Monthly Archives: November 2010
As I’m reviewing business plans from college grads I’m mentoring (as an alumnae mentor at Brown Univ ) and from Glengary , the VC firm I’m a partner in, this whole business plan process is getting to me. So much of what I see in biz plans is, pardon the phrase, BS. We all know none of us believe any of the numbers is the proformas, the market growth, etc., so why do we bother with all this stuff when we know it’s a joke? I don’t know, but here’s what I’d like to see in a biz plan for a change. The current, accurate, real, truthful view of the world – market(s) as it exists and will exist. If it doesn’t yet, why, what are the real needs, current and potential competitors (in/out of your market space). What have others tried and what has succeeded …
I think this is a must-look-into case for everyone with a serious interest in open innovation. Why? Because this case has several dilemmas related to threats as well as opportunities that we need to consider when we engage with open innovation. The story: As you can read in this BBC story, Microsoft’s Kinect has been hacked only a few days after it officially went on sale. Here are few snippets from the article: Code to control the motion-capture device has been produced that allows it to be used with a PC rather than the Xbox game console. Microsoft has said it was not happy with the unofficial modifications made to the gadget’s control system. It added: “We strongly encourage customers to use Kinect for Xbox 360 with their Xbox 360 to get the best experience possible.” The attempt to hack the control system for the Kinect gadget was kick-started by … Continue reading
Google & Apple vs. RIM, Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft by Adam Hartung Summary: Most planning systems rely on extending past performance to predict the future But markets are shifting too fast, making such forecasts wildly unreliable To compete effectively, companies must anticipate future market shifts Planning needs to incorporate a lot more scenario development, and competitor information in order to overcome biases to existing customers and historical products Apple and Google have taken over the mobile phone business, while the original leaders have fallen far behind Historical mobile phone leaders Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, RIM and Microsoft had the technologies and products to remain leaders, but they lacked scenarios of the future enticing them to develop new markets. Thus they allowed new competitors to overtake them Lacking scenarios and deep competitor understanding, companies react to market events – which is slow, costly and ineffective “Apple, Android Help Smartphone Sales Double Over Last … Continue reading
Over the years, I have heard a lot of people say a lot of daft things about creativity. Some of those things, I hear again and again. What’s worse, a lot these daft notions – or myths – about creativity are detrimental to the creative process. So, let’s end this once and for all. Below are ten creative myths. If you share these with everyone in the world, these myths will go away. 1. “I am not creative” I have heard a lot of people say precisely that: “I am not creative”. The truth, of course, is that we are all creative. That’s what differentiates us from Parrots who can say clever things put couldn’t have a creative idea if their lives depended upon it. The truth is we are all creative. And while some people are naturally more creative than others, we can all have very creative ideas. The … Continue reading
My great-grand-mother Jeanne started her own local couture business in Paris in the 1930s. She called her brand, or rather her house as people would say in those days, Micky. It was easy to memorize, it sounded fashionable, distinctive, and it was the short for her young daughter’s name Micheline. A few years later, quite unexpectedly, she got sued over that choice of name. Not by a local competitor or any other French company that would have borne the same name, but by mighty Disney! Lawyers told Jeanne that Disney had secured worldwide ownership not only of the name Mickey but also of all variants created by adding or subtracting one letter. Micky was Mickey minus e. Whether that was a legally robust challenge or intimidation tactics, there was no way that Jeanne could sustain a fight against giant Mickey Mouse in the courts. So she backed down pretty quickly … Continue reading
An article in this week’s PR News, called “Ideation Creation: Culture and Clarity Keys to Driving Big Ideas,” describes some major challenges organizations face when trying to innovate. According to the article, “the generation of ideas often suffers from a lack of clarity around the problem definition; a lack of specific customer knowledge; and a tendency to accept the status quo and make excuses for killing good ideas.” Having faced these challenges in my work at Fleishman-Hillard, I wanted to offer some of my own tips and tools for overcoming them. These tips are based on my experiences and studies in innovation. 1. Design an implementation plan. Before you even consider innovating around an opportunity, determine whether you have the capacity, budget and resources to implement the concepts you select during the innovation process. 2. Develop a Present Position brief. A Present Position Brief is similar to a fact sheet … Continue reading
