How do leading firms manage change? They’re strategic.

H

ow do leading firms manage change? They’re strategic says Professor Robert Macintosh of Glasgow University. If two words sums up the Professor’s idea, its got to be crucial insights. Or plainly expressed, firms with strategists that reason productively diagnose the right problem. There is no question that managers need help to understand issues from multiple perspectives. Especially if emphasis is made on the need to diagnose the right problem. For instance, on the introduction of the Dyson as a bag-less vacuum cleaner which changed the nature of that industry. Many of the incumbent firms began to struggle to compete, losing both market share and money. It was clear that the problem was being defined differently by different groups within well-know vacuum cleaner firms. Those in marketing and product development felt sure that consumers wanted a more powerful machine because the power rating of the motor implied greater suction and greater suction meant higher cleaning efficiency.  The design engineers didn’t see the problem in the same way at all.

“they [the marketing people] keep asking for more power.  We’re building cleaners with bigger and bigger motors but that just means that the machines get more expensive and heavier.  Worse still, my team is now designing systems to dissipate some of the suction produced because if it was all directed at the carpet the machine would suck so hard you wouldn’t be able to push it along.”

                        

                                                                                         Senior Design Engineer

For the engineers, the problem was one of improving product reliability and reducing the costs of production by standardizing components and streamlining assembly processes.  The senior management of the firm were however, thinking at a different level of abstraction and were concerned about the cost base of their operations.  This led to a decision to close UK-based factories and move production to eastern Europe where wage costs were lower.  Each group had framed the problem in its own terms.  Everyone saw the same symptoms, lower revenues and declining market share, but each group diagnosed different causal mechanisms and therefore arrived at divergent conclusions on how best to move forward. Could all this change if managers are equipped with tools that enable them think critically. Perhaps, an  enquiry-action learning approach could help enhance performance. But first, firms have to set out a course today, and dynamically prepare on how they might set out to explore these tomorrow.

(Snippet from the book “Managing Change: Enquiry and Action by Robert Macintosh and Nic Beech”, Cambridge University Press).

Social Media

 Social Media:            

The clock ticks, its 4:30pm on a wet Tuesday evening in Vienna. I just finished discussing with representatives from Mckinsey, and Deutsche bank on how to boost investor confidence and sustain competitive advantage in organisations. I got into a taxi heading for the airport to catch my flight back to London, and started reading the Financial Times online. While in transit I checked into the plane, selected my seat and downloaded an e-boarding pass. I also made changes to dinner reservations in London, and responded to emails that needed quick attention.  

At the airport waiting to board, I posted messages on Twitter, checked Linkedin, and responded to comments on Facebook. I’m sitting on the flight listening to the cabin crew give instructions, and then the message came “Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Thank you for choosing this airline”. At that moment it seemed like the time stopped, everything stopped moving, no smartphones or tablets, no internet, facebook, pinterest, instagram or twitter, it was a moment of silence, then we took off.

From newspapers and magazines, to TV, and the internet, social media has changed the ways we think, consume, and communicate. Organisations also haven’t been left out, as they seek to take adapt and take advantage of the new social media revolution. Caroline Firstbrook and Robert Wollan of Accenture called social media the “genuine game changer” for business, while Chris Barry et al. of Bain & Company recommends that organisations should put social media to work in order to gain real value, whereas Roxane Divol et al. of Mckinsey teaches organisations on how to harness social media to drive sales, profitability and brand loyalty. Researchers like Prahalad and Ramaswamy, fargo and Lusch, highlights that consumers have become more empowered, and the empowerment would result in value co-creation with organisation, which would help promote competitive advantage. However, others like Zwick, Bonsu and Damordy argue that the consumers are being exploited and have been put to work only for the benefit of organisations.    

Examples of multiple social media platforms 

As the plane landed in London, we all came back to life, switching on our smart phones, receiving updates and message prompts, listening to voice mails and making calls. Then came the questions: Can we truly harness the power of social media? Who are the winners and losers? How do we innovate to ensure survival for the future?

CORPORATE NINJAS

COMPETENCE IN THE INNOVATION ECONOMY 

GM Chief Dan Akerson mentions in a fortune interview, that in managing complex global business environments, his company is required to dance as fast as it can. Choreography experts will tell you that every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics are not taken into consideration, injuries may occur. Same with Ninjutsu - The skills required of the Ninja.  Ninjutsu is an art that requires movement and precision. Skills, acquired by total training of the warrior in various fighting techniques. This  Ninjutsu type survival environment is what modern managers are faced with today. So, just as the Ninja is expected to possess in addition to knowledge of the martial arts, an understanding of common professions in-case they were expected to take a form of disguise, workers in a more productive economy need to have a mastery of skills and depth of expertise in whatever job they do and at what ever level, says Singapore Finance Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. As a result, there is a growing need for T-shaped competences, possessing deep skills in an area of expertise as well as broad knowledge of horizontal skills such as management, finance and business operations. Managers with these competences will determine the ability of the organisations that they support, and their success in the marketplace.

Institutions are also trying to position themselves to win the war on talent. UK policy makers begun the Modern Workplace consultation that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published in 2011. As part of this is the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which managers and business leaders hope will provide them with the framework to create the modern workplace that the economic environment requires. Will employees  become more engaged as a result, and will this help drive UK economic growth? It does not create the right legislative environment, as there have been little support for employees establishing a mutual to ensure they have the management skills to develop successfully says Chartered Management Institute policy and research director Petra Wilson. But there is a mention that if implemented effectively, the modern workplace consultation could transform management attitudes and achieve lasting change to the benefit of employers and employees alike.

There is a contrasting feel in corporate environments where its not a matter of if a strategy will work but when. With decades of experience of the foods business, and an MBA, Indra Nooyi Pepsico CEO could be seen as a T-shaped personality. Since she took the helm of Pepsico six years ago, the company has done pretty well, says Geoff Colvin. But today, she is taking a lot of heat from investors because the environment is rapidly changing, and so has return on capital which has plunged from 22% to 11%. Although, the company is undergoing transformation, there is indication that Nooyi has enabled the company respond to changing trends by investing in emerging markets, and a new R&D lab which is already yielding results. But analysts comment that Nooyi’s strategy lacks precision. Whether this is the case or not, until Pepsico’s transformation shows signs of payoff, Colvin says, Nooyi will endure more doubts from wall street and the press.   

In spite of their best efforts, Havard Business School professor Morten Hansen and colleague Bolko Von Oetinger say that most companies continue to squander their greatest assets – knowledge scattered and embedded within and outside organisations. It seems that as companies continue to take a hit in the current economic climate,  they are becoming aware of this disconnect. Which points to the obvious, there is demand for business leadership with movement and precision of the Ninja. But will this ideal become reality? Only time will tell.  

Innovation @ speed of Thought

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world” - Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955

The future, this is where it all began, planes, pc, internet, Apple, Microsoft, Disney, Google, Facebook and so many more started with a spark, brainwave or eureka moments as some would term it. Innovation @ speed of thought is a creative new means of transforming your ideas into reality, starting with the very first step, to think. The thinking process may seem so little yet so big, imagine the “power of you”, yes you, transforming your ideas, those thoughts and creative solutions into reality. From science, it is said that the speed of light is 3x10⁸ m/s, which is approximately 300,000 km/s, 1.3seconds from the earth to the moon, and 8.3minutes from the earth to the sun; if light is said to be so fast, pause and imagine the speed of thought. Innovation in this context refers to the ability to apply creative solutions to problems and opportunities to enhance or enrich lives; and innovation @speed of thought is to Think, Imagine and Create Now.

Imagine for a moment, if individual entrepreneurs, organisations and governments could innovate @ the speed of thought. The world would be a lot different from what it is today. Be the change, start the change and propel the change you want to see, Innovate @ speed of thought.

new buzz

Apr5

technology is going to greater heights every second, with every new purchase you make , be sure there is a man spending sleepless nights on how to make it better. So We have all been frustrated by the mobile typing at one time or another , but guess what G-mail tap, says taping is going to take messaging to greater heights. Some are really excited to see where taping takes us. Like most , some cant keep up anymore with this ever-changing technology.

 

thinking of just five words | we have a naked future

observe, create, inspire, experience, share

The POKE

Alert . STOP imagining the impossible. 

You are at high speed , and yes the inevitable happens. Yes , you might have heard it coming and you saw it coming but  have you ever actually kept clutching on to that so called "cliche phrase ", believed in it and guess what, it caved you in | like the David and Goliath story. well I have . And will continue to hold on to that stories life lesson. But we have learnt quite quickly that when gravity pulls, it does it with an enormous force. After investing time, some sleepless nights, sometimes all in vain has led to some disappointment and sometimes disgrace, hasn´t it? Its funny, its that awkward moment you don´t know whether to keep lying on the ground, call the life saviors, or just keep banging your self against the head. So you actually thought you could wrestle gravity. one, two , three GO! Fall again!? Next time work with gravity.

Now what exactly am I talking about. I am talking about that moment you have taken in all the air you can handle and taken that step to go beyond the norm and speak for something you were passionate about , but failed to execute that passion. I am talking about that second you topple on a hurdle after you have mastered a book on theoretical concepts of engineering and figured it is not actually functional in the real world. I am talking about the days you have felt you have failed because you cant see the impact or results of your actions. I am talking about the mornings that Monday gives you a slap in the face because you are resilient and over ambitious. I am talking about.... breathe.... yes ... I am talking about that moment you realise you have hit hard rock bottom because you think differently than the world thinks. Can you hear that echoe : we need more educated people in this world. Yes Bam , I am talking about that puzzled look as to what exactly is the definition of education in this century.I am talking about that choking feeling when you are startled that even science is incomplete and that knowledge is not and can never be a constant.

That feeling of failure 

Breathe... Bam , bam , bam,  that final poke  That feeling of failure. That pressure that everything better you do has to be different | innovative. But today scratch that and allow me to give credit to the man who takes the energy to try, try and try try again. yes be that man. It is in the joy of never giving up that great things were born . There is far more beauty in the man who learns from his falls, than the man who never dares to walk. Let that fall, be a reflection of things to come. | but don´t keep stumbling in the same pit more than twice. Now that´s a different kind of innovation , don´t you think | transforming the destination of your failures .

My friend wrote recently | “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Thanks Tayo, always wise words.

This one is to all those who have done, to those in the arena, whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood, well not literally, hahaha. Cheers.

new era | innovative culture

 

That simple retrace into the past can reveal the hidden traces of a journey and ignite the birth of a new connecion between past , present and that link to the future. I could swear I have never had a love for raisins in my entire life. That held true till today.  I ate that raisin cake like there was no tomorrow.  To be honest it triggered a lot of my suspicion towards this sudden era. No pun intended. Judging from the situation, this raisin cake was the top hit on the menu, everybody was talking about it. Leaving every sentence to be coated by the lovely tease of how the raisin cake is and would be the best cake of all time.  This experience got me questioning the word innovation itself. Like the raisin cake I had today , it has become the hype of the society. Things are starting to revolve around the word innovative. Through its widespread effect, innovation has become an important topic in various areas such as business, design,   economics,  entrepreneurship,  engineering , technology and  sociology. Yet today I circled this sociology part. I thought of my roots, my values , my beliefs and my experiences which have shaped my personality and character, including this new found love for raisins. I pictured the globalised world today , and how it has managed to create what we now call the globalized citizen. Immediately the idea of my initial beliefs is shattered. Shattered not because my roots have been derooted, but the tree has been truly modified, taking into account experiences and encounters with different cultures, indeed a new sort of innovation. Now can we call that innovation of culture or what? Innovation of societies , through creating better individuals who are ready to embrace difference and diversity and not shun it. Innovation of self by breaking old traditions useless to humanity and shattering  those walls to build a greater self.  Turning lemons into oranges, is the riddle.

Whoever said an lemons tree cant grow anything else but lemons, must have lied |That I swear is innovation of societies | breaking new ground | creating more value | shaping a new culture|

The kinetic effect

 

Remember that feeling when you saw your mothers first mobile, that vivid image of the  puzzled look coupled with the outrageous outburst of horrific chuckles. I will give you a high five if you remained unshaken by the picture at the left. The nineties camera phone. It is true the quality and measure of Innovation yesterday, is not necessarily the same measure of innovation today. It hit me that no matter what sort of innovative technology is created, it has to resonate with an every day simple task like communication or movement.

I would like to bring some focus to the heat wave of technology today. Innovative technology they call it because it is true nowadays they always want to spice it up. Imagine how many people have tables tallying apples gadgets because there is always a better one in a span of less than a year. If you are the unlucky buyer of the iphone first generation you know what I mean. But nomatter how bitter the iphone first generation buyer can be they still agree that technology has revolutionalised our lives.

I am immedietely reminded of my first experience with the Xbox 360 plus kinect effect. Its in the way your body is in motion with real time and this box. Its that split second you jump in unison with the projection in that game. It is kinetic motion, this kinect effect: it’s the beginning of something revolutionary. Its beyond games, its not the technology that’s impressive , but the application, impact and its potential to be better. Some people ask:and what about our real lives, are we cramping ourselves into a virtual world? 

Kinect might not be as accurate, but it will be better and better.I will tell you it is not about the technology that makes it innovative, it is the integration into out every day lives through its application capable to improve our living that makes it innovative. Thus it is completely incorrect to say that our real lives depend on technology but rather vice versa would hold true. Intergrating this technology into our real lifes is only the beginning.

The Open Business

Its dusk in London and as most people prepare to finish from work, Beijing is about to open for business. Whether its James Kim of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology helping the North Korean youth, or companies looking for ways through  social gaming in making employees healthier and more productive, in between all these are people. There is a link between learning, motivation, creativity, and performance, and although different views exist as to whether how we feel can impact our behaviour, Ron Johnson the retail radical says people just want to belong to something deeper which explains his arithmetic of success as - mindshare. Yet companies are fazed about how to create the right environment to foster innovation. When it comes to innovation ecosystems, business leaders ask employees what they desire and support high performers, but products still fail, and some processes result in decline and there is still little understanding of measures that impact outcome of outsourced research and development activities. Is this because we are unable to understand the little things or we have become too smart and fall into a circle of unproductive reasoning. A food for thought is Stanley Bing’s article on business school students – He mentions that they now posses the natural qualities for corporate leadership but are sometimes unequipped with natural genius. Will they be able to drive the open future that institutions aspire to? Some may doubt, but think facebook, twitter, linkedin and how sharing becomes the norm. Is this  a  reason to hope? Because whatever our divergent opinions may be and whether we admit to it or not, we are becoming open to innovation .              

Innovation: The Human DNA

Innovation: The Human DNA


Innovation isn't as strange as the world makes it seem, in reality it is as simple as ABC. Every human on earth is born an innovator, and strange as it may seem the following lines would give a clearer picture. How does a child learn to talk, walk, speak or even eat? how come children when put together in the same space find a way to communicate? how come a child cries when they notice a strange face around? All these questions point to the direction that something inside everyone of us seeks for new ways of doing things. Some people might argue that children learn and adapt to the changing environment, yes but how do they learn to adapt? Innovation is simply the ability to develop creative solutions to problems, and every child operates at a genius level until 4. However, by 30 only 2% of humans still have it. If we were at one point all geniuses, how come our lives have different outcomes? and how come we still have problems left unsolved?


My random thoughts on innovation, though still at an early stage,I believe it would be extremely useful for individuals, organisations and even governments of nations to understand the innovation DNA, and look for means of adopting it as part of their strategy.

The future is in our hands. Think, Imagine and Create .... TIC