Apr 24, 2010 | Innovation, Uncategorized
Another of the management paradoxes littered through this blog , and this one is counter to almost everything I have ever written.
In the context of true innovation, listening to customers exclusively leads you to adjusting, improving, repackaging what you currently have.
Real innovation is about inventing the future, and you cannot do it just by playing with the present.
The following challenge is if you are smart enough to invent the future you also have to be smart enough to recognize it when you see it.
Kodak did not see digital photography, but they invented it, IBM struggled to see that the PC would take over from big box computing, Microsoft did not see the web, until it had almost passed them, but Steve Jobs did see touch as the replacement for the mouse, which he originally saw as the devise to democratize personal computers.
Apr 18, 2010 | Communication, Demand chains, Innovation, Social Media
Can you imagine the changes that would have occurred in the behavior of the tobacco industry in the 70’s and 80’s had there been the “net-enabled” communication tools available then, when the big tobacco companies were conducting a rear guard action against those who sought to have the lethal effects of tobacco on health made public.
Simply, they would not have got away with 20 years of denial, the ridicule circulating via blogs, twitter, Digg and all the rest would have been overwhelming.
When you think about it, the negative reaction that would have occurred may have been better than all the public advertising that has gone on since the 80’s, sanctimonious adults telling youngsters what to do (again) whilst still taking the taxes.
Apr 5, 2010 | Branding, Communication, Innovation, Marketing, Social Media
As you wander through the blogosphere, the pre-launch hype about the ipad is astonishing.
There are many reviews, but as very few have seen one, they are all just speculation, or Apple insiders doing their bit towards the marketing blitzkrieg.
Now it is launched, and there are reports of 700,000 being sold in the first 24 hours, perhaps there may be some realism emerging, but most of those early buyers will see nothing but the “greatness” they ascribe to the Apple brand, the shortcomings will not be noticed.
Those of us who build brands are in awe of the branding skills of Apple, but should remember their overnight branding success came after 30 years, and included some pretty ordinary stuff amongst the brilliance. Now their innovation machine is almost as well oiled as their marketing machine, but how are they going to hype away the advantage Kindle holds over access to books and magazines, or will they just accept that ipad will need to connect to Amazon to be competitive, and move on.
I suspect not, rather the other functionality will be the focus of attention, and shortcomings will be managed away.
Mar 30, 2010 | Innovation, Management, Social Media
A while ago, I blogged about the ownership of IP, the individual Vs the employer, and quoted the case of a designer who left Mattel for their competitor, MGA Entertainment, created a competitor to “Barbie” and ended up in court over IP ownership, and lost.
Now one of the key innovation drivers at Apple, Tony Fadell creator of the ipod, is leaving Apple for alternative pastures.
Steve Jobs is not known as benevolent, so we can expect some fireworks, and perhaps some further definition of the ownership rights of individuals who dream up great “stuff” and of their employers . This may not all be in the public domain, as sensibly the parties will have tied up the IP ownership & “money stream” issues, but we will watch with interest, and be certain that there has been some sweat in the Apple boardroom.
Mar 21, 2010 | Innovation, Marketing
Guvera, an Australian start-up, has evolved a business model that is a bold but necessary experiment for the music industry.
Music downloads from the site will be free, paid for by advertisers who get the opportunity to connect with consumers of particular songs, or music genres. This has some very attractive possibilities for marketers of a wide range of products.
Seems a way better solution to the piracy travails of the music industry than their reaction to date which has been modeled on King Canute’s control of the tides.
Mar 8, 2010 | Change, Innovation, Leadership
Knowledge workers, and these days that is most of us, create value for their employers by leveraging their knowledge, but defining the ownership of that knowledge, and the flow of benefits from that knowledge, is a huge challenge, and becoming larger.
The recent court case between Mattell, owner of the Barbie doll franchise, and MGA Entertainment, owner of the Bratz doll range offers a salient example of the problems.
The designer of parts of the Barbie accessory range, after leaving Mattel went on to design the Bratz range for MCA, and the court held that Mattel was owed for the IP he had developed whilst working for them, but applied to the benefit of a later employer.
This scenario is a minefield for many businesses, and has far reaching implications on the way the employees and contractors are managed, and the ownership of ideas they have retained, or that evolve, even after they may have left employment. Simple no-compete contracts, which are the norm currently are a long way short of the mark in a knowledge economy.
In a knowledge based sector, retaining, motivating, engaging, and understanding key employees should take more time energy than just about anything else. Don’t leave it to the lady in personnel!.
