Synopses & Reviews
What exactly is the “magic of cool”? What makes products like the iPhone cool? (Or, in its own day, the phonograph?) And what if you could make your own ideas cool? What if you could even turn them into the next big thing?
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a business leader, what you want most is to be at the head of the pack with the latest, hottest consumer enthusiasm: a product or service that comes across as brilliant, original, and hip; the kind of thing that not only seems cool in and of itself, but makes the lucky consumer who uses it feel cool.
Building on the ideas found in the groundbreaking book Coolhunting, consumer trend expert Peter Gloor’s Coolfarming moves beyond simply hunting for the latest hot ideas that are already happening and shows you how to get the “next big idea” off the ground for yourself or your company by nurturing innovative, cutting-edge ideas from the ground up.
“Coolhunting” refers to the process of seeking out and finding the latest trends. Now Coolfarming shows you how to dig deeper and become a part of the initial development phase of what will be the next hot phenomenon, converting creative dreams into cool products by enlisting the help of dedicated and passionate collaborators. You’ll learn how to nurture your own Collaborative Innovation Network (COIN), a group of intrinsically motivated people assembled around a common vision.
COINs are not new. They have long been found swarming around the genesis of new ideas. An earlier example of a successful COIN was Menlo Park, the research lab where Thomas Edison assembled other creative geniuses responsible for “hot new ideas” such as air conditioning and the light bulb. The rapidly expanding uses of social networking and Google’s exponential, innovation-driven growth are other, more current examples.
In Coolfarming, you’ll discover how to grow your own trends by creating an environment where COINs flourish; then—once a product has become established—extend the creative pool into a Collaborative Learning Network, or CLN, whereby a targeted group of interested people are brought in to learn the basics of the product, make suggestions for improvements, point out deficiencies, and push the idea forward.
When this feedback gets incorporated, things get really interesting, expanding the process further outward to a Collaborative Interest Network (CIN) that encompasses thousands or even millions of users, building what hopefully turns into a loyal fan base…and virtually guaranteeing the success of the idea.
Featuring real-life examples from Linux to the Twilight series, from Procter & Gamble to Apple, Coolfarming lets you in on the practical, step-by-step processes that will allow you to successfully cultivate the kind of swarm creativity that generates hot new trends. . .and then push them over the tipping point to commercial success.
PETER GLOOR, the coauthor of Coolhunting, has enjoyed a 20-year career as an executive for UBS, PwC, and Deloitte. He divides his time between the MIT Sloan School of Management, Aalto University (Helsinki) and the University of Cologne, and his growing startup company, galaxyadvisors.
Review
“…offers inspiration for individuals anxious to turn ideas into products and dreams into reality…puts the process of product development into a contemporary context…valuable resource for any budding entrepreneur.” --ForeWord
Synopsis
Pursuing new ideas is clearly the way to gain business advantage in the new millennium. But it’s not enough to simply chase after ideas that have already happened. To truly benefit, individuals and organizations have to foster the new creative impulses around them. Coolfarming shows readers how they, like bee keepers, can nurture exciting trends and unleash their creative swarm’s output of “next big ideas.”
Featuring real life examples from Linux to Twilight, from Procter & Gamble to Apple, Coolfarming provides readers with invaluable insight on how to:
Provide a fertile nurturing ground for developing original ideas • Determine what “cool” means for one’s target group, and what attributes the next big thing should possess • Convert creative dreams into real products by enlisting the help of a dedicated and passionate Collaborative Innovation Network • Carry new ideas over the tipping point into widespread phenomena
Those who want to stay ahead of the curve and ride a wave of profit need to learn how to find, develop, and popularize the trends of tomorrow. Coolfarming is the answer.
Synopsis
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, it’s not enough to catch on to the latest hot idea once it’s already hot. Coolfarming gives you practical, hands-on advice on how to carry your own cool ideas over the tipping point, nurture a swarm of creative collaborators to develop the next big trend for your own target group, and ride a wave of innovation. It also contains real-life examples of how to find, develop, and popularize the trends of tomorrow. . .and reap the benefits.
Praise for Peter Gloor’s Previous Book, Coolhunting:
“Helping to ‘elucidate the culture of cool,’ this book is fascinating . . . based on solid and credible field research. . .” — Inside Retailing
“…For those keen to mine the wealth of information available in online communities . . . virtues of social network analysis are clearly demonstrated. . .an inspiring read . . . ” — B&T Weekly
“There are many layers to this book, but readers will leave convinced that social networks hold the key to the future.” — BizEd magazine
“An invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes . . . will show you how to stay ahead of the curve and on the cutting edge.” — StrictlyBusinessBooks.com
“Coolhunting reports on useful techniques for helping to see what’s coming. Wrap it in a plain brown wrapper and read it surreptitiously.” — Tom Davenport, Harvard Business Online
“Coolhunting is a skill we all need to master. This book, entertaining and informative . . ., is a terrific place to start.” — Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READ blog
“Marketers, especially the online variety, and anyone else chasing what’s cool will want to read the new AMACOM book Coolhunting .” — Ted Kinni, Reading Writing Management blog
“Coolhunting is an entirely different experience and targets those of us who are fascinated by social networks, how they work, and what’s ‘cool’.” — AllThingsWorkplace.com
“Gloor and Cooper provide a real-world, practical approach to hunting something as elusive and illusory as ‘coolness’.” — Soundview Executive Book Summaries
“The authors write in a style that is easy for those outside of their cutting-edge mindset to understand.” — Midwest Book Review
About the Author
PETER GLOOR (Cambridge, MA), the coauthor of Coolhunting (978-0-8144-7386-3), has enjoyed a 20-year career as an executive for UBS, PwC, and Deloitte. He divides his time between the MIT Sloan School of Management, Helsinki University of Technology, and the University of Cologne, and has been growing his startup company, galaxyadvisors.
Table of Contents
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IX
1 HOW DO YOU TURN A COOL IDEA INTO A TREND? . . . . . . . 1
The Four Steps of Coolfarming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Finding the Trendsetters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Growing Your Own Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Coolfarming Is More Than Managing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Coolfarming the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Coolfarming Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
2 SWARM CREATIVITY: The Force That Fuels Coolfarming . . 29
The More Swarms Communicate, the Better They Perform . . . . . .34
Swarm Business Beats “Black Swans” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Lessons from the Beehive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Swarm Creativity in Ghana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Essentials of Coolfarming and Coolhunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
3 CREATORS: Building the Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
COIN Leaders Are Not Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Eating and Feeding Royal Jelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Royal Pheromone—Nicholas Negroponte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Coolfarmers Are Coolhunters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
How Do Leaders Get Selected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Coolfarming Tourists—Immersing Yourself into the Swarm . . . . . .88
Coolfarming a Palm Tree Plantation—
Empowering the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Running an Internet Café in Ghana—
Using the Swarm to Police the Swarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Seven Guidelines for Creators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
4 COINS: Building the Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
How Picasso Created Cubism Through a COIN . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Gain Power by Giving It Up—Rotating Leadership . . . . . . . . . .106
Start Out as a Small Fish in a Big Pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Six Guidelines for COINs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
5 CLNS: Teaching and Preaching the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Increasing Sales Through a CLN of Salespeople . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Learning About Innovations Through the
P&G Technology Entrepreneurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Coolfarming in Twilight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Six Guidelines for CLNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
6 CIN: Building the Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Immersion Gets the Swarm to Explosion—LEGO Mindstorms . . .137
Building the Heat—Yummy Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
From Creators to CINs—
Illustrating the Process Through Social Networks . . . . . . . . . .150
Five Guidelines for CINs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
7 COOLHUNTING: Find the Trends Through
the Trendsetters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Coolhunting Combines the Wisdom of Crowds,
Experts, and Swarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Coolhunting U.S. Presidential Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Coolhunting the Value of Brands:
Looking for the End of the Federer Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Why the World’s Most Influential Intellectual
Is an Islamic Cleric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Predicting the Outcome of the Academy Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Predicting Stock Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Predicting the Actions of People Using Social Badges . . . . . . . . .181
8 WHAT MOTIVATES COOLFARMERS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Coolfarmers Show Yhteisöllisyys and Gemeinsinn . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Coolfarmers Are Ethical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
COINs Need Cops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Coolfarmers Are Happy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Coolfarmers Are Altruistic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196