“See” the connections
The emerging generation of E-readers, Amazons Kindle, Barnes & Nobles Nook, and now the Ipad are as disruptive a technology as the invention of the printing press by Johannes Guttenberg in the early 1400's. Guttenberg's invention of the printing press was in...
Profitable Vs needed.
How often have you seen decisions taken that reflect a short term profit opportunity, rather than addressing a longer term need? In politics, the word "spinable" can usually be substituted for profitable. All organizations face the challenge of balancing short term...
Successful innovation = cash.
The great pressure for "innovation" comes at least partly from the buy in of senior executives in the notion promulgated by numerous thinkers that the only really sustainable competitive advantage is the capability to out innovate the competition. However, in the rush...
You train dogs, not people.
"Training" has become the default position in many circumstances where employees are required to learn a new skill, revise an existing one, or become familiar with a new product or process. At the end of the process, most will retain little of the training. By...
One at a time.
It is very tempting for marketers to become all sweaty about the prospect of a message going viral, all that free awareness, when in the old days, it would take lots and lots of advertising, costing big dollars. If only it was that easy, just make a funny video and...
“They just don’t get it!”
How many times have we heard this as a smart front line operator expresses frustration with the attitudes of the executive suite, the redundancy of the business model, or the strategy being pursued, as again, the "bosses" appear to fail to understand the coal face...
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
It has been interesting listening to the "debates" over the last week or so on two different topics, the latest of the seemingly endless versions of a NSW transport plan, and the redevelopment of the area of Sydney harbour now called Barangaroo On both issues, it...
Is more always better?
It seems that most innovation is aimed at getting more of the same for the same price, rather than making the experience with the product better. Every time I see an ad for a new car, it seems to have more airbags, more electronic gizmos to go wrong the day the...
The answer is inside, just ask the question.
How often is the "next big thing" hiding in your organisation without you knowing? Fairly often is seems. Probably the classic example, is the development of the first digital camera by a Kodak engineer , Steven Sasson in 1975. Kodak, with a totally dominant position...
Seeds of their own destruction.
What will be the continuing impact of the development of housebrands by retailers, and the current heightened value awareness of consumers? Most FMCG suppliers lose sleep over the retailers undermining their profitability by hogging shelf space with far cheaper...