Today is March 21st and spring begins...
This week I attended at the invitation of Spring, the seminar of Rowan Gibson, “Making Innovation Happen”.
A positive note to the BSS Spring initiative and its “ Spring Academy “, which innovates in the relationship with its customers and partners, betting on training and knowledge sharing with the Executive Seminars and “Mini MBAs”.
Nevertheless, I confess that I am usually very sceptical about seminars. I rarely think it's worth going to a seminar. Except, of course, when we have the opportunity to listen to someone, like in this case, really good!
I'm always more interested in the way they organize and expose ideas than... the themes. We have more to learn from speakers than what they advocate and disclose.
The seminars, when good (and this, though long, was good!) have at least the best value of making us stop a few moments, listen and reflect on topics that often gravitate in our daily lives.
Innovation was discussed globally, focusing on the market and on companies. For me, as far as innovation is concerned, there is concern about how to get Portugal to innovate quickly enough and with sufficient “amplitude and depth” to bring its pace of economic growth closer to the most advanced standards.
For this, and so that Portugal’s effort to innovate does not become “presided” to any technology, company, or business area, it is important to promote the pleasure of discovering and the taste of learning, of undertaking, the culture of undertaking and taking risks. No fear of failure! The culture of failure is equal to the culture of innovation!
For the initiative, thank you Spring! Both of you!
Some ideas, notes/considerations I took from the seminar:
1. The old question of scale
The obvious finding that as much as we talk about innovation, marketing anything, Web n.0 or any other kind of Buzz... the scales count. We Portuguese, despite (as I heard at the seminary) constantly flogging ourselves, diminishing ourselves, showing ourselves as incapable of almost everything... we are capable! Very! I think it's above average! We're good!
Examples of innovation are not only related to the usual ones (green, the world's most advanced ATM network, the Prepago mobile card (TMN's c/ MIMO)) but also with several historical innovations (e.g. astrolabe)
But... too small.
Getting a 1% market share with an innovation project is “slightly” different from having 1% market share in the US.
Curiosity: Jeff Immelt, successor of Jack Welsh at GE, after all the “downsizes”, “Six Sigma”, etc., responds that “innovation” is the only way GE continues to grow. The aim of this gentleman is for his stackholders to increase annual profits by 8% (not sales). This represents nothing less than $15 billion... that is, just Nike's appreciation, which took 40 years to get to what it is today. Dimension, my dears...
2. Culture of failure = Innovation
Innovation is part of the culture of failure. Part of the consciousness that failure is part of the will to “do” and “innovate”. Not changing this attitude implies maintaining the biggest barrier to “making innovation happen”.
3. Public innovation engines
Normally innovation does not start in the already implemented companies but in the “new eats”; in the “wave riders”. One finding by Rowan Gibson that I share 100% is that innovation has nothing to do with Research and Development. Today, innovations arise from “nothing”. And they happen when they have support. If we look at names like “Google”, “eBay”, “PayPal”, “Skype”, “Amazon”, “Ikea”, “Tivo”, “Facebook”, “MySpace”, “Second Life” (among many others), all started from “nothing” and not R&D. I'm not saying that R&D is not necessary. It is necessary (and much!). But a new vision of “Innovation” and “Incentives to Innovation” is needed!
In Portugal there are no public innovation engines. If we look at Risk Capital, it's almost nonexistent. When there is (public!) it has a greater concern with the “public image” than with the “success of innovation”. Community tables... for those who are large or already established.
Curiosity: recently, with some curiosity, I decided to make a phone call to the Innovation Agency and ask how the project I am building (BySide), being a Portuguese project and, in my opinion, with a high degree of innovation, could take advantage of the “Innovation Agency”. I explained that I was not looking for “funds”. I just wanted to understand what the Innovation Agency could do for the project and if it could at least help promote it. Having no conclusive answer, I decided to make another phone call and explain that I wanted to “offer” the BySide service to the “Innovation Agency”. I wanted this entity to understand an innovative project... they asked me to present the proposal by letter. Yes, by letter! By email it would not be possible because these kind of proposals had to be evaluated... by letter. Name of the entity: “Innovation Agency”. No further comments!
4. Make “Innovation” happen
It is not enough to state that the path is “Innovation”. A “statement” is not enough. A new “mission” is not enough. You have to:
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New values;
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new skills;
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new cases;
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New metrics;
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new management;
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new management systems;
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New IT solutions;
And... you have to give people time to innovate, generate diversity of opinions and knowledge and generate conversation and interconnection.
5. Decompose business models
Of course it's a common place to say this but... I'll say it: “What if we think backwards? Other angles of view on the same problem are needed”
Note: the name “BySide” has several connotations for me. Of course it also implies an obvious “On the side” of the customer but, mainly, implies a lateral view of the problem. BySide is a brand. The name of the company behind BySide is “Made To Work”... i.e. “Make it happen”.
Business models have to be perceived from the following perspective:
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Who's the client?
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What do you provide the customer with?
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How do you provide it?
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How do you make money?
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How do you differentiate and maintain differentiation?
Evaluate whether the “idea” behind the business model is radical enough!
6. Innovation from base to top
Companies are not innovative by departments! Innovation has to be transversal! It has to be part of the company's culture. More than a management program, it has to be “attitude”!
Obvious examples: Google and Virgin.
7. 1000/100/10/1
Basic innovation formula:
1000 ideas for 100 experiences for 10 projects and 1 success story!