(26:35)

Polymath — the Greek word for Renaissance Man — is someone who excels in many disciplines. From Leonardo da Vinci to Benjamin Franklin, we have relied on polymaths to innovate and find creative solutions to the problems of the day. How would these Renaissance men and women manage our current technology bounty? Which disciplines would they choose to focus on? Would they work on the architecture of next-generation green cities, or focus on nanotechnology?

The New Polymath is an enterprise that excels in multiple technologies — infotech,cleantech,healthtech,and other techs — and leverages multiple talent pools to create new medicine, new energy and new algorithms. Author Vinnie Mirchandani shares his varied experience as a technology adviser and market watcher to explain in business language the diversity of today's technology palette and to profile a wide range of innovations at:

• Large multinationals, such as GE and BP,
• Fast-growing, midsized companies, like Cognizant and salesforce.com,
• The cleantech industry in China, on farms in Ireland, and along the back roads of Rwanda.

This book (available from Amazon) categorizes eleven "building blocks" for the New Polymath to leverage in its R-E-N-A-I-S-S-A-N-C-E framework, including next-generation analytics, cloud computing, sustainability and social networks. The author profiles more than a hundred innovators and demonstrates how they use these building blocks to solve both their individual, day-to-day issues and the "Grand Challenges" the world faces.

Brimming with examples from a variety of industries, countries and business processes, the book will inspire you to groom your own New Polymath tools, processes and ecosystem of innovation ideas.

Listen to the podcast to hear Vinnie's responses to the following questions:

1. After reading your book, I'm impressed with the approach you've taken. It's not simply a book of case studies with observations about what's common and what's not. You've dug deeper into a trend emerging that's people-oriented. In particular, it's an acknowledgment that many multi-talented people who don't fit into typical résumé profiles are solving big problems. I'll have to say I have a feeling of hope from reading your book. So for the audience, what is a Polymath and a Polymath company?
2. Give us a couple of examples of a Polymath company.
3. Why is this important to know now?
4. I like the title of Chapter 1: The New Polymath: In an Age of Wicked Problems and Technology Abundance. Talk more about why this was an important way to begin your book.
5. I noticed you make reference to the 'grand challenges' throughout the book. Why?
6. Chapter 17: What is the tie-in to The New Polymath (and Polymath Companies) with communities, crowds, contracts and collaboration? What is the relationship between the Polymath and Clouds: Technology as a Service? There was no specific mention of it in the chapter.
7. Let's talk about grooming your own Polymath - what are the steps for doing that?
8. I was particularly struck by your epilogue, The Beginner's Mind, because I've studied Aikido for years and that's its underpinning philosophy, which hasn't been all that popular in traditional business. Do you think this could be the fundamental characteristic of the Polymath and Polymath Companies that will be emerging in the new economy? If so, why?

Resources

The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-technology Innovations, by Vinnie Mirchandani

Production Credits
Tom Parish, Host and Executive Producer

(19:18)

In this podcast, Michael J. Critelli, the retired CEO of Pitney Bowes, discusses how a change of thinking about the marketplace and customers' needs helped to step up Pitney Bowes' efforts to become a technology leader.

Based in Stamford, Connecticut, Pitney Bowes began as an innovative company back in 1908 with the introduction of a hand-cranked, double-locking postage stamp machine. For decades, the company went on to deliver one milestone after another in the postage industry. In 1968, Pitney Bowes acquired the Monarch Marking System Company, which would produce the first barcode equipment for retail trade use. Less than a decade later, the company formed the Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation, providing customers with a range of financial payment solutions.

During the 1980s, Pitney Bowes intensified its marketing efforts to move beyond the mailroom and into the front office. The company introduced a line of copying machines, facsimile machines, and a suite of management services.  In 1990s, however, Pitney Bowes demonstrated its ability to bring innovative technology to the marketplace, especially in the field of digital technologies and software. The company introduced the first in-line weighing and metering system, the first secure digital postage meter, the first inkjet postage meter, and the Digital Document Deliver platform, which provides message management via hardcopy Web, mail, and facsimile.

Under the leadership of Michael J. Critelli, Pitney Bowes's CEO, the company transformed itself into a $6 billion mail and document management solutions powerhouse. In fact, between 2000 and 2007, Pitney Bowes invested about $2.5 billion in 83 acquisitions, primarily in software and services businesses, such as MapInfo, Group 1 Software, PSI Group, and Imagitas.  The company's intellectual property includes more than 3,500 patents in areas such as ticketing, cellular phone payment, shipping, laser printing, encryption, and mail production and processing. Critelli holds six of these patents. Today Pitney Bowes's products and services range from managing corporate mailrooms to supply providing mapping software for applications such as MapQuest.

So, what did it take for Pitney Bowes to undergo this type of an innovative transformation? Critelli says that the most important change was to think differently about the business it was in. "Back in the 1990s, our chief technology officer said. 'When you move a piece of mail on a postal system, three things flow: the material, the money, and the information.' All of a sudden, the light bulb went on for me. We had the opportunity to provide solutions for all three flows, as well as the entire end-to-end processes for those flows. That gave us the framework to think about new opportunities."

In this podcast, Critelli talks about the changes that occurred for the company to undergo the transformation; the business process to integrate technology from the myriad of acquisitions into the Pitney Bowes' brand; the purpose of Pitney Bowes' customer-centered innovation; and the strategic role IT has played in the innovation transformation.

Bio

In 2007, Michael J. Critelli retired as chair and chief executive officer of Pitney Bowes Inc., a $6 billion mail and document management solutions company. He joined Pitney Bowes as a corporate attorney in 1979 where he quickly moved up the ranks to become CEO in 1996 and chairs of the board in 1997. Critelli completed his undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin and was awarded a J.D., cum laude at Harvard Law School. He is currently advising Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell and Transportation Commissioner Ralph Carpenter on how to make the processes and practices at the State's Dept. of Transportation more effective. Critelli has also served on the board of the Urban League of Southwestern Connecticut and the National Urban League. He joined Easton Corporation's board of directors in 1998.

Mike Critelli's Blog
http://www.mikecritelli.com/

Mike Critelli, Pitney Bowes Chairman, says you like to get unsolicited mail, CatalogChoice
http://blog.catalogchoice.org/2008/10/25/mike-critelli-pitney-bowes-ceo-says-you-like-to-get-unsolicited-mail/

Podcast -- Rob Pew, Larry Keeley and Mike Critelli panel discussion on healthcare, Institute of Design Strategy Conference, May 2008
http://vimeo.com/5189004

Michael Critelli to retire from Pitney Bowes, DMNews
http://www.dmnews.com/michael-critelli-to-retire-from-pitney-bowes/article/110077/

Production Credits
Elizabeth Ferrarini, Executive Producer
Content Strategy and Media Production by Tom Parish, Inc.