IBM Ideation and Innovation Ads

IBM has run commercials making fun of ideation and innovation gurus. Both are easy targets. Ideation sessions are often facilitated by people who love the idea of novel exercises- "we really stretched their thinking." Occassionally that kind of thing is appropriate, but often it turns some of the group off. It gives ideation a bad name- making it easy to poke fun. And Innovation Gurus are easy targets as well. They come across as true believers- zealots who are focused on process, not the end result. As someone once said of Quality zealots: "They would create a life preserver made of concrete, so long as it met ISO standards."

So kudos to IBM for shaking up the Innovation Guru establishment. It definitely needs it. On the other hand, what do they offer themselves? My own experience with IBM services is limited to expensive, time consuming, wasteful data mining exercises. A total bust. But, heh, maybe they're doing something great? Now that you have our attention, Big Blue, give us some meat.