tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8601310261927235502024-03-12T18:31:17.311-07:00Innovation at Work: Unlocking the Promise of InnovationInnovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-67262717707995377542014-12-02T03:28:00.003-08:002014-12-02T03:52:00.109-08:00Customer Proximity
Customer Proximity
What is it and how do you get it?
?What if! have twenty years
experience designing and managing customer proximity programmes
within organisations including Unilever, Pfizer and Barclays Bank. So what have we learnt? Here we summarise why organising for customer
proximity can deliver surprising benefits, why corporations often struggle to
make Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-28729632714439016222014-04-28T09:57:00.000-07:002014-04-28T09:58:30.536-07:00Eyes Wide Shut
We are publishing exclusive
research today about how large businesses are leading for innovation in
post-recession Britain.
For a brief synopsis of the
research, and some techniques to help your business innovate, click here through to our website.
Brian Groom, Business and
Employment Editor for the Financial Times, has also written about it on page 3 of the Financial Times - Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-54242973817718298302014-02-18T07:28:00.003-08:002014-02-18T07:31:58.497-08:00In Praise Of Imperfection
Most of us spend our working lives figuring
out how to make our product or service more attractive. How do we get more bums
on seats, bigger basket size or share of throat? However we describe it, our
job is to make things better for customers.
The same applies to each and every one of
us at work. We each have an agenda, a
project or an idea that we need to land.
We Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-55242703524752804322014-01-08T10:15:00.000-08:002014-01-14T06:12:48.940-08:00The Casting MuscleThere’s been a storm of interest in Zappos's
recent announcement that it was getting rid of traditional management
hierarchy. The Washington Post has a
good summary. Click here to view. In a nutshell the idea is to organise people around the work to be done rather than organise around job titles and pay grades. The goal is to keep a growing business nimble deploying the Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-45044583495692455992013-06-21T06:19:00.000-07:002013-06-21T09:24:46.167-07:00Doing the right thingYesterday a parliamentary review ‘Changing
Banking For Good’ delivered a stinging verdict on the performance of UK banks
and behavior of many bankers. This was a
serious exercise with the great and the good working over 6 months,
interviewing hundreds of witnesses and hearing 161 hours of evidence. Among the recommendations are more demanding
remuneration regimes for bankers and more Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-3014398229779684152013-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:002013-06-12T09:00:18.249-07:00Technology 1: Humans 1
There was a piece in yesterday’s FT that
caught my eye. Adidas were claiming 3D
printers had dramatically reduced prototyping time. Before = 12 people to create a prototype, Now
= only two. Before = up to six weeks to
evaluate a prototype, Now = just one to two days! So, hooray for technology. These are impressive statistics but it’s not
the speed of a single round Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-57387304598298036152013-04-19T07:35:00.002-07:002013-04-19T07:35:26.370-07:00Remote Working, Red HerringThe ban on home-working at Yahoo! by its CEO, Marissa Meyer last month, resulted in a twitterstorm of indignation. Hot on her heels, Best Buy has also stopped a programme which had been introduced back in 2005 allowing employees to work when and where they chose. Both companies are in need of a pick-me-up and both cite the need for human beings to collaborate and collide as drivers of Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-46277732719907281412013-01-14T02:53:00.000-08:002013-01-16T10:31:49.807-08:00The Science of Serendipity - Innovation Excellence interview continued... Here’s the last
installment of my interview with innovationexcellence.com (click here for parts
one and two):
Lou Killeffer: Inherent in a challenge is
the risk of failure. You spoke previously about risk being one of the
impediments that a large organization tends to weed out of people’s daily
lives. In the book, you say making ideas “real” is a practical way to help
“tolerate risk.” What do Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-5964201920563255952013-01-11T07:58:00.003-08:002013-01-11T08:02:12.419-08:00The Science of Serendipity - Innovation Excellence interview continued...Here’s more from my
interview with innovationexcellence.com (for part one, click here):
Lou Killeffer: In the second chapter, you say, “Innovation is fueled by new insight, a deep understanding of why
people do what they do.” Why
is that so important?
Matt Kingdon: It’s why they choose what they choose,
why they reject what they reject, why they engage in a commentary Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-68378251726307071232013-01-10T08:23:00.002-08:002013-01-10T08:25:01.231-08:00The Science of Serendipity - Innovation Excellence interviewRecently, I spoke with Lou Killeffer writing
for innovationexcellence.com about The Science of Serendipity.
He
wrote: “Matt’s passionate about innovation, growth, and the serendipitous
outcomes from the collision of observations and insights he sees as fundamental
to success. And he’s outspoken about the very human dynamics he sees driving
both the people and the process. Matt believes Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-76950353339007966292012-10-30T15:59:00.001-07:002012-11-02T09:51:39.604-07:00The Importance of Having a 'Thing'<!--StartFragment-->
I’m in Texas on a road trip. Day One: fly ten hours from London to
Houston and then drive three to Austin.
But I’m happy because I had asked the car rental agency for the biggest
baddest car they had and they didn’t let me down.
I can’t see that many practical advantages
driving this beast. It’s actually not
that fast and or well Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-44817198410716968762012-10-24T02:28:00.000-07:002012-10-24T02:28:38.769-07:00Coffee – Rich or Smooth?
OK – this
is driving me nuts! Go to my local
coffee shop and you’ll get asked if you want your coffee ‘rich or smooth’. Maybe I’m just too stupid early in the
morning to answer this question but what the heck does it mean? I want coffee rich and smooth. Is rich coffee
unsmooth? Is smooth coffee weak? I don’t get it. I’m awarding this coffee shop first Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-10368786447750813292012-09-17T10:35:00.002-07:002012-09-17T10:36:07.776-07:00Too Good To Be True?
What if I told you there was an office-based communication system that
had the following features:
·
extremely fast operating speed
·
instant updates
·
unlimited RAM
·
specialises in Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-77246165508413426242012-08-30T06:08:00.003-07:002012-08-30T06:08:42.076-07:00Corrosive Mediocrity
Sometimes someone says something to you
with a turn of phrase that cuts through everything else you’ve heard on the
topic. In a moment of laser like clarity
the problem is revealed - laid bare in all its ugliness.
I’m lucky enough to have one of those jobs
where it’s my business to poke about with company leaders and try to unearth
why innovation isn’t happening. Recently
I asked Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-87001469153708087212012-07-30T07:13:00.001-07:002012-07-30T07:15:24.837-07:00The Opposite of SpeakingLike most parents of young teenage kids, I work for money during the
week and I am an unpaid taxi driver at the weekend. I’m getting really good at listening to
obscure radio stations while doing the midnight pick up. Last weekend, tiring of listening to the news
in Danish on Long Wave (try it – a non Danish speaker can get about 25%), I
tuned into some very smart people discussing Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-88050434876633478512012-07-18T03:45:00.002-07:002012-07-19T07:11:23.929-07:00I’ve been in prison…I’ve been in Brixton Prison finding out if the skills of an innovator are
useful ‘inside’. Let me explain: Channel
4 call me and ask if I can advise on developing a food product made by
prisoners tutored by celeb chef Gordon Ramsay. One thing lead to another, and the next minute
I’m being frisked, X-rayed and marched across the exercise yard to meet a dozen
of the inmates.
Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-1272290311276584032012-07-12T07:20:00.001-07:002012-07-12T08:12:42.801-07:00Tolerating failure – yeah right!If there’s one thing that drives me nuts it's hearing senior
executives exhorting their people to ‘tolerate failure’ and ‘take more
risks’. Sure we all know that innovation
needs us to throw caution to the wind every now and then but ‘tolerating
failure’ is such a blunt concept - it’s pretty useless.
There’s the obvious chestnut about how rewards at work are rarely
lined up with risk Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-41116669959184995082012-06-28T07:13:00.001-07:002012-06-28T07:13:25.497-07:00Cutting to the ChaseRecently I had a discussion about innovation with a recently
appointed leader of a multi billion-pound business unit. As the conversation kicked off she revealed -
‘I know innovation is important, probably my number one priority but to be
honest I don't yet have a strong point of view about how it should work in this
business’. Great I thought – this is
going to be a really Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-58808804312592032482012-06-12T06:35:00.002-07:002012-06-12T06:36:43.059-07:00Stuck In A Rut – The Story of Encyclopedia BritannicaLast week Microsoft announced a tie up with Encyclopedia Britannica. Now, if you search on Microsoft’s search
engine Bing, along with the usual Wikipedia search result, up will pop an Encyclopedia
Britannica result.
For all those who are still wary of Wikipedia it sounds like a good
idea but hardly a life-saver for the beleaguered Britannica and not as
innovative or audacious as Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-60073353851151516382012-02-09T04:31:00.000-08:002012-02-09T04:31:49.421-08:00Seeing is BelievingA simple way of looking at the innovation journey starts with insight (a penetrating glimpse into why people behave as they do). Then comes what some call ‘ideation’ (can’t work out if I hate or love that word) and then implementation. No prizes for guessing the part of this journey that’s most stressful, expensive and prone to screw ups. Getting a new product or service over Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-35347301003597302362012-01-23T03:43:00.000-08:002012-02-10T08:25:35.164-08:00Digital Driving Me MadHappy New Year, and Gong Xi Fa Cai, happy year of the Dragon to my friends in China.
Digital is driving me mad – not crazy mad, but lust for learning mad. I think I have a screen in every room of the house now, two by my bed and I've worked out how to listen to a different podcast each morning on the way to work. I love the random associative behaviour it promotes as I jump fromInnovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-7406421918983389192011-11-30T02:06:00.000-08:002011-11-30T08:39:00.074-08:00‘Not Everything That Matters Can Be Measured’What’s the point of innovation performance metrics?
‘How should I tell my boss to measure my teams performance?’ This is a question I was asked by a client recently appointed to head an innovation incubator team within a large multinational. It’s a pretty good question.
She wanted to establish the ground rules before her sponsors designed the metrics for her. This Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-40649420101015729082011-11-02T08:54:00.000-07:002011-11-02T11:00:37.453-07:00Innovation in ChinaHuge opportunities, but subtle and nuanced
I’ve just got home to London from my 8th trip to China – ?What if! have a thriving office in Shanghai and visiting them every 9 months or so is sufficiently irregular to really get to feel the change in this vast country.
Here are my top five observations for anyone interested in innovation in China, these are things well known inside the country and Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-1492346521194484862011-10-11T01:15:00.000-07:002011-10-11T01:18:43.258-07:00Teamwork or Collaboration?While teamwork might get things done its collaboration that drives change
I read an excellent blog last week by Andrew Campbell and it really got me thinking.
Andrew Cambell - Collaboration is misunderstood
I have always used the words ‘teamwork’ and ‘collaboration’ pretty much interchangeably. I’ve never thought about the difference between these two words. But the more I Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-860131026192723550.post-10499872887692063522011-09-28T07:48:00.000-07:002011-09-28T07:48:37.215-07:00People People – Rise Up! HR can be a powerful tool of innovation
At ?What If! we’ve worked with many excellent HR leaders and seen first hand their potential to influence the innovation agenda. We’ve heard their stories of how they got great at it (and coached many). But even the most respected and effective HR leaders often struggle to articulate their role in innovation.
At ?What If! we’ve Innovation at Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475337181886780022noreply@blogger.com