and permanently at the beginning of the pandemic. Movie theaters and other live performance venues were shuttered throughout the world in an effort to prevent gatherings of people. Suddenly, musicians, performers, actors, and the support staff behind these productions found themselves out of work. A group of musicians decided to collaborate virtually and perform a concert of sorts which was streamed via the internet and TV. This led to copycat productions which allowed artists to continue working and allowed people an outlet to see "live" performances in their homes. Streaming technology allowed television shows to continue, even shows such as Saturday Night Live. Many of the comedians and actors live streamed from their homes and production staff ensured they had the correct equipment and synched the pieces together to produce the show. These "live at home" performances were an innovative solution enabled by technology. Had the pandemic occurred even twenty years ago, these productions and concert streams would not have been possible. Staff to support the production behind the scenes would have been permanently out of work and many musicians and actors likely would have ended up unemployed. Rapid deployment of advanced streaming technology allowed the entertainment industry to survive, even if not at pre-pandemic levels. It allowed the fallout to be reduced.

            In conclusion, innovation occurred in many areas, industries, and with individuals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies and individuals created products and services that did not exist prior to the pandemic. These innovations were developed in record time. Seeing innovation success led many others to become creative and innovate solutions themselves. While there have been many negative outcomes caused by the pandemic, innovation was one bright spot in an otherwise bleak environment. 

Cooper, R. (2021). Accelerating innovation: some lessons from the pandemic. The Journal of Product Innovation Management.

I was drawn to the article by Robert Cooper titled, Accelerating Innovation: Some Lessons from The Pandemic, because of the relevance to current events occurring at many companies. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to change on the fly. I believe one of the more positive outcomes innovation. Many people, from individuals to restaurants, to live performing artists and musicians, to large industrial corporations created many innovative products and services in record time. Robert uses the example of the COVID-19 vaccine development as an example of focused project teams which went really well. This is an excellent example of teams coming together to push bureaucracy out of the way and develop something in record time. He also discussed prioritizing projects at regular portfolio reviews as a way to eliminate excess projects and focus the team on the most promising. He cites many other excellent examples in the article which show companies and groups coming together to innovate and create products and services to, not only survive the pandemic, but also to create entirely new categories of products.

            One area on which I would like to focus is digital tools used to accelerate knowledge creation. Cooper discusses augmented and virtual realities used to simulate construction vehicle development at Volvo. I want to discuss another use of technology which led to a sort of revolution of industry. Streaming technology changed the movie industry quickly and permanently at the beginning of the pandemic. Movie theaters and other live performance venues were shuttered throughout the world in an effort to prevent gatherings of people. Suddenly, musicians, performers, actors, and the support staff behind these productions found themselves out of work. A group of musicians decided to collaborate virtually and perform a concert of sorts which was streamed via the internet and TV. This led to copycat productions which allowed artists to continue working and allowed people an outlet to see "live" performances in their homes. Streaming technology allowed television shows to continue, even shows such as Saturday Night Live. Many of the comedians and actors live streamed from their homes and production staff ensured they had the correct equipment and synched the pieces together to produce the show. These "live at home" performances were an innovative solution enabled by technology. Had the pandemic occurred even twenty years ago, these productions and concert streams would not have been possible. Staff to support the production behind the scenes would have been permanently out of work and many musicians and actors likely would have ended up unemployed. Rapid deployment of advanced streaming technology allowed the entertainment industry to survive, even if not at pre-pandemic levels. It allowed the fallout to be reduced.

            In conclusion, innovation occurred in many areas, industries, and with individuals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies and individuals created products and services that did not exist prior to the pandemic. These innovations were developed in record time. Seeing innovation success led many others to become creative and innovate solutions themselves. While there have been many negative outcomes caused by the pandemic, innovation was one bright spot in an otherwise bleak environment. 

Cooper, R. (2021). Accelerating innovation: some lessons from the pandemic. The Journal of Product Innovation Management.

I was drawn to the article by Robert Cooper titled, Accelerating Innovation: Some Lessons from The Pandemic, because of the relevance to current events occurring at many companies. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to change on the fly. I believe one of the more positive outcomes innovation. Many people, from individuals to restaurants, to live performing artists and musicians, to large industrial corporations created many innovative products and services in record time. Robert uses the example of the COVID-19 vaccine development as an example of focused project teams which went really well. This is an excellent example of teams coming together to push bureaucracy out of the way and develop something in record time. He also discussed prioritizing projects at regular portfolio reviews as a way to eliminate excess projects and focus the team on the most promising. He cites many other excellent examples in the article which show companies and groups coming together to innovate and create products and services to, not only survive the pandemic, but also to create entirely new categories of products.

            One area on which I would like to focus is digital tools used to accelerate knowledge creation. Cooper discusses augmented and virtual realities used to simulate construction vehicle development at Volvo. I want to discuss another use of technology which led to a sort of revolution of industry. Streaming technology changed the movie industry quickly and permanently at the beginning of the pandemic. Movie theaters and other live performance venues were shuttered throughout the world in an effort to prevent gatherings of people. Suddenly, musicians, performers, actors, and the support staff behind these productions found themselves out of work. A group of musicians decided to collaborate virtually and perform a concert of sorts which was streamed via the internet and TV. This led to copycat productions which allowed artists to continue working and allowed people an outlet to see "live" performances in their homes. Streaming technology allowed television shows to continue, even shows such as Saturday Night Live. Many of the comedians and actors live streamed from their homes and production staff ensured they had the correct equipment and synched the pieces together to produce the show. These "live at home" performances were an innovative solution enabled by technology. Had the pandemic occurred even twenty years ago, these productions and concert streams would not have been possible. Staff to support the production behind the scenes would have been permanently out of work and many musicians and actors likely would have ended up unemployed. Rapid deployment of advanced streaming technology allowed the entertainment industry to survive, even if not at pre-pandemic levels. It allowed the fallout to be reduced.

            In conclusion, innovation occurred in many areas, industries, and with individuals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies and individuals created products and services that did not exist prior to the pandemic. These innovations were developed in record time. Seeing innovation success led many others to become creative and innovate solutions themselves. While there have been many negative outcomes caused by the pandemic, innovation was one bright spot in an otherwise bleak environment. 

Cooper, R. (2021). Accelerating innovation: some lessons from the pandemic. The Journal of Product Innovation Management.