Monthly Archives: January 2010
“Excuse me, is this yours?”If someone asked members of your Innovation Team about “ownership” of a current initiative, would individuals reply, “Yes”?Or would the people involved point to the team leader, the CEO or someone else – someone other than themselves? Would they reply, “No, that’s his”?I spoke recently with a CEO of a consumer products company who expressed disappointment that an idea for an exciting new wrinkle in sunglasses technology had faltered. In doing so, others had beaten the company to market.Why did this happen? The “Leader” admitted he’d failed to sell the idea. “Others just didn’t get it,” he said. “Their hearts weren’t in it. They were moving forward out of duty, not out of passion. And we dropped the ball.”In the world of Innovation, it’s the Chief Innovation Officer’s job to marshal forces, to empower, to inspire, and to transform team members into stakeholders of the process … Continue reading
In a recent interview with EMC’s Stu Miniman about the future of the web, I predicted that in 20 years, we’ll all have online reputation scores. Little badges, numbers that communicate our level of authority, this sort of thing. And these reputations will have tangible impact.Three different trends come together at some point in the future to make this happen. These trends have been underway for a while, but come together at some tipping point in the years ahead. Here’s a visualization of the trends:It’s helpful to discuss each one, in the context of online reputations.Rate performance of businesseseBay, which went public back in 1998, played an important role in socializing the concept of people providing online ratings for online sellers. After we receive our purchase, we rate the seller. The collective wisdom identifies top sellers. Got your eye in that Donkey Kong game? Who are you most likely to … Continue reading
A few years back I sat next to Jean Paul Gaultier on a flight from Paris to Athens. Coincidentally we were en route to the same hotel… he invited me to a party he was holding that night and I found my favourite male fragrance… Le Male. Last year Jean Paul created a USB flash drive that perfumes the air with the unmistakable Le Male fragrance as it works. It’s great to see the over-looked sense of smell injecting some excitement into a product which is often bland and sold on functionality alone. And while this was only available as a gift-with-purchase of the fragrance, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before other makers of technology products move past the tablestakes faster/bigger/cheaper functional benefits and ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ when it comes to the power of scent.It’s not news that smell is strongly linked to memory, … Continue reading
Visit eBay.fr and next to the traditional eBay homepage building blocks you will see a map of France that you can browse regionally to find local ads from sellers close to your home. If you fancy something, you can then contact and meet the seller face-to-face to see the item and agree a price. This looks completely at odds with eBay’s core values of driving price transparency through online auctions and virtually connecting buyers and sellers across the global village. Are eBay prototyping a new offering? Not quite. Actually, they are merely reacting to an unexpectedly powerful local threat.What happened?Three years ago leboncoin.fr was created after observing that, while enjoying the online access to the dozens of offers that eBay can display for any given item search, a large number of customers would prefer to physically see and try the item before buying. The start-up made the bold assumption that … Continue reading
After months of intrigue, Kraft finally made a successful bid for venerable British candy maker Cadbury, leaving archrival Hershey’s on the sidelines.Kraft management predicts that the $50 billion combined company will be able to save $675 million over three years, but that’s not the primary reason for the merger. It’s all about global distribution and access to developing markets. Cadbury has it, Kraft wants it. Makes sense on paper.Most mergers do make sense on paper, yet many become spectacular failures. The reason? A lack of appreciation for just how difficult it is to integrate not only global operations, but two proud and independent workforces.Kraft is going to face this problem in spades with Cadbury. Todd Stitzer, Cadbury’s CEO, said that Hershey’s would have been a better cultural and operational fit. The company’s Chairman, Roger Carr, took it a step further by saying Kraft is “an unfocused conglomerate” with “unappealing categories” … Continue reading
Being in the transportation industry (as I was) meant a lot of time spent thinking about balance, and not being too heavy inbound or outbound. In moving things (or people), the ideal state is the same number arriving and departing. If you’re too heavy outbound, it means you have lots of things going out, but very few coming in. Heavy inbound is the opposite – many things arriving, but few leaving. Within the economy, there are distinct geographic and industrial patterns in the movement of goods and people. As a result, transportation providers are constantly trying to achieve balance within their networks.All of this has a direct tie to creativity. It’s not difficult to find yourself in creative imbalance, with a disconnect between the amount of creativity you’re producing and the creative elements you’re taking in to fuel your own pursuits.Typically, I run heavy on the outbound side of creativity. … Continue reading
