The word "innovation" comes from the latin terms novus „new“ and innovatio „something new“.

Recently I’ve started a wild discussion about innovation and the climate it needs to be innovative. Unfortunately I did not only make friends with my opinion. And to be honest, calling someone a nerd after had he told me about his new top-down strategy for innovation really forced some king of trouble.

TOP-DOWN!! Forcing innovation and clever ideas by directive? You guys will now be innovative … You got me?!

Anyway, even I have a very strong opinion about that and I’m feeling sure about this is a suboptimal wrong way for sure, it doesn’t matter and also does not have to be my concern anyway. And thanks god problems could get solved later on.

Later on I was telling my brother about this discussion. And today now – this nasty guy-  he did invite me to a coffee, and with a big smile, as first thing he did, he was handing me over a poster about innovation …. 

Damned! Brother you know for sure …. Revenge will be terrible!

It was somewhat early that year when my brother came up with the news that he had bought some reasonable priced GPS by following some info he had found on the net about this device could easily loaded with a bigger variety of all the famous navigation software packages like TomTom, Navigon or iGo.

Great I said, but didn’t really go into it as for since my time at the German Air Force (no, I wasn’t a pilot) I’m trained in finding my directions by using some good old maps.

So all the years, on all my journeys and trips I’ve never needed more than some more or less recent map about the area I was going to cruise and I never got lost. But it wouldn’t have been my brother coming back to it again and again … at that point we both a very much alike!

Hey have a look an what I have done with it again and again …. until the day he called me with the news: "I’ve ordered one for YOU!!"

Great :-/   That is my brother!  A 100 Euro for nothing I thought!

For what would I ever need a GPS for?! It came like it had to came. I did put it aside all the time, until shortly before this vacation now when my brother told me about he would have some North America Map for me.

Ok, why not I thought and did take it with me finally.

Now believe it or not. This little device does a great job … All the time I keep it navigating me so far. And besides one single issue when the info where to go wasn’t really clear – the good old map did help – I have nothing to complain about it’s route suggestions.

Guess there is a "sorry and thanks" necessary when I will be home again and being able to tell my brother about.

I always thought that I’m not really bad in finding  information on the net. Reading through FAQs, Boards or just individual pages can become somewhat tiring, especially when you are trying to find information about some newer topic or technology which is not really of everyone’s interest already.

But anyway, normally I’m very good in that discipline. Just sometimes I start to value my time I have to spend for it, compared with the return value I Have to expect in case I should get the issue solved and getting it up and running with the found information …. Not so my brother as it looks!!

Ok, it might be the  aspiration of the younger brother showing the older guy that we both are working on equal level, but nevertheless … when being interested in the same topics, I’m always impressed about the speed and endurance with what my brother is pushing our "common" projects. Even at a time, I might from time to time have already given up, already looking for some new idea or plan!

Now this is tempting ….

Yesterday I did catch up with my brother on Yahoo. He is actually over in the USA and like me a great fan of all that shiny new things offered in electronic stores! So it was no wonder he was strolling into a lot of shops comparing rate and based on our Euro is actually very strong it is no wonder buying things there seems to be very lucrative at the moment.

Now generous he is, he offered me to do a bit of shopping for me as well!

How tempting! Can I resist? Hardly I guess … at least we have already started to speak about specific models he will now look into and check out for me.