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Author: richardmiller

The Price Today is not the Price in the Future

The Price Today is not the Price in the Future

Prices fall We have all noticed, or should have noticed, that manufactured products tend to get cheaper with time. The extreme case is computing. The first personal computer I used professionally in 1978 was the Commodore PET. This beast had

richardmiller 23/11/202023/11/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

You Hate Bureaucracy, But What is Your Alternative?

You Hate Bureaucracy, But What is Your Alternative?

It may be old-age or being locked down by Covid-19, but I’m feeling rather grumpy. As soon as I had finished my previous blog on the dangers of so-called ‘best practice’, I heard myself saying “and another thing!”. So here

richardmiller 26/10/202026/10/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

When Best Practice is a Terrible Idea

When Best Practice is a Terrible Idea

I don’t know about you, but I react badly to the label “best practice”. What gets touted as best practice is often terrible practice. Or at least the wrong practice in the wrong place at the wrong time. It starts

richardmiller 05/10/202005/10/2020 Blog 2 Comments Read more

3 Powerful Strategies to Position for Growth

3 Powerful Strategies to Position for Growth

Over the years I have attended many courses, workshops, and talks on business strategy. Some memorable, and some not. Some engaging and useful, and others confusing and a waste of time. The best of the lot were courses by Arnoldo

richardmiller 07/09/202007/09/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

A Powerful Tool to Focus on Stocks and Flows

A Powerful Tool to Focus on Stocks and Flows

In 1892 the wonderfully named Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey became lead engineer and steam engine designer for Willans and Robinson. The efficiency of steam engines was a hot topic, and he needed to understand and communicate where the

richardmiller 24/08/202024/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

How to Understand Your Customers? Listen to Them!

How to Understand Your Customers? Listen to Them!

In your innovation journey, you will have to talk to your customers to find out whether your new idea works for them. After all, we know that the number one reason for innovations falling flat is that they solve a

richardmiller 10/08/202010/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Gaining Mastery – See One, Do One, Teach One

Gaining Mastery – See One, Do One, Teach One

Years ago, I asked a surgeon how they learnt a new procedure; you can’t operate on a patient with a textbook propped open on a convenient part of their body. They said it was very simple; “you watch one, you

richardmiller 29/07/202029/07/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Two Great Innovations – One Specific Solution and One Technology

Frankfurt Passivhaus Devevlopment

There are many kinds of innovation. Some hit you with a flash of light as you realise that there is a simple, practical and clever solution to a pervasive problem. The kind of innovation that makes you slap your head

richardmiller 13/07/202013/07/2020 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Precision Has Made Our World What It Is

Maudslay Screw Cutter

Looking back through the history of innovation, the technologies that created the biggest impact are the ones that enabled further innovation. Whether it’s the water wheel, the steam engine, the electric motor or the microchip, each triggered a wave of

richardmiller 29/06/202029/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

What are the Characteristics of Innovative Companies?

What are the Characteristics of Innovative Companies?

In an earlier blog, I warned about thoughtlessly following the practices of successful companies, hoping the magic would rub off on you. Buying in to the latest management fad. What I called “cargo cult management”. But human nature is human

richardmiller 15/06/202016/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

The Joy of the 2×2 Matrix

The Joy of the 2×2 Matrix

We have all heard variations of the joke “A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps the watch”. They get a lot of flak; some of it richly deserved. Their methods and

richardmiller 02/06/202002/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Let’s Make our Homes More Energy-Efficient and Desirable

Let’s Make our Homes More Energy-Efficient and Desirable

Photo by Bethany Opler on Unsplash The challenge of energy-efficient retrofit In the UK, our homes account for about 30% of total energy consumption and about 20% of total carbon emissions. To have any hope of reaching the 2050 net-zero target, we must

richardmiller 12/05/202016/06/2020 Blog 7 Comments Read more

There’s More Than One Way to Solve the Climate Crisis

There’s More Than One Way to Solve the Climate Crisis

When I first started working in industry, I was lucky to have a great manager. One aphorism he drummed into me was: “don’t let best be the enemy of better”. It is easy to keep looking for the optimum; to

richardmiller 28/04/202028/04/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Coronavirus is Pushing Remote Working – Make It a Success

Coronavirus is Pushing Remote Working – Make It a Success

In the current coronavirus epidemic, one recommendation from health authorities is for people to work from home. There are lots of jobs where this is impossible. It is hard to be a taxi driver, or a nurse, or a professional

richardmiller 10/03/202011/03/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Smart Building Technology CAN Produce Great Buildings

Smart Building Technology CAN Produce Great Buildings

We need to create buildings that don’t contribute to increasing climate change and can adapt to the climate change that is happening. Buildings that are energy efficient and resilient. Many people point to ‘smart buildings’ as a solution; a technological

richardmiller 11/02/202011/02/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

It’s Not Just The Forests That Are Burning – It’s Our Cities

It’s Not Just The Forests That Are Burning – It’s Our Cities

Like many people I have watched the TV footage of the wildfires in Australia with shock. So much damage done so quickly, and over such a wide area. I also thought back to last year’s California wildfires and asked myself,

richardmiller 21/01/202021/01/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

SMART Objectives Can Be So Dumb

SMART Objectives Can Be So Dumb

We have all heard the famous Peter Drucker phrase from his 1954 book the Practice of Management – “what gets measured, gets managed”. It is a cliché of management practice, and like all clichés it contains a truth. If you

richardmiller 09/12/201909/12/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Will Your Automobile be Part of the National Grid?

Electric vehicle recharging

Using the electricity stored in an Electric Vehicle battery to smooth and manage demand on the electricity grid was a big topic at this year’s Low Carbon Vehicles exhibition and conference in September at the Millbrook proving ground. This Vehicle

richardmiller 25/11/201925/11/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Batteries Included, But They Need To Be Better

Batteries Included, But They Need To Be Better

Wonderful Lithium-Ion Batteries A few weeks ago, John Goodenough, Akira Yoshino and Stanley Whittingham won the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize for their work on Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion). Lithium-ion batteries have made our portable, cable-free, mobile world. From our mobile phones

richardmiller 28/10/201928/10/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Keeping up with the Latest Innovation in Low-Carbon Vehicles

Keeping up with the Latest Innovation in Low-Carbon Vehicles

Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook proving ground. It’s a great way to take the pulse of the industry and to learn more about the future of transport. You find out

richardmiller 30/09/201930/09/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Getting the Best Value Out of Household Waste

Getting the Best Value Out of Household Waste

We have a problem with household waste in the UK. The stuff that gets collected at the kerbside. In 2017 we collected about 27 million tonnes of waste from our homes. We are getting better recycling, and just over 45%

richardmiller 27/08/201916/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Climate Change and Our Homes – What’s Stopping Us?

Climate Change and Our Homes – What’s Stopping Us?

Our homes consume about 30% of the UK’s energy and produce 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. 80% of that energy is used for space and hot water heating, mostly from gas. With a net-zero target for UK carbon emissions, it is

richardmiller 06/08/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

2019 – Tackling the Housing Deep Retrofit Challenge

2019 – Tackling the Housing Deep Retrofit Challenge

Tackling the Housing Deep Retrofit Challenge Report of a workshop on deep retrofit organised jointly by the Future Cities Catapult, Innovate UK and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. 120 people attended an event titled “Homes fit for the future

richardmiller 06/08/201906/08/2019 Publications, Reports No Comments Read more

The Power of Industry Clusters in Regional Development

The Power of Industry Clusters in Regional Development

Earlier this year, I wrote about industry clusters. What they are, where they come from, and how important they are. So I was surprised to open my newspaper this morning and find an article by Larry Elliott arguing that the

richardmiller 22/07/201916/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Importing Nature Makes Great Offices and Happy Workers

Importing Nature Makes Great Offices and Happy Workers

As the world’s population becomes more urban, access to nature becomes more important to our wellbeing. From the pollinators that provide our food to the public parks that are the ‘green lungs’ of many towns and cities. Access to nature

richardmiller 24/06/201916/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Zero-Carbon Heat – Pathways to the Future

Zero-Carbon Heat – Pathways to the Future

37% of UK carbon emissions come from heating – domestic, public and commercial, and industrial. About 85% of the heating comes from gas. In its Net Zero report, the Committee on Climate Change argues that we must reduce carbon emissions

richardmiller 10/06/201921/01/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

If You Want To Disrupt An Industry, First Understand It

If You Want To Disrupt An Industry, First Understand It

Everyone wants to be disruptive; to transform a market, sweeping away the big players and bringing exciting new ideas. It is the big win that everyone looks for. There are millions of articles about business disruption on Google with titles

richardmiller 28/05/201928/05/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Think About the User Not the Technology!

Nest Thermostat

You have created a great new product you are really excited about. You have sorted out the business model, figured out how to deliver it to the user, and fixed any manufacturing and cost problems. This will be great! And

richardmiller 29/04/201929/04/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Tackling the Climate Crisis – 100 Exciting Solutions

Tackling the Climate Crisis – 100 Exciting Solutions

Over the last 12 months, we have seen increasing interest in the climate crisis. We hear explicit warnings on climate risks from respected commentators like David Attenborough. Greta Thunberg is energising younger people to campaign for their future. Activists like

richardmiller 15/04/201924/04/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

5 Ways a Technology Can Come Back From the Dead

5 Ways a Technology Can Come Back From the Dead

When a new technology appears it is usually accompanied by great excitement, at least from its inventors. What new opportunities does the technology open up? Where can we use it? The early enthusiasm quickly runs into practical barriers. The Gartner

richardmiller 03/04/201909/08/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Digital Twins Are Useful, But Can You Trust Them?

Digital Twins Are Useful, But Can You Trust Them?

You may have seen the TV advert for Experian in which Marcus Brigstocke meets his ‘data self’. A collection of live information that governs how financial institutions treat him as a customer. This is a variant of the ‘digital twin’

richardmiller 18/03/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

2018 – Scaling Up Retrofit 2050

2018 – Scaling Up Retrofit 2050

Scaling Up Retrofit 2050 Report published by the IET and Nottingham Trent University on the need for deep retrofit of our existing housing stock. “Domestic energy consumption accounts for about 30% of the UK’s total energy budget, and 20% of

richardmiller 07/03/201913/03/2019 Publications, Reports No Comments Read more

Why Industry Clusters Are Important For You

Why Industry Clusters Are Important For You

What do Mumbai, Copenhagen, the Spanish town of Castellón de la Plana, and the small US town of Dalton, Georgia, have in common? Each is at the centre of a concentrated industry cluster. Mumbai is famous for being the home

richardmiller 05/03/201905/03/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Great Innovation Stories Teach Us How To Do Better

Great Innovation Stories Teach Us How To Do Better

I love reading innovation stories. Where the idea came from, how they overcame problems, and what they make possible. Stories are how we excite people about innovation and why it matters. We need to tell more stories and better stories.

richardmiller 18/02/201920/07/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Helping City Managers See the Results of Their Decisions

Helping City Managers See the Results of Their Decisions

I have long thought the only way we can create cities that are economically successful, great places to live, sustainable and resilient, is to treat them as an integrated system of systems. The problem is that cities are so complicated

richardmiller 04/02/201903/11/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Stop Wasting Vital Materials to Avoid Economic Collapse

Stop Wasting Vital Materials to Avoid Economic Collapse

150 years ago, Dimitri Mendeleev developed the Periodic Table of the Elements. A way of organising all the information about the behaviour of the 63 elements known at the time. It has become an iconic image of science, and in

richardmiller 21/01/201926/01/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

How to Pick the Right Business Experiment

How to Pick the Right Business Experiment

To innovate, we need to try things out; to experiment. But how do we select the right experiment? How do we choose? Whenever we conduct an experiment, we want the maximum information at the minimum cost. Experiments should be as

richardmiller 07/01/201907/01/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Clean Technology Innovation in Good Health

Clean Technology Innovation in Good Health

Last Friday I attended the annual Business Green Technology Awards. I always enjoy these events as they provide a great snapshot of innovation activity in the cleantech sector in the UK. This year I was a member of the judging

richardmiller 10/12/201810/12/2018 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Experiment To Improve The Chance Of Innovation Success

Experiment To Improve The Chance Of Innovation Success

We know that business needs to innovate. Whether a startup, established SME or major industry player, new customer offers are critical for survival. We also know that most innovations fail in the market; despite our enthusiasm, creativity and persistence. We

richardmiller 27/11/201821/01/2020 Blog 1 Comment Read more

The “Abominable No-Man” and Innovation

The “Abominable No-Man” and Innovation

In 1955 C. Northcote Parkinson wrote an article in The Economist that introduced the world to Parkinson’s Law – “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. An observation so universal in application that it is instantly recognisable

richardmiller 13/11/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Getting the Best Out of the Glasgow Demonstrator

Getting the Best Out of the Glasgow Demonstrator

One of the fascinating things about innovation projects is the way that they evolve and change as the project progresses, and how they leave echoes long after the project has finished. In 2012 I was involved in setting up the

richardmiller 29/10/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

2 Reasons Why Deep Retrofit is Vital for Zero Carbon Homes

2 Reasons Why Deep Retrofit is Vital for Zero Carbon Homes

Since the IET published our report “Scaling Up Retrofit 2050” several people have asked me why the emphasis on ‘deep retrofit’? Taking today’s properties and upgrading them to 2050 energy efficiency standards in one step. Wouldn’t it be better to

richardmiller 22/10/201816/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

How to Make 26 Million Homes Zero-Carbon by 2050

How to Make 26 Million Homes Zero-Carbon by 2050

The challenge of retrofitting 26 million homes In the UK we face a stiff challenge. The Climate Change Act of 2008 sets a legal target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Every part of the UK economy

richardmiller 15/10/201816/06/2020 Blog 2 Comments Read more

What are the latest developments in low carbon vehicles?

What are the latest developments in low carbon vehicles?

  Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook. Now ten years old, this exhibition gives me a chance to see where we are up to on our journey to zero-carbon transportation. You

richardmiller 03/10/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Careful Pricing Is Vital For Successful Innovation

Careful Pricing Is Vital For Successful Innovation

Correctly pricing a new product or service is vital. Too high and you get no customers, too low and you leave money on the table. Either way you burn through cash so your innovation, and possibly your company, fails. Pricing

richardmiller 17/09/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

2018 Heatwave Threatens the Future of Towns and Cities

2018 Heatwave Threatens the Future of Towns and Cities

A large part of the world’s population has experienced a dramatic heatwave in the summer of 2018. We have felt the impact of high temperatures and low rainfall, and we have seen dry rivers, empty reservoirs, and wildfires from all over

richardmiller 13/08/201821/01/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Understanding Your Project Portfolio with the Consumer/Technology Matrix

Understanding Your Project Portfolio with the Consumer/Technology Matrix

When you are only working on one innovation project at a time, you can give it all the care and attention it needs. There are no competing resource demands; at least for creating new products and services. Life gets more

richardmiller 31/07/201816/06/2020 Blog 1 Comment Read more

How to Spot and Make Use of Disruptive Innovation

How to Spot and Make Use of Disruptive Innovation

For many years I have been fascinated by the idea of disruptive innovation and technologies. Whilst disruption certainly happens, there are plenty of historical examples of that, I don’t think you can identify which innovations will be disruptive and how

richardmiller 16/07/201820/07/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

A Green Future: What Can We Do about Plastic Packaging?

A Green Future: What Can We Do about Plastic Packaging?

[This article was co-authored by Darren Ragheb of CPI and Richard Miller] At the end of 2017 the natural history programme, Blue Planet II, dramatically pushed the impact of waste plastics on the oceans into public eye. Since then, the topic

richardmiller 02/07/201802/07/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

A Snapshot of Energy Innovation from the Rushlight Summer Showcase

A Snapshot of Energy Innovation from the Rushlight Summer Showcase

Last week I visited the Rushlight Summer Showcase in London. This brings together clean technology companies looking for investment and potential investors. The companies give a series of five-minute pitches to an investor panel, and there is also an exhibition

richardmiller 18/06/2018 Blog No Comments Read more
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Recent Posts

  • The Price Today is not the Price in the Future 23/11/2020
  • You Hate Bureaucracy, But What is Your Alternative? 26/10/2020
  • When Best Practice is a Terrible Idea 05/10/2020
  • 3 Powerful Strategies to Position for Growth 07/09/2020
  • A Powerful Tool to Focus on Stocks and Flows 24/08/2020

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