Monthly Archives: April 2011
Here are five reasons why I believe CEOs and other top executives often don’t support innovation, even though the business climate of our time demands it: The demand for short-term gains nearly always wins the day. Top executives at public companies are under enormous pressure to produce strong financial results each and every quarter. This is the area where they are rewarded for producing results, and their job security increasingly depends on it. They missed out on innovation education. Many of today’s top executives got their business education before innovation was a significant part of the curriculum at many MBA programs. They could compensate for this with experience, but many also missed on-the-job training, because innovation training usually happens from the top down, not vice versa. They were trained to be problem solvers, not innovators. Top executives are risk-averse. Innovation, especially open innovation, is scary on many levels. People who … Continue reading
Everyone Willing is at the Center of the Universe by Yann Cramer All companies that are aware of the innovation potential of their network of partners, suppliers, customers, users, specifiers, influencers, legislators, helpers, and other stakeholders, represent themselves at the center of what is now commonly named an innovation ecosystem. But if all organizations connected as part of an ecosystem see themselves at the center of the ecosystem, the center becomes rapidly overcrowded! Let’s call astrophysics to the rescue! We do not know if there is a center of the universe in the sense that there is a center in a sphere such as a golf ball. However, it is generally accepted by astrophysicists that the universe is expanding. Mathematically, a consequence of this expansion is that from whichever planet you observe the rest of the universe, all other objects in the universe are getting farther and farther, which gives … Continue reading
How to Stop Wasting Time, Talent, and Resources on Projects that Don’t Go Anywhere by Holly G. Green Remember the old adage, “what gets measured, gets done?” Well, what does not get measured may still be getting done in your organization as well. Unfortunately, it may not be what you want done or what gets you to your destination. In today’s volatile markets, goals set in January can easily become out of date by March if significant internal or external forces have impacted your operating environment. Just because a project was announced as a top priority in February doesn’t mean it will remain that way for the entire year. To ensure that employees retain clarity on what they should be working on, I recommend periodically conducting the “Plate Exercise.” Three months after the strategic planning framework has been completed and communicated, review all significant ongoing projects and initiatives (what is … Continue reading
“The future’s already here, it’s just not evenly distributed, and it doesn’t look like we expect it to” When scientists first started talking about Artificial Intelligence in the 1950s and 1960s, a lot of the discussion centered around how to best create AI that would think like people do. This view of AI has dominated our imagination ever since. Think of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Deep Blue and other chess-playing computers, Skynet and the rise of the robots in the Terminator movies, and all the current discussion about the singularity. All of these are pictures of Artificial Intelligence doing what human intelligence does – just doing it faster, or better. Over 50 years later, except for the chess-playing computers, we’re still waiting for this form of AI to take off. Because we’re not seeing this type of AI, AI has been a failure, right? Well, not really. There’s … Continue reading
Last week I schlepped my family to Boston for spring break. Interesting choice, you might say. Most people head to the beach for spring break, or at least somewhere warm. Or, if they choose to travel to northern climes they travel to ski resorts. Well, we braved the New England weather so my daughters could visit college campuses (campusi?) scattered in the northeast, including such stalwarts as Harvard, MIT, Yale and Princeton. A side trip to MIT’s museum sparked an incredible insight for me about innovation. If you are ever in Boston, take the few minutes to get over to Cambridge and visit MIT’s museum, which is full of their current research, interesting art combined with technology, and many inventions and technologies that were spawned from the very bright people at MIT. If possible, go with a curious, scientifically interested kid in tow. It was at …
M&A Without Buying the Company by Mike Myatt Most people tend to look at acquisitions from a rather myopic and traditional M&A perspective: making a strategic or synergistic purchase of an operating entity on an accretive basis. However restricting your view of acquisitions to operating companies is like playing a football game with only one play in your playbook. The truth is that acquisitions aren’t just about buying companies, they’re about value creation. In the text that follows I’ll share 8 ways to acquire value without having to also buy the brain damage that comes along with purchasing the entire enterprise. Understand the Play With the right perspective, combined with knowing where to look, acquisitions can be extremely profitable while not being all that complicated. There’s an old saying that “one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure” and nowhere is this more applicable than in the world of acquisitions. Here’s … Continue reading
