In Case You Missed the CNN Global Innovation Special

On Sunday, June 5, 2011 on CNN Global a television special titled Restoring the American Dream: How to Innovate – A FAREED ZAKARIA GPS Special debuted on CNN Global and will be featured in TIME magazine.

Here is a snippet about this innovation television special:

“In 2011, for the first time in history, China is on track to outpace the United States in patent filings. From the political right to the political left, nearly everyone agrees that innovation is key to American job growth. CNN and TIME magazine’s Fareed Zakaria interviews America’s top innovation experts for their best ideas on how to fuel creativity and the U.S. economic recovery for a new special, CNN Presents: Restoring the American Dream: How to Innovate. Fareed Zakaria’s TIME magazine story, “Innovate Better” is featured in the June 13, 2011 issue.

But just what is “innovation” and who is good at it? If America is falling behind, how can the U.S. rebound? Should government or the private sector take the lead? And, who are the winners and losers if America can get back to innovating?”

In the video, Fareed Zakaria speaks with the following innovation experts:

• Google Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt
• The head of the U.S. military’s crack team of innovators, Dr. Regina Dugan
• Author, Steven Johnson
• Economist Paul Romer
• Venture capitalist Len Baker
• And innovation maven John Kao

Thank you to Mari Anixter and Jose Briones for bringing this innovation television special to my attention.

After watching the special what I took away is that part of what was said is what I already wrote in An Open Letter on Innovation to President Obama and a lot of the rest in terms of what countries should do to excel at innovation mirrors what I have layed out in Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire for organizations.

When it comes to innovation, countries, much like organizations, must build a foundation for sustainable innovation by crafting a vision, strategy, and goals to go along with their efforts to create a common language around innovation. The countries that pick a focus, communicate that focus, and align the efforts of the public and the private sector in service of that focus are likely to emerge as the countries who will enjoy higher standards of living than others.

What did you take away?

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Braden Kelley is a popular innovation speaker, embeds innovation across the organization with innovation training, and builds B2B pull marketing strategies that drive increased revenue, visibility and inbound sales leads. He is currently advising an early-stage fashion startup making jewelry for your hair and is the author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire from John Wiley & Sons. He tweets from @innovate.