Monthly Archives: July 2011
Earlier this year I was interviewed for an Australian program on the future of TV called 2020Vision, and made by Free TV, an industry body which represents all of Australia’s commercial free-to-air television licensees. It’s now live online (which still makes it TV, just on another screen!) in six 3-5 minute episodes. The show brings together some fascinating perspectives from a range of creatives, many touching on themes I shared a few months back. Fellow contributors include Jeffrey Katzenberg CEO, DreamWorks Animation; Bill Patrizio CEO, Red Bee Media UK; Tim Baxter Samsung Electronics America; Melissa Lavigne-Delville NBCUniversal; and Gary Carter COO, FremantleMedia. The episodes cover the multi-screen experience, the power of audiences, the evolution of advertising, and future programming trends. I share some thoughts in episode three on the promise of 3D TV for a more immersive and compelling advertising experience, and in episode four on TV as a way … Continue reading
In a sad but eerily familiar tale, The Wall Street Journal’s Julie Jargon and Mike Spector recently recounted the tragic circumstances facing Quiznos, the once-hot toasted sandwich chain. Double-digit sales declines, massive store closings, internal infighting—you name it, Quiznos is facing it. Without recounting all the gory details, Quiznos is a poster child for nearly every one of the seven growth-killing factors I highlight in When Growth Stalls. A deadly combination of the interminable recession, an ill-timed leveraged buyout and a series of powerful punches from arch-rival Subway (among other competitors) knocked the company for a loop. Add to that a crippling management/franchisee misalignment and a loss of focus, and it’s no surprise that Quiznos lost its nerve (a million-sandwich giveaway?) and any pretense of consistency in its brand positioning and value equation. What now? That’s the question facing the chain and its creditors. The answer, while not easy, …
The innovation process, in the business context, is a structured action that is remarkably easy to implement. It begins with a problem and ends with profit. As such, it is the ideal business process. So it is remarkable that so few businesses have actually implemented this structured innovation process. Fortunately, all you have to do is read this and implement it in your firm! Step by Step 1. Begin with a problem The innovation process starts with a problem or possibly a goal. However, the fact that the business has not already achieved the goal might be considered a problem. So, we can safely say the process begins with a problem. All businesses have problems. Sales could be better, products could be better, processes could be more efficient, costs could be reduced and so on. 2. Convert the problem into a challenge Once a problem has been identified, it needs … Continue reading
Earlier this week I told you about a client who had an epiphany and now he and his company are ready to ‘think about what they’ve never thought about‘. Great, but where to start? You need to new ideas. Different ones. That has to be clear. You need to think disruptively by thinking about what’s changing in the world and how those changes, in aggregate, can make your business disappear. You also have to look for entrants whose business model could potentially disrupt yours. You also have to look at how your customers tastes and needs have and may change. You also need to think about how you can/could disrupt yourself. The way to go about doing this is not to wait for inspiration to come. If your company is fighting for it’s life you should already be inspired but that’s not always the case. I know more than a … Continue reading
In an article I wrote last year entitled Moving towards a distributed innovation model I outlined some thoughts on the flow of knowledge in a distributed innovation model and discussed the Absorptive Capacities more from an internal organizational perspective. Increasingly we are looking outside for new knowledge that needs internally managing. As organizations seek increasingly outside their own walls, the appreciation of how they are managing knowledge, learning and interpreting this is becoming a critical aspect of open innovation to be successful. There is a growing need to absorb, integrate and apply this in new and novel ways for accelerating the innovation performance. The more we seek, the more the knowledge increases in complexity as markets are rapidly changing. The more we are relying on knowledge flowing into the organization the more we have to strength our inter-dependence and collaboration efforts to extract the knowledge we are acquiring …
It is a scene I have watch scores of times over two decades. Arriving at a location setting up, small talk with the interviewee, lights, action, the camera rolls, and my subject seems incapable of answering a simple question in less than five minutes. Maybe it is because they have spent a lifetime acquiring knowledge and insights about what they do, and this is their chance to tell posterity, tell it all in exquisitely boring detail. Whatever the reason, whatever the person, be they a CEO, scientist, academic or the janitor they have to be given a reality check. Nobody is going to remember any of it, they will be confused and zone out. The ability to separate and state a few simple statements is key in getting people interested in what you do. When people ask me what I do, my answer is “I produce media marketing materials that … Continue reading
