Randy Fredlund's Posts
Not quite live or from New York...City, that is
April 9 was the second day of the World Innovation Forum at the AXA Center on 7th Ave. I have to say that the presenters continued to be very informative and entertaining, even if some of the jokes they told would be unacceptable as emails in the corporate environment.
The world is driven by innovation in product design, process, marketing, technology, and on and on and on. But according to Gary Hamel, we are still managing our business activities with methods devised by Henry Ford and his contemporaries over a century ago. And those methods that were created to make semi-skilled workers able to produce products repeatedly are ill suited for building highly adaptable organizations.
A pair of Venture capitalists spoke about their perspectives on fostering the creation of innovative companies. Both were as interested in the team as they were in the technology. Amanda West stated that you can't expect people to be looking for the brave new world and while they're executing on their operational job. David Berry indicated that most "Big Company" people aren't suited for creating new opportunities. They just don't want to take the necessary risks.
But I haven't addressed what should have been the first question. What is innovation, anyway? It wasn't until the last speaker, Andrew Zolli, that I heard any definition at all. And what he said was that,
So I ask both you and myself, have we done anything innovative lately?
http://www.kodak.com/US/images/en/corp/1000nerds/lund/forbidden_lg.jpg
The world is driven by innovation in product design, process, marketing, technology, and on and on and on. But according to Gary Hamel, we are still managing our business activities with methods devised by Henry Ford and his contemporaries over a century ago. And those methods that were created to make semi-skilled workers able to produce products repeatedly are ill suited for building highly adaptable organizations.
A pair of Venture capitalists spoke about their perspectives on fostering the creation of innovative companies. Both were as interested in the team as they were in the technology. Amanda West stated that you can't expect people to be looking for the brave new world and while they're executing on their operational job. David Berry indicated that most "Big Company" people aren't suited for creating new opportunities. They just don't want to take the necessary risks.
But I haven't addressed what should have been the first question. What is innovation, anyway? It wasn't until the last speaker, Andrew Zolli, that I heard any definition at all. And what he said was that,
"Innovation is the creation of new forms of value in anticipation of future demand."
So I ask both you and myself, have we done anything innovative lately?
Live From New York - It's the World Innovation Forum !
I've made two attempts now at creating a blog about what is happening at the World Innovation Forum in NYC. Unfortunately, they seemed more like book reports than a blog. I sat through a number of interesting presentations by "pioneers in the field of innovation." Thought provoking, for sure. And I started out trying to let you know just what had transpired, but factual accounts just don't cut it. There has to be some soul, some feeling, some link to human experience. So in the hopes that the third time is a link, here are a few thoughts provoked.
Off the plane and approaching the land of innovation, aka NYC
Hackers are your friends. If you are in the business of creating products for users, who better to show you how they wish your products worked than the users themselves? And according to Eric von Hippel, there is no shortage of users who are quite willing to do just that. All you need do is understand what modifications they make in bending the use of your products to their specific needs. Better yet, enable your product to be a platform, and enable the users with tools that allow modifications. Then track what they do and incorporate the best into your next generation.
Dyslexia can be a virtue. Daniel Pink quoted research that showed that the only correlation among peer-designated "Stars of Business" was dyslexia. The condition seems to foster big picture vision rather than drilling down on details, perhaps because the creative and non-linear portions of the brain have been required to work overtime to compensate for shortcomings of more linear thoughts.
"You will be competing with free," says Chris Anderson. He goes on to say that "...the trend lines that determine the cost of doing business online all point the same way: to zero." Hmmm...I wonder if he's ever studied the photographic industry. But he doesn't recommend that businesses give up in the face of this onslaught, but rather alter their tactics.
An impressive entrance at the AXA Conference Center
Don't sell elevators. Provide vertical transportation services. Design systems, not components, and the efficiency gains will pay for anything that initially appears to be added cost. And what is the system all others must emulate? Nature, says Amory Lovins. And the application of good system design principles will allow energy cost burdened economies to flourish once more.
I'll miss my SUV. At least until I pass the first gas station.
Off the plane and approaching the land of innovation, aka NYC
Hackers are your friends. If you are in the business of creating products for users, who better to show you how they wish your products worked than the users themselves? And according to Eric von Hippel, there is no shortage of users who are quite willing to do just that. All you need do is understand what modifications they make in bending the use of your products to their specific needs. Better yet, enable your product to be a platform, and enable the users with tools that allow modifications. Then track what they do and incorporate the best into your next generation.
Dyslexia can be a virtue. Daniel Pink quoted research that showed that the only correlation among peer-designated "Stars of Business" was dyslexia. The condition seems to foster big picture vision rather than drilling down on details, perhaps because the creative and non-linear portions of the brain have been required to work overtime to compensate for shortcomings of more linear thoughts.
"You will be competing with free," says Chris Anderson. He goes on to say that "...the trend lines that determine the cost of doing business online all point the same way: to zero." Hmmm...I wonder if he's ever studied the photographic industry. But he doesn't recommend that businesses give up in the face of this onslaught, but rather alter their tactics.
An impressive entrance at the AXA Conference Center
Don't sell elevators. Provide vertical transportation services. Design systems, not components, and the efficiency gains will pay for anything that initially appears to be added cost. And what is the system all others must emulate? Nature, says Amory Lovins. And the application of good system design principles will allow energy cost burdened economies to flourish once more.
I'll miss my SUV. At least until I pass the first gas station.