"Re-Think: A Business Manifesto For Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation" by Ric Merrifield was a good quick read with some interesting examples of how different companies learned to cut costs, strengthen innovation, and profit from change. The author's objective is for people to "Re-think" their business to improve efficiency and productivity, and I believe this book will get readers to "Re-think" the what and how of their respective businesses.

The perfect time to launch a new product is always now. Time is never the friend of the entrepreneur. If you wait for the perfect time, the best market conditions to appear, someone can beat you to market with a product that cannibalizes the best parts of your idea. This happens all too often. Waiting for a better climate is an excuse for inaction and a sure path to mediocrity. Charles Darrow's launch of Monopoly in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression is a wonderful example to study.

When you take a look back at history and see the people who have become rich, one thing becomes clear. The wealthiest people do not do what everyone else does. They are masters of innovation and they create a new market that they can dominate themselves. If you do what everyone else does, you will get the same results that they do. And 95% of the population does not fit the definition of being wealthy, so you are kind of guaranteeing yourself that you will not become wealthy.

Research and innovation is a wonderful thing, and often companies that spend the most money in research and development have the greatest rewards in profits later on. Many top business professors will claim that research and development money spent is like money in the bank. Those corporations that run their research and development teams around the clock even during a recession are usually the ones to emerge with the best profits in the future.

What does it mean when people often say "it takes money to make money?" And what if that statement, although it makes it's point, is NOT accurate and keeps many from pursuing their passion. Read on...

The aim of this report is to provide a greater understanding of the differences between open source and closed source (proprietary) software, and the advantages and disadvantages of each to enable a more informed decision making process when it comes to choosing between the two.

There seems to be a perception that the reason of our incentive, performance measurement and ownership problems and difficulties lie in what we do to the workforce. Experience tells us that the difficulties and obstacles are not because of what we ?do? to the staff, they are simply caused by the mindset which believes that as managers we could manipulate and dictate the staff to ?do? what we want.

Innovation is not only for so-called "creative" minds. we're all creative, and each of us has the ability to generate ideas to solve problems in our businesses and improve our relationships.

Product innovation starts with ideas, which anyone can generate by asking a few simple questions.

If you want what may be the simplest innovation process, here it is: Find the things that others are not doing well, or just not doing. Once you identify these deficiencies, design a better service or product based on what customers really want. Then sell it.

Fixing a problem just guarantees a return to status quo. Thinking creatively and innovating can not only solve the problem but take you or your organization to the next level.

Video and Computer Gaming Software Companies know who their biggest consumers and clients are, and they do not have to look far for fan clubs, gaming communities, and diehards. Nor, do they have to look far for their most outspoken and outrageous critics either. Indeed, some of their biggest fans and biggest critics turn out to often be one of the greatest untapped resources known to mankind.

Intellectual Property Law is something which is needed to guarantee that investment capital will flow to new ideas and innovations marketplace. If someone is able to get a patent on an idea or concept then they are able to put money into that idea and bring it to market without having to worry about everyone copying their idea and competing against them, at least right away. Proponents say it is very much necessary and needed.

Current market situation puts high pressure on prices of commodity products. Standardised plastic compounds and products mainly discriminate on price, creating the awareness and the need of customised, less price sensitive compound solutions. Cost cutting is the first logical step trying to keep the business profitable.