Comments on: How is research at Media Lab different

By: Jorge Burgos

Jorge Burgos — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:30:55 +0000

Hi Ray. I like the approach of building faster than asking for permission. I’m in charge of the technological innovation department in another major spanish bank Spain (saludos Gerardo) and I can tell you that experience shows that when you see ‘in action’ a prototype or even a proof of concept you have more winning bets than if you make your ’show’ just with a powerpoint. The question is ‘let me go on with it; you have seen and you can imagine what and where we can achieve’. Regards

By: Gerardo Ponte

Gerardo Ponte — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:33:26 +0000

Ray, as senior consultant in the IT Innovation unit of a major spanish bank, I find BofA approach with Media Lab a dream come true. I mean, new disruptive ideas will come out in such a fertile environment for sure, applicable either to the business model or to relationship with the customers.

However, when it comes to developing and deploying ideas that are founded on new technologies or artifacts, I imagine the process for a non-IT company unfeasible without a partnership with an IT company.

How are you approaching this need of support when concepts and technologies get out of the labs to the real life?

By: Colin Henderson

Colin Henderson — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:06:36 +0000

RE: “What’s complicated about this approach is that the entities sponsoring the research must understand how it serves their commercial interests.”

This defines the classic problem for banks in delivering agile development. imho banks must define hgher level objectives that take them out of evaluating (relatively) small individual iterations.