Josh Silver estimates that half the world's population needs eyeglasses but many do not have access to them. He has a goal that his adjustable, liquid-filled lenses will get to 1Billion of the world's poor people in need of glasses by 2020. A brilliantly simple invention and an example of innovative value creation and how the right solution can turn non-customers into customers.  Read more about how this is being rolled out today at:  http://www.vdwoxford.org/about/#mission

The announcement today of David Morrison, ex-head of the Australian Army, as the 2016 Australian of the Year is to be applauded as another step towards reshaping Australian workplace culture to be more inclusive of diversity.  This interview with Anne Summers last year shows some of David's qualities as a leader and his personal commitment to leading culture change.  Worth watching as a powerful example of leadership values and behaviour that can shape change.

"99% of all new ideas are based on the ideas and insights of others - often strangers"  These strangers could be customers, they could come from another industry sector, from another time in history, or even another species. One of my favourite books from 2015 is Alan Gregerman's The Necessity of Strangers which challenges us to step outside what we are familiar with and connect with strangers to accelerate breakthrough thinking and innovation.  Here is a talk he gave.