Innovate on Purpose: How should one approach a new innovation program? What kind of methods will result in the best possible use of your valuable resource and time? Jeffrey Phillips has a suggestion for one way to pursue the elusive prey: "Think like a farmer, act like a hunter. Farmers place the seeds in the ground and groom the soil, patiently waiting for the crop to bear fruit. They understand the cycles and the seasons. They realize a corn crop will take six months to grow, and in the off season they till the soil to prepare the next crop. Hunters are opportunists. They spot the game and shot what's in front of them, when it's available. Innovators need to groom their cultures and grow their ideas like farmers and implement those ideas when the opportunities are right like hunters. Without the farming, there's no ready stock of ideas in the pipeline. Without the hunter, there's no recognition of the opportunity." Phillips' combinatorial approach allows for an abundance of possibilities and recognizes that a solitary focus on farming or hunting might not provide adequate idea sustenance for a successful innovation diet. Read more in Working with an innovation consultant part 2.

PEHub.com: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are feeling a bit blue these days, what with the disappearance of billions of dollars in invested monies, and they are not shy about pointing the smoking gun in the general direction of the United States, according to a recent report. Erin Griffith writes, "According to panelists at The Deal’s 2009 PE Outlook Conference, the SWFs have retreated, licking their wounds, from further investments in U.S. firms, companies and funds. They’re shifting their focuses back to domestic investing. And it’s not just a temporary bout on the sidelines. There’s a fundamental shift going on in the way they deploy their capital, the panelists said. Fortunately, that’s not necessarily a bad thing." To find out the silver lining of this darkening storm cloud, read the complete piece here.

The Money Alert: Every business starts with a number of initial, critical choices, which are only the beginning of the millions to be made down the line, and one of those decisions is what kind of legal business model will best provide the necessary guidelines to steer the ship out of harbor safely and into deeper waters. For a quick and easy way to see all the "which one should I chose?" options for a business, check out this chart.

InfoChachkie: Who says you can't build a better mouse? Two intrepid entrepreneurs struck out bravely into the unknown with the goal of starting their own simple business to learn the ways of the world first hand. And, as luck would have it, they wrote a book about it, too! Uncle Saul reviews this worthy tome, The Mouse Driver Chronicles, and gives it a fairly hearty thumb's up. Saul opens up his piece with a bit of background on this dynamic duo: "During the spring of 1999, John Lusk and Kyle Harrison turned their backs on the traditional path taken by most Wharton MBAs. Instead of accepting high-paying positions with an investment bank, consulting firm or Dumb Dot Com, John and Kyle decided to launch a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product." The product in question is a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf club, and so the adventure begins. You can read more of the review, Driving The Mouse, or simply head on over to Amazon.com and purchase a copy to read and make your own determinations.

Knowledge At Wharton: Just because the economy is tanking is no reason at all not to try to reach out to luxury goods-consuming rich people, people! I realize how crazy that sounds, but the idea is not mine, believe you me. A panel of esteemed experts came up with this zany suggestion to help keep high-end companies in the black even as the rest of the country is drowning in a sea of red ink. The "shop until you drop" proponents included Cori Galpern, worldwide marketing and advertising director for Tom Ford International, and Brad Farrell, skincare brand manager for L'Oréal Paris. Farrell said, "'We don't want to see huge price cuts that will create a lower-priced brand, [t]hat's because you don't want to tarnish your brand. When this is all said and done, you still have your brand reputation to uphold.'" Brand reputation above all! To learn more about eating cake, or maybe fiddling 'round the flames, read Luxury Brands: Marketing the Upscale During a Downturn.