Increasing the stakes - why innovation is gaining more traction
As we end the first six months of 2009, one thing is clear: people are realizing that innovation is more than a buzzword. It's a critical component of an organization's success: it's the lifeblood that makes the organization tick and survive a world of high-velocity change.
As someone who spends a lot of time helping some of the world's largest organizations adapt to and understand the new high-velocity economy, I've long realized that there are big, creative-stumbling-blocks that have restricted the type of thinking that is necessary to "doing-things-differently."
Yet, I am encountering a new group of leaders who know that the emergence of the high-velocity economy means that they must have a a team that can constantly adapt and evolve, coming up with a regular stream of new ideas on how to better run the business, grow the business and transform the business.
There are several reasons why innovation will be the primary area of focus for every business, going forward:
- people are finally "getting it": They are realizing that innovation isn't just about new products ; it's also about looking at what you do, how you do it, and how you can do it better.
- people are realizing that innovation isn't optional: They have come to realize that in the fast paced world in which we find ourselves, with multiple competitive threats and unprecedented new opportunities, those who can think differently and who can do things differently will be those that make the leap from potential failure to massive success
- people are realizing they can "do" innovation: they're realizing that innovation isn't some dark, mysterious ancient ritual: they're realizing that it simply a mindset that involves constant probing to see how we can fix things, find new things, or transform things: whether those things be business processes, customer service methods, new products, marketing and distribution channel concepts, or just about anything else.
- people know that innovation is driven by extreme velocity: In every industry, the certain minimum expectations which have long existed are now constantly rising. Whether it issues of cost/price, customer service/support, logistics/delivery, brand coolness or new products, the rule is simple: to compete today, you have to keep up with high-velocity change. If you don't innovate to maintain the same velocity as everyone else, you get left behind. It's that simple.
- people know it becomes easier to be innovative if you plug into the global innovation idea loop. What has happened in the last decade is quite simple: there is now a huge and massive global discussion underway. If you can learn how to tap it, you can discover a wealth of innovative ideas and thinking, new knowledge, wonderful insight and creativity.
- people know that demographic change brings about more innovative thinking: quite simply, as change adverse baby-boomers begin to retire, they are being replaced by change-adept Gen-Connects: individuals who view innovative opportunities in the context of connectivity. They are always asking themselves, how can I do something cool with this business problem if I layer connectivity on top of it? Whether it's supply chain reorganization, collaborative tools or something else, they bring a whole new innovative perspective to the game.
- people are learning that innovation is not a one time thing: when it comes to innovation, the idea of a "suggestion box" is just so "20'th century." There is now an understanding that a company must live a culture of innovation: everyone must be completely and fundamentally focused on the new things we need to do to stay in the game, and excel at what we do.
- people know that innovation has gone mainstream: Everyday people are starting to use the I-word in conversation, and it's becoming natural. Innovation has left the realm of the esoteric, and has become the next natural area of focus in business.
- management is now focusing on the attributes of an innovation team: agility, insight and execution have become their guiding principles. They know that they must have agility to respond to the rapid change that constant innovation demands; they know they need depth of insight to discover where innovative ideas can work; they know that it isn't just coming up with the ideas, but making them work, that is so critical to their innovation success.
- people are seeking a head start on how to make the leap to innovation: A guy like me, who makes his living helping organizations understand innovation, now finds his agenda heavily booked. Management everywhere has put innovation on the agenda for the upcoming months, and they're doing what it takes to get a kick-start on the process.
People have come to realize that being innovative is just plain fun.
That fact, more than anything else, signals that innovation is becoming critical.
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Video - "Re-engage yourself with the future!"
The motivational wrapup to a recent Las Vegas keynote - advising the audience to "re-engage with the future."
This is based upon my "10 Great Words" document which you can find here, in a big PDF.
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"What am I going to do today to kill new ideas?"
Here's a video clip from a recent keynote in Las Vegas.
I was on stage in front of an audience of 4,000, speaking for a global organization.
In this clip, I'm speaking about the challenges that organizations face with innovation -- and in particular, the fact that every organization has people who wake up each day and ask themselves, "what can I do today to kill innovation?"
Do such people exist? Are there really attitudes like this out there with such high-velocity change in the economy out there? You'll realize the answer to this question is yes, as soon as you hear the list of the "innovation killers."
Think about what they say:
- "We've always done it this way"
- "It won't work"
- "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard"
- "That's not my problem"
- "You can't do that"
- "I don't know how"
- "I don't think I can"
- "I didn't know that"
- "The boss won't go for it"
- "Why should I care?"
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A conscious decision - don't take part in this recession!
I led a small workshop last week after an event, focused on the issue of "how can we establish opportunities for growth during an economic downturn."
The cover of my handout was titled, "It's January 15, 2020: What did we do to move through the great recession of 2009." Inside, I presented a number of scenarios that challenged the participants to think about innovation strategies that could be pursued right now, in order to provide that growth.
The concept resonated extremely strongly. All around me, I see opportunities for growth in a wide variety of industries. And what is becoming obvious is that some organizations are aggressively adopting strategies that involve "aggressive innovation" to change their direction now, rather than later.
Since last year, when the recession began, I've seen some of the best and worst approaches to how organizations are dealing with the challenges in the economy. And I go back to a previous blog post, in which I identified a list of 10 more things that smart, innovative companies do to create an overall sense of innovation-purpose. It's still a great list, and is worth repeating.
- Heighten the importance of innovation. One major client with several billons in revenue has 8 senior VP's who are responsible for innovation. And the fact is, they don't just walk the talk -- they do it. The message to the rest of the company? Innovation is critical -- get involved.
- Create a compelling sense of urgency. With product lifecycles compressing and markets witnessing fierce competition, now is not the time for studies, committee meetings and reports. It's time for action. Simply do things. Now. Get it done. Analyze it later to figure out how to do it better next time.
- Ignite each spark. Innovative leaders know that everyone in the organization has some type of unique creativity and talent. They know how to find it, harness it, and use it to advantage.
- Re-evaluate the mission. You might have been selling widgets five years ago, but the market doesn't want widgets anymore. If the world has moved on, and you haven't, it is time to re-evaluate your purpose, goals and strategies. Rethink the fundamentals in light of changing circumstances.
- Build up experiential capital. Innovation comes from risk, and risk comes from experience. The most important asset today isn't found on your balance sheet -- it is found in the accumulated wisdom from the many risks that you've taken. The more experiential capital you have, the more you'll succeed.
- Shift from threat to opportunity. Innovative organizations don't have management and staff who quiver from the fear at what might be coming next. Instead, they're alive from breathing the oxygen of opportunity.
- Banish complacency and skepticism. It's all too easy for an organization, bound by a history of inaction, to develop a defeatist culture. Innovative leaders turn this around by motivating everyone to realize that in an era of rapid change, anything is possible..
- Innovation osmosis. If you don't have it, get it -- that's a good rule of thumb for innovation culture. One client lit a fuse in their innovation culture by buying up small, aggressive, young innovative companies in their industry. They then spent the time to carefully nurture their ideas and harness their creativity.
- Stop selling product, and sell results. The word solution is overused and overdone, but let's face it -- in a world in which everything is becoming a commodity and everyone is focused on price, change the rules of the game. Refuse to play -- by thinking about how to play in a completely new game.
- Create excitement. I don't know how many surveys I saw this year which indicated that the majority of most people in most jobs are bored, unhappy, and ready to bolt. Not at innovative companies! The opportunity for creativity, initiative and purpose results in a different attitude. Where might your organization be on a "corporate happiness index?" If it's low, then you don't have the right environment. Fix that problem -- and fix it quick.
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Playboy, innovation, and brands from the 1950's
When you travel a lot like I do, you end up doing a lot of reading. One of the books I've been reading provides a fascinating look back at the fifties and sixties: Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. (No, I didn't buy it for the pictures, because there are very few.)
I was struck by paragraph that spoke to how the company worked hard to get advertisers on board in the early years. It took some time, but eventually, they began to sign up some of the leading brands of the time.
Home amenities also abounded, with promotions for everything from Crosswinds House beach towels and robes to Scintella Satin BedSheets, Lektrostat Kit record cleanerss to Mansfield Holiday II 8-mm. cameras, Leslie Record Racks to the Electro-Voice Musicaster (an outdoor "high-fidelity speaker system for relaxed enjoyment at the patio or pool"). personal accessory plugs included the Ronson Electric Shaver, Max Factor crew-cut hair dressing, Rogers "Rocket Flame" cigarette lighter, Merrin Gold Jewelry, and English Leather aftershave and toiletries. Ads focusing on romance promoted such items as Coty Perfume ("Nothing makes a woman more feminine to a man) and the Batch Book, "a new and modern address book that lets you list every pertinent detail - the surest way to avoid social errors."
Ask yourself this question when you read that paragraph: how many of those brands actually still exist? Very few of them. Some disappeared due to changing societal norms, others due to technological change.
Regardless of the reason, very few products and brands have any type of longevity in the marketplace. That's why continual product and brand reinvention is really, really critical. Even more so today than in the 1950's!
Which is why, when I'm speaking and working with my clients on the need for constant brand innovation, I always challenge them to ask themselves if their brands are from the "olden days."
I wrote about this in a blog post some time back, noting that brands can become old for a variety of reasons:
- Your brand looks tired, because it is tired
- Customers see a lack of innovation
- Lousy, ineffective customer service
- You don't know that you customers know more about your brand than you do
- A lack of purpose or urgency
- A lack of market and competitive intelligence
- A regular series of fumbling missteps
- Recognize that brand longevity is now a critical issue
- Ensure your sales, marketing, development and customer support team are relentlessly focused on the currency of the brand
- Make sure that continuous brand innovation is part of your corporate mantra
- When confronted with the new and challenging customer, learn from them rather than running away
- Be incessantly focused on the likely innovations that will come to impact your brand
- Learn to think five to six product lifecycles in advance -- and plan to do them all within six months.
- Make forward oriented intelligence a critical aspect of what you do.
More information
- Is your brand from the olden days?
- Your customers are high velocity. Are you?
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I read a book today, oh boy! "Bothered by My Green Conscience"
Fifteen years ago, I met Franke James -- a brilliant designer, artist, and creative thinker. At the time, she had been the lead designer for a conference program for which I was the lead speaker.
Our paths diverged, and I had not seen her for some time, but was aware of her ongoing work. In 2004, I needed a cover design for my upcoming book, "What I Learned From Frogs in Texas: Saving Your Skin with Forward Thinking Innovation."
I thought of Franke, met with her again, and contracted her on the spot. Her design was unequivocally brilliant.
Paths diverged again -- and then she's back. Last night, I read Franke's new book, "Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberrty-eating urban dweller can go green."
It's an absolutely stunning, delightful, colorful, inspirational and thought provoking romp through Franke's unique adventure to change her life to pay more respect to the environment. It's artistic, creative, and unique. I don't think I've quite ever read a book like this.
It's not really a book that you read; it's more of a colorful diagram that you work your mind through. Franke's unique skill has always been her ability to draw her thinking. And that's what she does in this book -- it's an absolutely fascinating display of what can be done when a truly unique, creative mind sets out to tell a story in a unique and innovative way.
You really need this book - both for the unique creative way in which she tells her story -- and for the importance of the message that it provides. Inspirational!
More information
- Buy Bothered by My Green Conscience on Amazon
- Learn more about Franke James
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Time for a little innovation oxygen? Why wasting time is a GOOD thing.....
When my friend Scott Kress summited Mount Everest last year, he used a little bit of oxygen for the final push. Many climbers do -- sometimes you need the extra energy to accomplish something massive!
So it is with innovation -- sometimes you need some help to accomplish great things. I've written an article this morning, "Time for a little oxygen?" that offers some thoughts on you can kick up your innovation efforts a bit more. Here's an extract:
To get into a frame of mind of acting fast, everyone needs to be able to learn a lot, very quickly. One way of doing that is by encouraging people to "waste" time. That's right - I really recommend that as a business strategy.. As for Scott, his time spent summiting Everest certainly wasn't a waste of time. He's an Executive MBA teacher, consultant and speaker, and the experience has given him a unique message on leadership, teams, and effective strategic planning!How can people understand the high velocity change in markets, business models, competitive challenges, the emergence of new means of marketing and branding, and all kinds of other issues, if they are restricted to formal education programs? How can they learn about the new products that they need to sell when those products are coming to market so quickly? How can they learn new methods of dealing with a customer by taking an in-house course that was developed over a year ago, when the market was completely different from today?
That's where frivolous education comes in, as a complement to traditional, formal corporate education programs.
Why not establish some "playtime" with your sales force, with the purpose being to try out a multitude of new technologies: encourage browsing through industry magazines, surfing the Web for market research, etc... Such activities may help bring understanding to how the customer is changing. So in fact, what may appear to be "wasting time," really is not so
More information
- Read the article Time for a little innovation oxygen?
- Learn more about Scott Kress
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10 Things You Need to Do to Innovate in a Recession
Business Week ran an article in January, "10 Worst Innovation Mistakes in a Recession."
It's easy to point out mistakes. It can be harder to indicate what you should be doing.
I've been out speaking to organizations about trends, the future, innovation and creativity for fifteen years. Since last year, when the meltdown began, I've been keynoting events worldwide, rapidly adjusting my theme to one of "how you can innovate during a recession." I've had the opportunity of seeing first hand quite a few very innovative strategies from CEO's and others in a wide variety of events, and I keep modifying my message at rapid speed to incorporate a vast variety of ideas.
So I just took a few minutes to post a comment to the Business Week site, and I'll post my quick thoughts here too. Here's a list of 10 off the top of my head:
1. Focus your team -- relentlessly -- on growth. I keynoted a global organization in Las Vegas in February. The CEO got on stage before me -- and spoke about the recession for one minute. He then spent 19 minutes speaking to the growth opportunities that the organization could pursue. That's what everyone needs to do right now. There are growth opportunities in every industry. Focus on them!
2. Respond faster. When I keynoted a food industry summit in New York, we spoke of the need to respond faster to the fact that consumer preferences were changing more rapidly than ever before. More people eating at home, sensitive to dollars, looking for food-comfort. Reformulate new brand and product options faster. Just do it. Don't study -- do.
3. Invest in the brand. Brands can become weaker in a recession, particularly as consumers scramble for value. Decide where you want to reposition your product/brand, and act fast to do it rather than studying it to death.
4. Mix it up. Don't assume that worked before the recession will work now. Try out a lot of ideas, particularly around value. “I'm experimenting rapidly with price points and product mix."
5. Invest in experience. Lots of your staff will be down in the dumps, and are spinning their wheels. Get a message out that NOW is the time to invest in experience. Try things out, to build up the collective experience of your team.
6. Kill off the innovation killers. Reframe your team, so that they are thinking "what a great idea," rather than viewing with suspicion any new ideas. Remember -- everyone is worried about being laid off, and paranoia sucks the life out of innovation faster than anything else.
7. Collaborate within the industry. When I keynoted the American Nursery and Landscape Association recently, I stood in awe of the blog they were running that was offering practical, on the ground, easy to implement ideas that retailers could put into their stores NOW.
8. Seek ideas. Go knowledge farming once a day, looking for ideas on customer service, operations, IT strategies, and just about anything else. There's a flood of ideas out there -- now's a great time to chase them down and do things.
9. Partner up. Sure, resources are scarcer during a recession. That's why you can speed up innovation with anything -- from advertising, to customer service, business model implementation, IT strategy, opportunities for operational excellence or just about anything else -- by seeking partners to help you out. That will help you achieve key goals faster.
10. Get over it. Lots of organizations are still stuck in the anger and denial phase of the Seven Steps of Economic Grief. Make a decision to get into the acceptance stage, and move on. This will recession will pass, just like every other one.
There are dozens more.....
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You need to have a relentless focus on growth -- RELENTLESS!
I was interviewed some time last month by FoodProcessing.com - this was related to their discovery of the keynote I did for the Readers Digest / EveryDay with Rachel Ray team food industry summit in New York last fall.
They ran a short article, "March of the New Machines: The Future of Food Processing" -- and ran my comment on what I've seen in terms of CEO's who have relentless focus on growth. Many of my recent keynotes -- several in Las Vegas, Austin, Miami and New York -- have been focused on how to maintain a growth strategies during an economic contraction.
Here's an extract from the interview. Some good food for thought on the need to be RELENTLESS on the future and opportunities.
In a tough economy like this, it's time to hold the line on spending and to be especially cautious of leading-edge technology. Right?The article at FoodProcessing.com itself takes a look at the technologies, production platforms, processes, ideas and methodologies which can provide for innovation in terms of market growth, product development, cost management and other areas. There's no shortage of opportunity for innovation in the food and consumer product sector - or any other industry.History's full of companies that leapt ahead of competitors by increasing spending, especially on innovation, during down times. Jim Carroll (www.jimcarroll.com), author and innovation consultant, recalled a speaking engagement in which he followed the CEO of a global restaurant chain, who spoke for a brief but powerful 20 minutes.
"For the first minute, he spoke about the global economy and the meltdown. He then spent the next 19 minutes identifying eight growth opportunities and how this organization could do great things if they relentlessly obsessed over them.
"How cool is that?" asks Carroll. "All these other companies are retrenching, pulling back, and here's a guy who's saying to his team, 'Let's focus on growth.' "
He says growth plans and strategic if judicious spending is mandatory for managing during a downturn. Companies that aren't paralyzed by total spending freezes can get the jump on those competitors who are. And when the economy is back on track a year or whatever from now, Carroll says only then will we be able to point to companies and say which ones lagged and failed and which ones "took risks and did great things.
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What is missing right now for many organizations is the COURAGE TO TAKE RISKS and INVEST!
Innovators focus on the future, they focus on growth, and they focus their team on opportunity. That's a key message, and you'd do well to obsess over it.
Think growth!
More information:
- Read March of the New Machines: The Future of Food Processing
- Read the RDA Food & Entertainings Consumer Food Symposium summary (PDF)
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When do you innovate? The New Yorker has a great article out, "Hanging tough," about how some companies choose to ensure that they stay innovative in recessionary times.
That's the theme I've been focused on for the last 8 months on stage. Here's a clip from a recent Las Vegas event for a global organization, addressing the theme, "Innovators get out in front of the recession"
People seem to be catching on to the idea that now is not the time to hunker down, but to push forward, innovate, change and adapt. More information
- New Yorker article, "Hanging tough"
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What does it mean to innovate at high velocity?
I was the opening keynote speaker for a major credit union conference l : in the room were the CEO's and Board members for several hundred small to medium sized CU's. This coming week on Friday, I'll be the closing keynote speaker for the annual conference of the Texas Credit Union League in Austin. I spend quite a bit of time speaking throughout the financial sector.
One constant is that I always challenge my audience to think about how to become an agile, high velocity, innovation oriented organization. This isn't simply an organization that has a constant stream of new products : it's an organization that also responds to all the rapid change that is swirling around it.
From my slide deck, I'm outline that high velocity innovative organizations prepare for:
- the rapid emergence of new technologies
- rapid shifts in market fundamentals
- the rapid emergence of new business models
- rapid shifts in customer behavior
- a need for rapid scaling to adapt to this rapidity
- constant rapid shifts in marketing outreach methods
- rapidly changing consumer sentiment
I've long been suggesting that the financial sector is soon going to find a tsunami of change as our iPhones, Blackberries and other mobile technologies become the new form of credit card payment technology.
The New York Times reported on the trend this weekend, in an article, Visa introduces a credit card on a phone.
The rush to "contact-less payment technology" is going to happen, and it's going to happen faster than most people in the financial sector think. It's being driven at the speed of Silicon Valley, and some financial institutions -- and many many credit unions -- are still operating at a far slower pace. As a result, they can often be caught flatfooted by dramatic technological change, and end up having their business model disrupted in a substantial way.
On stage, I challenge this senior level type of audience to realize just how quickly everything around them is changing. In order to be innovative, they need to understand the new technologies that will impact them, and be prepared to ingest them at the rate that the market demands.
That's a critical form of innovation, and sadly, there continue to be a lot of organizations who aren't into that reality. That's why there are so many organizations having me in to talk about how to become an "innovator in the high velocity economy."
More information
- 2009 Texas Credit Union League conference
- Visa introduces a credit card on a phone
- 2009 Financial & banking innovation awards
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Innovating for the future: Think "Experiential Capital" In my book Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast, I made this observation: "Innovation comes from risk, and risk comes from experience. The most important asset today isn't found on your balance sheet – it is found in the accumulated wisdom from the many risks that you’ve taken. The more experiential capital you have, the more you’ll succeed."
In this clip from a recent keynote, I speak to why experiential capital has become even more important with the economic downturn.
I close with the observation: "Investing in experiential capital is one of the more important things you can do." When people ask me about the "secrets" of innovative organizations, this is one of the key attributes I outline. They realize they are immersed in a world of fast-paced ideas -- and they take on many different projects, some of which are doomed to fail, in order to build the overall experience of the organization.
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Rethinking innovation : how to energize your corporate idea machine. Here's one thing I've been stressing to many of my clients during keynotes, leadership and workshops: organizations need to work hard to ensure they establish an overall culture of innovation. What does that mean? Everyone throughout the organization has a mindset that they are equally responsible for innovative ideas; they're colaborative with those ideas; and they focus on three key questions: how can we run the business better, grow the business, and transform the business.
Here's a clip from a recent keynote in which I explore this theme
IBM seems to like my ideas; they put out a white-paper in January of this year, and included a quote that catches the key theme in this video clip:
According to futurist Jim Carroll, transformation is very doable for many businesses: "They are realizing that innovation isn't some dark, mysterious ancient ritual: they're realizing that it's simply a mindset that involves constant probing to see how we can fix things, find new things, or transform things, whether those things be business processes, customer service methods, new products, marketing and distribution cannel concepts, or just about anything else."
More information:
- IBM White Paper Business analytics: The perfect fit for the agile enterprise
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"Thriving in turbulent times " - interview on Cognos Radio
IBM's Cognos division has put up an interview with me on their BIRadio site, which focuses on business intelligence.
The key theme of the interview: "Author and Innovation Consultant Jim Carroll explains how avoid "aggressive indecision" and why now is the perfect time to forge ahead with new ideas".
Here's an excerpt:
Kelsey Howarth: You write that the danger is an idea recession, or innovation paralysis. Do you think companies are still in that shock phase?Jim Carroll: They're like deer in the headlights. They're so focused on the headlines, they're so focused on, you know, every single twist and turn of what's going on with the economy and if you sit back and you think about the industry you're in, there's probably lots of potential for growth. What we've got to do is we've got to get people beyond this paralysis and get them focused on the future again. You know, I coined the phrase a few years ago when we had the last downturn after, you know, the dotcom collapse. I said that people were going into a state of aggressive indecision. You know, they just decided to not to make decisions about anything. You know, they just, sort of everybody went on pause and I think we have to recognize we've got to get beyond the pause button. We've got to press the play button and start doing things. We have to keep moving forward."
More information
- Access the BI Radio show: Thriving in turbulent times
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iPhone / PDA version of JimCarroll.com launched
I was examining my Web traffic yesterday, and it is obvious that the number of users hitting the site from iPhone's and PDA's is increasing significantly.
It was time to put in place a version of the site that was friendly to iPhone's and PDA's. It's great to surf a Web site with Safari on an iPhone, for example, and zoom in to particular sections of a Web page. Yet, an increasing number of Web sites are also launching specially iPhone/PDA formatted versions. I wanted to do that!
After trying a number of things in a dizzying project of exploration, I implemented a quick microsite this way:
- I installed the Wordpress blogging software, and added to it the Wordpress PDA & iPhone Plugin. The latter takes a Wordpress site and converts to an iPhone friendly format.
- set up some code in my home page, the "About Jim Carroll" page, and the blog "home page" so that iPhone users are automatically redirected to the microsite. I'm still working on automatic redirects for Blackberry's and other PDA's.
You can access the microsite directly here.
(If you try that link in a regular browser, you'll get a simple basic Wordpress page)
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Video clip - "How do innovators stay out in front?" Another clip from a recent keynote in Las Vegas.
Quite a few global organizations are bringing me in these days to inspire their leadership team to stay focused on growth, opportunity, and innovation.
In this clip, I talk about these issues, and put some perspective on dealing with challenging economic times.
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Video - Reinventing brand relevance in the era of social networking Here's a clip from a recent keynote in Las Vegas.
I'm challenging the audience to think about the issue of maintaining brand relevance, in the era in which customers increasingly influence the perception of brands through social networking tools.
The key challenge today is preventing a brand from becoming "from the olden days." I emphasize this with a quote from Multichannel Marketing, April 2008.
"In some ways, brands are like people. They get stuck. They have habits that are hard to break. They don't always see their blind spots, and they lost touch with their core essence. They resist change. They become irrelevant"Innovative organizations realize that they need to continuously address the issue of the relevance of their brands, and must work harder than before to keep them "fresh."
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Focusing on growth in a perilous economy - how innovators win
There's a lot of research that goes into every keynote and workshop I undertake. Recently, one key theme has been looking at how innovators break through the recessionary blues, and create new markets and revenue through disruptive innovation. This was the theme of a recent column that I wrote, "Keep Those Ideas Coming."
While preparing for a recent keynote for a Fortune 500 leadership event, I came across an an article from The Hindu newspaper from January 2009, which featured an interview with Vijay Govindarajan, Chief Innovation Consultant at General Electric in Chennai; he's also a professor at the Tuck School of International Business.
Here's a key observation from the article:
He has researched four U.S. slowdowns of the last half century: the oil shocks of the early 1970s, the crippling unemployment of the early 1980s, the recession of the early 1990s and the dotcom bust of 2000. "In each period, about 60 per cent of companies barely survived, while 30 per cent died. But the remaining ten per cent or so actually became breakthrough performers and that’s mostly because of the choices they made during the recession period."The key word there is choice. The choice that you need to make right now is to focus on growth, and particularly, growth through innovation.
Many of my recent events have involved having me on stage directly following the CEO of the client. I've been fascinated by what I've witnessed in the last few months. Many of these individuals, in their remarks, have quickly moved beyond talking about the recession (i.e. "we've got good strategies in place to contain costs to work our way through this thing"), and are immediately talking to their team about the growth markets and opportunities that they intend to pursue. They are challenging them to think about innovation in the context of opening new markets, enhancing existing revenue sources, transitioning the product line, moving beyond commodity products into a lineup with more inherent value; the list goes on.
It's a critical and important leadership message, and I think it bodes well for the future potential of the economy. I have no difficulty finding and identifying growth opportunities in countless industries. It might take some time, and it's difficult to think about growth with all the doom-and-gloom, but its there.
More information
- Read the article: Keep those ideas coming
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Recent keynote: Innovating for growth in the restaurant industry!
I was thrilled to be the opening keynote speaker for Yum! Brands 2009 Global Leadership Meeting. It's the world's largest restaurant company.
The organization, the owner of such iconic brands such as KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, certainly finds itself in the midst of high-velocity change. There are fast paced trends in terms of new branding challenges and marketing methodologies (think Web 2.0), consumer behavior, and many other issues. Yet, there are tremendous opportunities for growth through innovation.
My keynote addressed a variety of trends which are impacting the QSR (quick service restaurant) industry today:
- opportunities for global growth. Chain restaurants account for but 1% of China's commercial food service sales, and in Europe, it is but 2%. (Compare that to the US, which is at 50%.) Clearly, growth will come from continued expansion into global markets.
- rapid emergence of new methods of customer interaction. For example, in the next few years, we will likely see the emergence of contact-less payment technology, as our credit card infrastructure migrates to Blackberry, iPhone, and smart phones. This presents new opportunities in terms of customer contact.
- new methods of brand and product promotion. Organizations must be able to scale to meet the demands of new intelligent infrastructure, and that will require a tremendous amount of innovation. Consider text messaging: Subway is working with a "pRomo" program that provides for remote retrieval of mobile coupon offers. With 147 million people already interacting globally on social networks via their mobile phones, there are tremendous opportunities for new methods of achieving brand and product awareness.
- rapid change in consumer choice. Take the issue of health concerns and balanced diet. Fresh-cut snack foods grew from $6.8 billion in to $10.5 billion in a short time, according to the International Fresh-Cut Produce Association. Innovation comes from changing product mix to keep up with fast-changing consumers.
- rapidly emerging new menus and taste trends. It's estimated that new flavors now move from upscale kitchens to chain restaurants in 12 months, compared to 36 months 5 years ago. This means that faster innovation is not a luxury - it's a necessity. Change faster, and you've got new growth-based products.
- fast emerging industry issues. Consider the "greening of the industry." The Grille Zone, a restaurant chain in Boston, generates about 15 pounds of waste per restaurant, compared to an industry average of 275 pounds. The Green Restaurant Association took 14 years to go to 90 restaurants; it's now at close to 1,000, with thousands more going through the certification program. Growth can come from evolving a brand so that it matches the social desires of the customer base.
Is the industry innovating? You bet: in October 2008, the US QSR market saw the biggest number of "Limited Time Offers," a unique method of increasing sales, with 547 new menu items (up 40% from the prior year. Noted Obesity, Wellness, Fitness Week magazine in November 2008, "operators appear quite open to partnering with suppliers on new products with shorter lead times."
Here's the thing: in my keynotes, I focus on growth opportunities. There are enough people out there who are so focused on the doom and gloom of the economy, that they lose sight of the fact that if they focus on fast innovation -- and keeping up with rapid trends -- they can discover all kinds of new ways to grow the business.
Faster is the new fast. Think growth. Think innovation.
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The hollowing out of big corporate R&D
I've just returned from delivering the opening keynote for the 14th Annual Portfolio Management for New Products & Services Conference in Fort Lauderdale, an event sponsored by the Product Development and Management Association.
I spoke to the broad theme of "innovating faster," but also challenged the crowd to think about how the "source of innovative ideas" has changed.
There are some pretty dramatic trends which have gained traction. The source of innovation is rapidly shifting from:
- North America to Asia. Noted corporate R&D centers such as Bell Labs, Xerox's Palo Alto, and the IBM TJ Watson Center play a far smaller role in global innovation today. On the rise? Overseas labs such as GE's John Welch Center in Bangalore. Noted Business Week in a recent article: "...we will soon witness a dramatic rise in the participation of India and China in global R&D.....the reason for this is the diminished role of corporate laboratories that were the birthplace of the ideas of the 20th century."
- corporate R&D groups to open-sourced ideas. The head of R&D for Johnson & Johnson recently observed that faster=paced scientific discovery and increasing complexity of discovery is driving this trend: "All simple diseases have been solved. The next generation drugs, therapies, are much more complex. You need much more information and science than what you can get out of your own labs." Extend this thinking to the complexity of innovation in the energy, environmental and health care sectors -- the scope of innovation is becoming too large, and an organization can't simply master all the innovation knowledge they need to in order to discover what's next. That's why increasingly, organizations need to tap into the global idea cycle for idea generation and innovation research.
- large to small. Simply put, innovation is switching from large corporations and labs, to smaller, more nimble competitors. Here's some sobering numbers; big pharma’s 10 biggest companies spent $50 billion on R&D last year. For that sum, they could buy the entire US biotech industry, excluding the top five companies. Yet, 3/4 of all new approved drugs approved came from small biotech labs. Clearly, big R&D is quite broken -- and perhaps even dysfunctional.
- R&D departments to R&D partner implementation conduits. When ideas flow fast, companies can't hope to master every skill set and knowledge niche. That's why increasingly, they are turning to outsiders for insight and ideas. Enter the innovation-transfer partner: an organization that links innovative thinkers to those with a need for such insight. Take Bioline Israel : "....the company operates as a clinical bridge between drug researchers and inventors, and large pharmaceutical companies interested in purchasing viable new therapies: (Jerusalem Post, January 2009.) Expect this model to flow into every other industry quickly because of sheer complexity of fast knowledge! You want a business for the future? Think innovation brokering!
- hidden innovation to public innovation. In the "old days" -- say, one or two years ago -- companies use to innovate secretly, carefully, and cautiously. Increasingly, organizations are willing to put their ideas out to the public at large, in order to get open, honest feedback on what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Consider McDonald's -- it's D10 store in the airport in Sydney, Australia, is being used as a public innovation space.
More information:
- Visit the 2009 PDMA conference web site.
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Avoiding the idea recession!
Cognos has run an article that I've writen about the importance of not sliding into an "idea recession.
Here's an excerpt:
Given the economic challenges that swirl around us and the rapidity with which the events of the fall of 2008 unfolded, a unique and challenging mindset seemed to quickly envelope many organizations: corporate idea factories were turned off, and innovation paralysis settled in.The result is that we're not just in an economic recession - we're entering another idea recession, similar to what occurred with the last downturn starting in 2001.
Yet in allowing this to happen, many organizations are missing the fact that an economic downturn provides a great opportunity for innovation. After all, companies like Burger King, Microsoft, CNN and FedEx all started up during a recession.
As events continue to unfold and cycnism settles in like a wet blanket, ask yourself this: are you going to focus on the future and opportunities for growth, or are you going to sink yourself by continuing to be immersed in the relentless negativity of current news coverage? Here's another key quote from the article:
The greatest mistake that any organization can make right now is to avoid action. Inertia - real or implied - establishes a culture of inaction, and that can lead organizations down another slippery slope.Challenge yourself on that front. Think GROWTH!
More information:
- Read the article: Rethinking innovation: Is now the time to forge ahead?
- Innovation and the "Seven Stages of Economic Grief?"
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Video clip - "Dealing with the innovation killers" Here's another clip from my closing keynote at the World Healthcare Innovation & Technology conference -- in this case, I'm talking about the dreaded "innovation killers."
What do you do if you have these people in your organization? Learn more here.
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"Dive-in movies" and High-Velocity Product Innovation Here's an interesting way to think about the issue of high-velocity product innovation.
I was keynoting a conference at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, last September, and was playing into the theme of how product innovation occurs today at a faster pace than ever before.
I told the story of a 'dive-in movie' that I held at home for my sons, and how a simple blog posting got picked up by a huge number of consumer technology companies -- with an obvious result.
This particular story was a followup to a trend I was speaking about at an event in New York City in 2005 - that involving the rapid emergence of "outdoor living rooms."
The key point? No matter what industry you are in -- consumer products, financial services, technology -- product innovation continues to speed up. New markets and products emerge faster than ever before. New brands, potential challengers, and innovative new ideas emerge at a higher velocity.
Related postings:
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Financial & banking innovation awards for 2009!
I just finalized my review of the entries for the 2009 Monarch Innovation Awards; for the second year in a row, I've been one of the panel of judges for the awards.
The awards are presented by Barlow Associates, a leading banking industry market research organization. As their press release notes, "the awards honor innovation in the financial services industry and seek to recognize financial institutions that provide the most innovative products to business customers and to recognize risk takers who create/promote innovation within their organizations."
Given all the turbulence in the financial sector, it might seem like an odd time to be focusing on innovation - but it's not. Cast your mind forward just a few years from now, and think about what we'll see within the business banking sector:
- a good part of our financial infrastructure will have migrated to mobile platforms ; people will think it normal to conduct banking via SMS transactions; a good chunk of the current credit card infrastructure will have migrated into our cell phones, Blackberries and iPods;
- Gen-Y will have a different type of financial relationship, and are likely to use those financial brands that "stay ahead" in terms of technologies, capabilities and other factors;
- existing banks will find their markets and brands increasingly challenged by technology companies, particularly mobile platform organizations, as well as disruptors from other industries such as accounting and ERP software companies
- we'll see increasing financial sophistication in the small and medium sized business sector; the ability to scale internationally financially will become an increasingly important success factor, and this trend will be one of the key drivers behind the coming economic recovery
I referred to them before when I wrote my Memo to the CEO some time back, pressing a message that as CEO's of financial organizations navigate the turbulent water around them, they should ensure they also have a team that is firmly focused on future trends.
More information:
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Strategy for early 09 - Set bold short term goals
Some day, the graph at the right wont' seem like something weird.
Maybe today it does seem out of place.
Yet I continue to notice that there are a significant number of executives out there who are "moving beyond the meltdown" stage and are pursuing active strategies to keep their team or group focused on innovating and opportunity. They keep phoning me, and bookings continue to be very strong well into 2009.
My role in many of these events: get people beyond the "anger and denial stage"; see opportunities from a longer term perspective; and start thinking about actions that we can begin now to transition out of the mindset which has settled in.
I just concluded a keynote in Washington, DC, and spoke to this trend and the need for action. My advice to this particular crowd included a slide:
SET BOLD SHORT TERM GOALS
Think about that. The economic news can literally smother the drive and enthusiasm of a team. Every day, folks are being beaten down by a surreal swarm of negative headlines. There's a smothering cloud of economic doom out there. People are dispirited, demoralized, and frankly, are coming in to work every day without any drive, initiative, and inclination to change.
Yet, we will one day be returning to a period of economic growth, and the graph seen here will make sense once again. Maybe it is already beginning to happen in some sectors. Maybe it might take some time yet.
Yet you can't let this attitude of pervasive negativity begin to clog up the arteries of your team. That's why you get out in front of this thing and SET BOLD SHORT TERM GOALS, That gives your team concise actions that can be pursued, and goals to achieve.
And it will leave your team well positioned for the economy as it does, inevitably, emerge from this current period of contraction.
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CEO insight: "We've got the survival thing down. Now we're into phase two."
I was in a conference call yesterday with the CEO of a global organization ; I'll be doing a leadership session with them this winter. It's one of several pre-planning calls that I'll do with this client as I shape my remarks for their meeting.
I love the clarity of the CEO mind. At one point early in the call, he stated how quickly they're transitioning through fast-paced economic events.
"We established three strategic priorities. Number one, survive. Number two, innovate. Number three, grow. We've got the survival thing down. Now we're into phase two."
Phase two is the reason why they are having this leadership meeting, which has just been pulled together over the last several weeks. My role is that I'll provide them with an overview of key trends to think about; how I see other organizations dealing with fast paced economic change, not to mention my fundamental insight on "innovating in the high velocity economy."
The comments of this particular CEO certainly outlines the stark reality of the speed of the global economic pullback.
Yet, it also offers up some evidence to my theory that some organizations are going to come out of "this thing" quicker than most people think. Organizations that focus on innovation can act faster than they did in previous recessions. They've learned how to be more collaborative; they can share ideas and insight faster; they can react and re-react based on fast paced trends. The result is that they can try out a variety of strategies to re-align their business for new realities.
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Kicking off 2009 with innovation as the CORE STRATEGY!
I've been confirmed as the opening keynote speaker for the 14th Annual Portfolio Management for New Products & Services Conference in Fort Lauderdale, February 2009.
The event is sponsored by the Product Development and Management Association, the membership of which are individuals responsible for product and service innovation throughout the corporate world globally, as well as from within the world of academia. It's a pretty influential crowd, and I'm honored that I will be able to share my insight with them. Previous keynote speakers have included G Lafley, CEO, Procter & Gamble; Mads Nipper, SVP of Product & Marketing Development, Lego Group; Gary Loveman, CEO & President, Harrah's Entertainment; and Tom Stewart, Former Editor in Chief, Harvard Business Review, among others. The PDMA is the publisher of the renowned Journal of Product Innovation Management, which is arguably the must-read academic journal that covers the latest issues with new product and service development.
This year, the conference theme tends to revolve around my entire focus on "innovating faster" -- "creating a high performance environment to fuel strategic growth and operational excellence."
"In the changing global economy it gets harder every day to develop winning portfolios that drive long term business value. The 14th Annual Portfolio Management for New Products & Services Conference will present a critical 360 degree view of portfolio management from the discovery phase straight through to commercialization. Learn to innovate faster, optimize resources, select the right projects, and ultimately develop a high performance environment that fuels growth & organizational excellence regardless of the economic conditions"...
The issue of faster time-to-market has become increasingly important with fast-paced economic change. With all the volatility, consumer choice can change quickly ; brand image can shift radically ; execution becomes critical. I'll focus on a variety of themes as to how I see organizations doing this.
Here's a key message in advance of the conference: it can be tough, right now, to be an innovator, particularly as organizations deal with the economic crisis. But, the big question is: do you start/continue to innovate now, or do you wait until conditions improve?
To me, the choice is obvious. I detailed this in my blog post, The Seven Stages of Economic Grief. I also addressed the issue in another earlier blog post, A Memo to the CEO, in which I stressed the need for a continued focus on innovation despite challenging times.
I think they are well worth a read again.
More information:
- Innovation and the "Seven Stages of Economic Grief?"
- Read the Memo to the CEO
- Visit the 2009 PDMA conference web site.
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The economy and leadership: strategy meetings are happening NOW
I continue to see a lot of activity with inquiries and bookings for senior management / CEO leadership meetings.
This confirms my belief, which I have been posting in this blog, that there are many organizations out there who are determined to stay ahead of fast paced economic trends. Here's an example of a client request that came through this morning; they are looking for insight on:
- how can an organization succeed given the current world and marketplace realities by thinking and doing things differently relative to the following:
- how to use, and deploy and share resources in new creative ways from a variety of places to serve the most critical needs or during the most critical times
- how to employ a a non-traditional structure or organization design that is creative, flexible, different and nimble to support critical business priorities
- how to leverage key capabilities in new and different ways, either through developing them internally, outsourcing them or partnering in a type of hybrid manner
- someone who will provide a thought provoking point of view, with inspiration around new and different approaches to achieving the above
- can speak to trends in this topic arena, yet also cite some examples of companies that are acting or behaving in some of these innovative ways to achieve results
- someone who can push the thought agenda yet provide information that is deemed doable, possible, realistic and not too extreme of an approach
- a person who can deliver the information in a small group/ intimate setting with a "working session" format vs a large key note "speaker" address forum
I'm off later today to keynote just such a leadership meeting for a major accounting firm in the DC area; I just returned from Palo Alto where I gave a similar talk to a high-level group of Silicon Valley executives. More on that particular talk later, because I've been busy writing a post about "what comes next with tech."
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Rethinking innovation models - from Disney, to tin cans, to automobiles Here's another video clip from the New York keynote -- actually, this is from the Readers Digest Food & Entertainment (publishers of Everyday with Rachel Ray) keynote.
At this event, I was speaking to an audience of advertising executives, food companies, packaging companies and others about how innovation models are shifting. Today, innovation is much more:
- partnership oriented - think Disney!
- flexible in terms of solutions - think tin-cans!
- faster in terms of market response to rapidly changing consumer demand
The key point : faster is the new fast -- because consumer choice changes faster than ever before.
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Moving Beyond the Meltdown: Aligning Yourself for Growth Through Innovation
If you study the screen carefully to the right, you'll note that the current slide from my deck states, "Time to market and corporate agility are the new corporate capabilities." In other words, it's your ability to keep an innovation-oriented focus in order to deal with the new challenges that surround you, that will define how well you will get through.
I've had a few recent keynotes that have built on this theme, using the title, "Moving Beyond the Meltdown: Aligning Yourself for Growth Through Innovation." Here's the session description that has been put together:
In the face of widespread economic volatility, organizations have three essential choices: they can panic, making rash decisions on structure, markets, investments; they can freeze and do nothing; or they can respond to rapid change through innovation, particularly with respect to strategies, structure, capabilities, markets, products, and activities.It's obvious there are quite a few CEO's and senior management groups who are organizing meetings quite quickly, so that they can share strategy, insight, and concepts on managing their way through the correction. I'm finding it fascinating to be on the receiving end of so many inquiries to participate; obviously, my message is striking a chord.Jim Carroll, one of the world's leading futurists, trends & innovation experts with clients such as Lincoln Financial, Caterpillar, the Walt Disney Organization and Nestle, shares his insight on the strategies that leading edge organizations are pursuing to stay ahead of the economy.
It's timely and critical insight! Many CEO's and senior executives understand that in addition to managing existing challenges, now is the time to focus on trends and the future. They know that they need to act quickly to establish an innovative mindset to get there intact. Jim provides his unique insight on staying ahead in volatile times, through his signature keynote addresses, after-dinner talks, discussions at small intimate management/Board meetings, or by speaking and participating in senior management and leadership meetings.
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The economy -- what I'm seeing happen RIGHT NOW This is quite unreal.
A month ago, I faced a very busy September and early October, and was out on the road keynoting a wide variety of events - a leadership event for a global law firm; an economic development conference; a symposium on consumer trends; a commercial real estate conference; a leadership session for a major bank and another for a telecom company; an event for a life insurance company; a meeting of pharmaceutical marketing executives; a food services company; a tourism conference; and many others -- all as the economic twists and turns evolved at a furious pace. Tomorrow, I'm off to New York to open a conference for professionals in the field of photography. More on that later.
All of these talks were immediately recast on the spot, to provide an outline of how the economy was going to evolve from this point out -- and how executives within these organizations should be thinking about the future in order to innovate ahead of fast-paced events.
The message has resonated in a huge way -- right now, people are clamoring for insight into the idea of "what comes next, and what should we do about it?" I have been stunned by the discussions post-presentation; I think the message of opportunity, and the necessity to quickly get beyond our economic shock and do things, is resonating in a huge way.
Having said that, my original suspicion during the last month of travels was that I was likely to see a slowdown in my own business, as organizations reacted and retrenched in light of the obvious recession around us.
I can now say that my suspicions were quite incorrect. In the last few weeks, I have seen a substantial - and I mean substantial -- number of queries for events, and a significant increase is confirmed bookings, from organizations who have decided that now is the time to focus on trends and the future, and to focus on how to establish an innovative mindset to get there intact.
There are several sources of new business:
- CEO's running a leadership session, previously planned or just now being scheduled, and who now realize that they need an expert who can focus on "what's really going on with the global economy, and what do we need to do to stay out in front."
- association executives who understand that in 2009, their members need a message of hope and inspiration, with specific, real, concrete guidance on how they can innovate their way out of this thing, and stay ahead of fast paced events
- mid-level managers who understand that now is a critical time to change the capabilities, agility, culture, and attitude of their team in order to maintain customer service excellence, customer retention levels, and other critical measures of success.
- marketing executives who realize that it is actually a good time to get in front of their customers with a clear, unequivocal message about their value, and how they can assist their customers as a partner.
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The seven stages of economic grief - when do you innovate? I was speaking with a client yesterday about an upcoming event in Palo Alto, California. We got to chatting about, obviously, the economic challenges that swirl around us, and the mindset that is quickly enveloping so many organizations.
Here's what I think is going on: there are many organizations entering a state of absolute paralysis. Idea factories are being turned off. The result is that we're not just entering an economic recession -- we're entering another idea recession, similar to what occurred with the last downturn starting in 2001.
What is so different time is the absolute speed with which ideas are shutting down -- the paralysis in some organizations at the leadership level is absolutely stunning. This got me thinking about the fast paced events of the last few weeks in the context of the seven stages of grief.
I came to realize, things have happened so fast that many organizations still find themselves in the "shock" and "denial" phase. They'll be the innovation laggards.
Then there are the innovation leaders. They're prepared to keep the idea factory running, maybe not at full tilt, but running nevertheless. They know that despite the fact that vast sections of the economy are tanking, there are still growth markets; opportunities to step ahead of your competitors. There are opportunities to attack new markets. To streamline operations, build new brands, grab customer mindshare in new ways.
There are plenty of opportunities to turn ideas into innovation. It all depends on where you want to place yourself on the scale of the seven stages of economic grief.
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It's back! Aggressive indecision! Here's how to kick it out! It's back!
Aggressive indecision! With all the economic turmoil, leaders, executives and staff have the "deer in the headlights" syndrome.
I spoke about this trend extensively on stage during the last recession in 2001-2002. People got into the message, and it restored their enthusiasm for the future and innovation.
In that spirit, I've resurrected the original clip on YouTube.
Take a look around you - at yourself, your co-workers, your organization, and the business world at large. What do you see? People mired in the thick mud of aggressive indecision. They tend to wait for absolutely perfect information which will help convince them that the time is right to make a decision, rather than making decisions based on imperfect information as they had done in the past. They'll take a look at the information they have, decide that it's just too darn risky to make a decision on what they see, and do nothing.Look, organizations that innovate and adapt at high speed, while trying to deal with the harsh new realities that surround them, have a good chance coming out the other side of this thing. On the other hand, if you let aggressive indecision rule your corporate culture, you are probably not going to do well.The result is an economy in which everyone seems to be stuck in a rut, unwilling and unable to move forward. The fact is, our confidence in the future has been shattered. Corporate nervousness has become the watchword, with the result that everyone is taking the easy way out: deal with uncertainty by doing nothing.
An era of "aggressive indecision:" a very dangerous attitude to have, given that organizations must be in a state of continuous innovation in order to cope with the rate of change that now surrounds us.
Share the video, and the original article around. Get out of your funk! Innovate!
More information:
- Read the original article Paralyzed by indecision: Just Do It
- Read Jim's blog entries on the global economy
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Do you really need an innovation spark? How about a custom edition of Ready, Set, Done?
Since Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast was published a year ago this week, it proved to be a book that has provided unique innovation guidance to thousands of people.
And in many cases, the book has been purchased in bulk, with copies distributed to those in attendance at one of many keynote presentations or workshops through the year.
Many CEO's and event organizers have indicated that it would be great if they could tie their innovation message to that found within the book. To that end, we've done a few custom print runs during the year. We've now decided to formalize the process.
Effectively immediately, with an order of as small as 250 copies, we can offer you a custom edition of the book.
What you get:
The cost for a custom print run will range from $16-18 depending on volume, plus shipping costs. For a group of 250, that's a cost of just $4,000 to put in front of your staff, customers or association, a customized message with a very special book about innovation.
Video clip -- where's the opportunity? Where's the growth?
Given the rapid pace of global economic developments in the fall of 2008, it's interesting that the number of organizations bringing me in for a leadership or management event has increased. That's because, despite perilous economic times, CEO's in a variety of industries are working hard to ensure that their organization stays focused on growth. At these leadership meetings, I'm offering insight on growth markets and opportunities; innovation strategies to stay ahead in the downturn; and unique insight on how organizations are working hard to re-align their strategies and structure with fast paced market change. If you need to get your staff and team mindset in the right frame of mind for moving forward in this high velocity, rapidly changing economy, you might need this type of high level, energetic message. To help you get in the right frame of mind, here's a little motivational video clip from a recent keynote I did on stage in Sydney, Australia. Innovation - act fast - empower people!
Particularly given that right now, optics are really important.
(from iStockAnalyst) In this case, what could have been a PR disaster has turned into a smallish news story barely covered anywhere. That's great innovation.
Freeze, innovate or panic? Innovation strategies for RIGHT NOW
The CEO of a company that is having me speak to an upcoming leadership meeting stated it this way: their choice going forward is to : But for others, panic will truly get you nowhere. And inaction - option 1 -- is not a good choice, because markets, customers behavior, cost inputs and just about everything else will change even faster now, and so you need to change faster.
Option 2 -- continuous innovation -- remains the only thing to focus on. Maybe that's why my phone has been quite busy in the last two weeks. There have already been several confirmed new events in October and November, where I will be coming into a corporate leadership meeting as part of an overall objective of keeping a company ahead in the game.
CEO's and executive staff are working hard to align their current strategies with fast paced economic events. I'm providing grist for the grill, with specific insight on how they might innovate within their particularly industry.
It's interesting that a lot of senior executives are all of a sudden looking for someone to bring their team this type of unique motivational innovation message. Two weeks ago, I helped to clarify for a commercial real estate / building management company leadership group where they could continue to find market opportunity right now, and how they needed to ensure they focus on enhancing existing customer/client relationships as a key strategy for going forward. We defined some strategies that they had not thought of; their team was inspired on focusing on opportunity rather than market upheaval, by thinking differently about what they do.
So what should you be doing from an innovation perspective?
I'll starting putting up quite a few new blog posts starting next week, summarizing the many methods to innovate, particularly through any economic correction or downturn. I'm going to call the series "100 Days of Innovation," and while I won't post each and every day, I do aim to have one hundred concise, succinct posts full of unique innovation insight.
In the meantime, if you need a high level, energetic message to get your leadership in the right frame of mind to deal with high-velocity economic change, call me. The details are on my contact page.
Ready, Set, Done: 2nd print run, review copies available!
As a result, I now have more review copies available for media, and bloggers who focus on innovation, creativity, and fast market change.
If you would like a review copy, please contact me, and let me know who you write for, point me to a few of your columns or blog posts, and I'd be pleased to drop a complimentary copy of the book in the mail to you.
Note the Globe & Mail, in a review: "In the opening section of Ready, Set, Done (Oblio Press, 181 pages, $24.95), Toronto-based futurist Jim Carroll highlights some examples of the high-velocity change that is forcing companies to innovate faster than ever, and in the remainder of the book, he offers advice on the pitfalls to avoid and the proper steps to be taken. It's a high-level, strategic look, touching on concepts such as just-in-time knowledge, an up-to-date version of continuous learning we need to understand; 21st century capital; and why Band-Aid innovation doesn't work. It's broad in what it covers and briskly written, with some fascinating anecdotes from his own experiences as a consultant or odd things he has dug out about industries (did you know there's a new cadre of workers called manure managers?)
It's a great books, and I've had lots of comments from readers who have found that it has provided them some straightforward, to the point guidance on a huge variety of innovation concepts.
The other great news is that because of the size of the print run and economies of scale, we will shortly be able to offer the book for sale through this site at a lower cost of $14.95 plus shipping.
Innovation -- in the most wonderful places
Why innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles
Years ago, inspired by similar times, I wrote about how innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles. It was a great post -- it made it into BusinessWeek. I thought it a fitting post to leave here while I'm away.
I will still be answering email and checking calls, but could just be a touch slow.
With that line of thinking,. here's my list of "10 Reasons Why Innovation Thrives in the Building of Sandcastles: and What We Can Learn From Such Creativity."
Get Fest-ed! Adding some life to your annual conference or event....
Or would you rather go to "TreeFest 2009 - The Place Where Tree People Rock! After flat? Rethink strategies and go post-flat!
In the "post-flat" world, you need to change your focus. In an upcoming keynote, I'll be concentrating on several core themes:
More information: Innovating in the era of the celebrity baby blog!
So what's with the picture? One of trends I covered was that today's consumer is influenced differently when it comes to their purchasing activities. It used to be all word of mouth; it still is, but WOM has changed to a significant degree: it's widened to include the world of social networking. For example, a recent New York Times article commented on the role of Celebrity Baby Blog when it comes to the clothes that parents are choosing for their children. US Weekly also comented on this trend, noting that when it comes to selling, "In the 1990s, everyone wanted to know about handbags.....now it's all about, 'What stroller is Naomi Watts's child in?'" (Apparently it's a Strider 3 Steelcraft in slate at $449US). That's but one trend of about 20 key consumer, advertising and marketing trends I took a look at. House parties have been social-networked too, through Houseparty.com! As noted in the Times, "Jarden Consumer Solutions, which sells appliances under names like Mr. Coffee and Sunbeam, hired House Party to put on 1,000 parties over the Memorial Day weekend to promote the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction line of drink-making machines, which cost $199 to $379." To a degree, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Direct selling still happens; the mechanism and methodology is changing furiously.
The key issue is this: no matter who you are, what you sell, and who you sell to, your markets, products, customers, touch points and brand issues are changing at a furious pace, and you need to as well. That's why innovation in the consumer goods sector is critical. Can we talk -- upside down innovation?
It's when packaging companies, retailers, and food producers get together to examine new markets and branding opportunities through powerful new ideas. Or when a retailer works with its suppliers to come up with "pre-packaged lifestyle solutions" that offer time starved consumers a neat-solution or new idea. It's when organizations in a supply chain or industry learn to innovate together -- and that can be more powerful than when customers innovate. Today, you want to look at a complete "outdoor living room solution," that happens to include all the elements you need: plants, patio furniture, outdoor entertainment solutions, decor, candles, some wine glasses -- and everything else. And that solution has been put together by the retailer with the assistance of their suppliers and packaging companies, into one unique, outdoor lifestyle vignette. The Secret for Association Executive Success: Study Air Guitar!
Is your association brand becoming a bit "tired" instead of energized? Do you have a consultant studying the role of your association and how you might need to change it in the future?
Probably so, and here's the thing. You've got to do all that, except you've got to do it faster. That's why you need to keep innovating, and make that a key part of your leadership role. The challenge with association leadership today is ensuring that you stay on top of, and ahead of, fast paced trends. That's why I focus on innovation in the broadest sense. Innovation isn't just coming up with the next great iPod -- it's asking yourself the hard questions, and always challenging yourself to do something different to deal with the realities those hard questions pose.
If you aren't attracting 25 year olds as members, why not? And how do you fix that? By innovating -- by trying to do something differently! If I ran your company, here's what I would do!
It is, quite. And when you're up there, you realize how lucky you are to be able to share with the audience the wisdom you've picked up by observing some of the world's top innovators. Recently, after a presentation to an audience of 3,000 people, I was approached by a CEO who was quite inspired by my remarks. He then asked me a fascinating question: "what would you do if you took over the leadership of my company right now?" We chatted for a while and I believe I provided some pretty succinct insight; but since then, I've been thinking about that question. Here's a part of my answer.
Oh, and one of the first things I'd do? I would immediately convene a senior management/leadership meeting, and bring in a futurist and innovation expert to wake my people up to the potential that can come from energizing ourselves towards future opportunities.
Led Zeppelin Leadership: How do you innovate when you're dazed and confused ....
There's been an increasing number of these individuals, and I've come to call them the Led Zeppelin refugees: they're simply dazed by the changes occuring in the high velocty economy, and are confused about what to do next. That's why there's such a good question that flows from this: just how do you become an organization that is focused on innovation? One of the easiest methods is simply by identifying the obvious and the not-so-obvious trends that will impact your business or organization -- and then taking the time to figure out what actions you must undertake to deal with those trends. Ask yourself this question: are you prepared for what comes next in terms of your business? The likely answer is no: my experience is that many organizations still have a very short-term minded outlook. They're caught in an innovation rut, simply doing day by day the same old things they've always been doing, day in day out. And they don't really think about how their world is going to change. That's why you should undertake a "trend-and-innovation" audit of your organization: quite simply, figuring out what comes next, and what you need to do about it. How can you do this? By asking yourself a series of questions: And therein lies the rub: I think a lot of organizations fail to do this type of simple analysis. There are too many who sit back and react to change instead of thinking: "ok we know some big change is coming what the heck are we going to do about it?" Think of it is a forward-oriented innovation: it's a simple concept, and one of the most important things you should be doing. Leadership insight: study air guitar!
A few readers asked, "ok, so what do we do to ensure we keep innovating?" I had an teleconference with a client today, planning for an upcoming leadership event. Here's what I came away from the call with -- my ideas on bringing some focus to their innovation mindset -- based upon the rapid market change they are encountering: Branding in the high velocity economy
I opened with one of my favorite quotes from Rupert Murdoch: "The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow." What precisely does that imply? In this case, those who can spot the opportunity for rebranding of an industry sector, and who can pull off such a rebranding quickly. If you think about auto collision repair shops, there are a number of areas where we are seeing "high velocity change": customer expectations in terms of service quality are going up; there is a focus on cost reduction as insurance companies become more sensitive to increasing accident claims; rapid change in the very technology that makes up an "automobile" today. Each one of these areas of change can be spun into an opportunity through some unique business strategies. My focus for the audience was to realize that we we live in a time in which we are seeing the: Five secrets for creating a culture of innovation
I'm quoted in the article with two key observations, on the issue of "taking risks and learning from them." My concerns? It's a good article: there's no doubt that the high velocity economy results in rapid change of consumer brand perceptions. Leading edge marketers work hard to beef up their innovation capabilities simply in order to keep up with consumers who are charging forward at a furious pace! More information A memo to the CEO: Innovation matters more than ever
Memo From: Jim Carroll ------------------------- The most important thing that you can do *right now*, as you work to navigate your way through the challenging economic shoals that surround you, is to make sure that you don't kill innovation in its tracks. In the last few years, you've nurtured and created a core group of people in your organization who have become relentlessly focused on innovation. They've been obsessively focused on process, service and product innovation. They're matching the needs of customers, are taking you in to new markets, and are figuring out what to do in an economy that changes at a furious pace. In the months and years to come, these executives are going to be some of the most important and critical individuals on your team. Leaders set the tone. The tone you need to set for your leading innovators is that innovation matters now more than ever. I know it's a tough sector to be in right now; there's a lot of bloodletting underway, and there's likely more to come as hundreds of billions of dollars of losses are absorbed. Yet you'll likely get through it, and you are going to have to be relentlessly focused on meeting customer needs, open new markets, and continually re-orient your business models to continue to focus on growth. In January 2008. I was honored to be one of the judges for the annual Monarch Innovation Awards. We examined various innovative service and product offerings from such major financial institutions as Wachovia, SunTrust, USBank, Bank of America, WellsFargo and others. The key goal of the awards, sponsored by Barlow Research, was to "recognize financial institutions that provide the most innovative products to business customers" and to "recognize risk takers in the financial services industry who create/promote innovation within their organizations." Throughout the financial sector, there are innovation heroes like those who won the Monarch Innovation Awards. These are the folks who are willing to stick their heads up, take a risk, and do something new and dramatic. It's your innovation heroes who will help you open the future. You must ensure that they still have the courage to take risks. To open new markets. To do innovative things that will solve customer problems. To realign the business for the future. Celebrate them. Elevate them. Make their contributions known. As the CEO, you set the tone for your organization. You have a momentary chance to ensure that you stay focused on the opportunities that come from your innovation heroes. If you want to chat about this, give me a call. I'm at 905.855.2950. Or just send me an email: innovationmatters@jimcarroll.com Sincerely, Jim Carroll -------- More information Future oriented leaders understand the reality of growth. They know that we live in a time in which opportunities for growth abound. They've aligned the mission of the organization so that they are capitalizing on real opportunity, not short term economic challenges. Growth is everywhere. It's easy during a time of economic volatility to lose sight of where the global economy is really headed. Yet while stock markets might rock, innovation thrives. New ideas continue to be explored, markets grow, and industries emerge. A variety of trends indicate that opportunities for growth continue to surround us. Read this document to get in the right frame of mind for the future.....and think growth. Think opportunity. Innovate for future, don't stagnate with the past. Download Where's the Growth? Global Innovation Opportunities for the Long Term 10 Great Words: inspirational innovation insight
It remains one of the most heavily viewed pages on my site. I use the words within my keynotes, providing motivational guidance to people on how they can challenge assumptions and eliminate habits. I often notice people in the audience quickly writing the words down; I've heard of others who have printed off the list of 10 words and have posted them to their cubicle. Simply as a way to stay focused on creativity and innovation. The list also made it into my Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast book. I've just wrapped it up in a new PDF ; feel free to share the document with your staff, team, and leadership; it's proven to be a wonderful summary of how to stay motivated and focused on opportunity! Download the 10 Great Words document High velocity e-commerce: a keynote for VISA
Much of the conference so far will have focused on the high velocity change that swirls around the issue of e-commerce: the rapid emergence of new payment technology (i.e. cell phone payment infrastructure), continued market growth as e-commerce becomes a routine part of daily life, and internationalization of market and opportunity (China now has the largest Internet population, with 250 million users.) There's also a significant platform shift as mobility takes on an increasing role: Investors Business Daily just reported that already, 16% of US cell phone users do online banking with their device, and 25% shop online. Such numbers pale in comparison to even more rapid change in Asia and Europe. How do you stay innovative in a world of fast change?? I have several messages: You stay innovative by structuring yourself to stay just one step ahead of the future. High velocity leadership: how to stay focused on growth
I've been doing quite a bit in this area; the other day, I spent time with a global organization, for a full day, with a keynote and workshop focused on the issue of "growth." It's easy -- in a challenged economy -- to lose sight of opportunities for growth. That's what I talk about in the recent interview by Credit Suisse. With this particular client -- and many others -- I went beyond a keynote, and participated for the balance of the day through a series of workshops. This new document outlines what I do: I'm often called upon to deliver unique, half day or full day executive retreat, leadership oriented programs. More information: The Masters in Business Innovation
I wrote an article around the theme, and it remains one of the most heavily trafficked pages on my site. I've wrapped it up in a PDF : feel free to read it, share it, distribute it, and encourage people to think about it. It opens with these observations: "COMPLACENCY In a time of rapid, disruptive change can be a death sentence – not only for organizations, but for the careers and skills of those who work there! It’s time to abandon the thinking that has had you anchored firmly to the past – and to shift your focus to the future, with enthusiasm, motivation andimagination. The world doesn’t need more administrators. It needs more MBI’s – Masters of Business Imagination! Leading in turbulent times: how to innovate during the recession!
Given this reality, the key question going forward is: what do you do now to ensure that you remain innovative, competitive, and forward-oriented? Innovate for the upturn! That's the key message I focused on with my clients in 2002-3, and the same message holds true today. And that was the focus of a keynote last week when I spoke to one of the largest US commercial / industrial real estate brokerage groups. There were several bits of insight I shared with them: Put sub-prime into perspective Keep focused on the longer term view Don't let aggressive indecision take over your thinking To innovate in the upturn, don't let a short-term vs long-term trend disconnect take over your strategic thinking. Already, I can see the signs of some companies heading into an innovation rut, their staff and executives encumbered by a dangerous state of complacency, while other companies innovate, change, and adapt to the "new normal" that is now our reality. In the last recession, "aggressive indecision" became a driving cultural and leadership trait. Organizations that fell into this funk fell behind. Innovative companies didn't permit that to happen then, and you shouldn't let this happen now. More information: When FedEx Fails: What happens when customer service breaks down?
It's had the tag line, "when it absolutely, positively has to be there." It obviously has a track record and customer service record that is unparalleled. What happens when FedEx fails? Absolutely, I don't really know. They didn't. I was ready for them to fail. I had a keynote with a global metals company today; they had arranged to distribute a copy of my book Ready, Set, Done to all the members of their leadership. The books left the office here last Thursday in two boxes. One box made it; the other did not. I was ready to write a furious post lambasting FedEx for failing to deliver them. FedEx? Failing to deliver! And yet, something funny happened on the way to the post. A few calls from our office to FedEx main call center got us in touch with their ground operations at the location city; who quickly found the box in a local FedEx office. Turns out the conference hotel had asked yesterday that the box be picked up AFTER it had already been delivered. The receiving department at the hotel screwed up! And FedEx did not hesitate for a moment to rush them back to the hotel within a 20 minute time span, as the conference was winding down. In other words, what happens when FedEx fails? I don't know -- because they pulled a customer-service rabbit out of a hat on this one! Since I focus on innovation, what have I learned from this experience, that can apply to the overall issue of customer innovation? What do innovative organizations do?
Innovative organizations recognize this reality, and orient themselves to a state of constant, forward-oriented innovation, not only to keep up with but to exceed the constantly rising bar of innovation that surrounds them. They do this by subscribing to several key ideas. Innovative companies: Watch the video Learning how to innovate -- through skiing!
Skiing provides a wonderful metaphor for innovation; it involves taking risk, trying to do things you haven't done before, and always seeking for improvement. When you ski, you are constantly exploring new territory, examining new methods of doing things, and making discoveries that lead to something unknown. Skiing involves constant skills upgrading; there's no end of opportunity for new ideas by examining what others are doing on the hill. The same type of thing you do when you instill an innovative mindset, either on your own or within an organization. Two years ago, I keynoted an audience of thousands at the Swiss Innovation Forum. In my closing remarks, I linked the innovation theme to skiing -- because I was leaving from the event to ski the Swiss Alps. That for me was a huge achievement - because I didn't know how to ski less than 9 years ago. I've caught that little video clip -- it's a little bit inspirational, and perhaps a little bit hokey, but captures for me, the importance of the link between innovation and skiing. Watch the video clip Related postings: Small business oriented videos - Cisco/MSN
Some months ago, Cisco and MSN engaged me to provide a series of short videos, with issues that small business might be thinking about from a strategic perspective. We filmed 16 short clips; 9 of them can be found here. I'll add more as additional items are posted with their online campaign. I also wrote, in addition to the video clips, a series of articles concerning innovation; I'll like these to this blog post as well when the articles are posted. Credit Suisse Bulletin: Success Comes to Those Who Evolve
They've just released their 2008 Bulletin magazine, a publication provided to key investment banking, private banking and asset management clients worldwide. They've include a fairly lengthy Q&A with me, in an article titled Success Comes to Those Who Evolve, in which they wanted wide-ranging views on the word "growth." It came out well: my key message has always been that we must always link the concept of innovation to rapidly emerging trends in order to constantly change what we do -- often simply to keep up, or attain competitive advantage. Here's the key point: So what's the recipe to kick-start innovative thinking? I think it's about having your entire organization understand everybody is responsible for constantly figuring out how they need to change to keep up with the rapidly changing world. They need leadership that supports and encourages them to be open and share ideas, and that leadership needs to hammer home that message on a regular basis." More information Innovating locally in a global economy
As with all the keynotes that I do, I undertook an extensive amount of research into the company and industry before I took to the stage; this is combined with the fact that I have keynoted dozens of retail oriented conferences through the years. What I found was a really cool, and extremely innovative organization. Their online Web site has seen a sales increase of 60%; they've included an option where shoppers can have orders sent to their local DoItBest store (of which there are 4,000+). The site is price competitive with Target and Amazon. They are doing a lot in terms of supply-chain, online store portals and rebates. They've rolled out three different store designs, and are discovering new micro-markets. All this, while they've seen sales fall to $2.81 billion from $3 billion from the year before -- and yet, they also achieved record profitability. In my mind, there are a number of innovative strategies that the organization has pursued that any organization can learn from: All in all, a tremendous amount of fun, and a wonderful organization to spend some time with! What Comes Next? An Outlook into 2008 and Beyond
Take a look at my newly released quick-report, What Comes Next: A Trends Perspective for 2008 and Beyond. My message for my clients throughout the year - whether it was 2,000 executives at the World Congress for Quality, or the senior management team of one of the largest commercial construction companies in the US -- was consistent. The high-velocity economy demands that we think, react, plan and manage differently. Some of the guidance I shared with global clients concerning future trends is found in the report; I highlight what I think are some of the most important ones that we need to be thinking about, broadly defined as: I prepared the document on a MacBook Pro -- I made the switch from Windows this year! -- using the TokyoRPG Style Template for iWork 2007 Pages from KeynotePro. They have awesome styles for Pages and Keynote; if you're an OS/X and iWork user, take a look. Why Santa Rocks at Innovation!
None other than the jolly old fellow himself! Santa is an innovation master. Analyze his leadership style, and his operational insight, motivational style, approach to creativity, forward thinking orientation, or any other management trait, and he has it nailed. Grab this PDF file, and feel free to share it around the office or with your friends. It's a fun little piece I wrote last year; it turned out to be a surprise hit in the blogosphere, so this year I've gussied it up a bit so that everyone can share. There's a lot of innovation stories to learn from the jolly old fellow! Grab the SantaRocks! PDF now Making generations work - Cardboard people and plasma people
I do a tremendous number of keynotes that focus on the issue of "managing millenials," and the complexities of change occurring in the workplace. See, for example, my blog post, "Don't Mess with my Powder, Dude." (below) Yet organizations need to move beyond the staffing issues that come with new generations: they must also ensure that they can innovate at the rapid rates demanded in our new world, and they need to do that by keeping up with the new ideas and innovations occuring with younger staff. In this video clip, I take a look at the story of the "plasma people" and the "carboard people." Innovation occurs when different generations -- with different attitudes to change -- can cooperate and see eye to eye, and take advantage of different strengths. In this clip, I tell tjhe story where this clearly wasn't the case! This is a video clip from a recent keynote that I gave for hundreds of executives from the grocery and consumer products industries, titled Faster is the New Fast: Innovating for the New. High Velocity Customer . This story also became the opening chapter in my book, Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast. Watch the video clip Related postings: Earlier this summer, I taped a podast for Applix; they're a business intelligence company, that was bought up by Cognos, which was then bought up by IBM for $5 billion just over a week ago. The podcast focuses on my ideas of the need for corporate agility in the high velocity economy. I cover a lot of ground here in terms of concepts of innovation. In particular, I stress that I think a lot of organizations that I deal with aren't really thinking about "what comes next?" - which means they are missing the very essence of how to start thinking about innovation:" Health care trends and innovation
The group is devoted to trying to continue to improve the efficiency and quality of the supply-chain within the health care industry. My talk examined the future of health care; I've done such talks recently for the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Office, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Providence Health Care and the American Society for Health Care Risk Management. There are certainly some big challenges. Consider these realities: My talk stirred a lot of debate, and was very well received. There's an overview of some of the trends that I covered in my FUTURE MEDICINE Prescriptions for 21st Century Healthcare trends summary. High velocity trends in the pharmaceutical industry
This is an annual meeting of senior executives -- mostly C-Level, Sr. VP's -- from major pharmaceutical companies. It's a forum where they can examine the challenges, issues and opportunities that come from a greater integration of the supply chain within the world of health care. It's a tough issue to crack -- there are a lot of vested interests, long-standing business models, inertia towards change, and built-in routines. There's a lot of sophisticated technology that is and can be used ; and yet, there still remains a tremendous amount of inefficiency in the U.S. health care system. My keynote will focus on the theme, "what do innovative organizations do", and will play into several trends: 10 Reasons why innovation matters for small business
The video clips filmed today will be augmented by a series of articles that focus on theme of "innovation for small/medium business" (often referred to as SME's!) There are a number of reasons why there is unprecedented opportunity for innovation within the small / medium enterprise sector: New book release: Ready, Set, Done: How To Innovate When Faster is the New Fast
You can purchase it directly through this site, with immediate shipping. In addition, the book is available worldwide via Amazon.com. Ready, Set, Done : How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast is a timely book - it captures the rapidity that is found in our world today, whether it be rapidly shifting business models, technological change, the rapid advancement of science, the emergence of new competitors, and rapidly evolving professional skills and knowledge. The book takes a look at the concept of innovation in a new, and well, innovative way, in that it helps you understand how to link your innovation efforts to the high velocity change that surrounds you. It examines the concept of agility: how organizations can ensure they structure themselves to take advantage of and resopond to fast-changing circumstances. It builds upon that message, by examining some of the key innovation success strategies that you should be thinking about. Sprinkled throughout the book are various observations that I have made, of some of the innovative practices I've seen wtih various organizations, large and small. When you've been looking for innovative stories for close to a decade, you discover quite a bit of wonderful insight. The book will provide you the inspiration to adapt and change in order to keep up with high velocity change. It will also open up the minds of your staff as to the need for day to day transformation in what they do, how they do it, and why they do it. And it will frame the issue of innovation for you in a new and critical way. As I noted in the opening chapter, "Forget about the concept of innovation as simply involving the design of cool new products. In the high-velocity economy, where faster is the new fast, it's your ability to adapt, change, and evolve, through a constant flood of new ideas, that will define your potential for success." More information / extracts from the book Major trend - the future of the organization
He's your next employee. How are you going to recruit, retain, manage, interest and amuse this fellow? What's your workforce going to look like in 2012, 2020, or beyond? There's quite a bit of focus on trends relating to the future of the organization -- and organizations are seeing innovative strategies to cope with the world of high velocity change that we find ourselves in. Last week I was the opening keynote speaker, and a panelist later in the day, for an offsite of one of the world's largest professional services firms. Tomorrow, I keynote a get-together of key clients of a multi-billion insurance/financial services company. A few months ago, I ran a Board of Directors/CEO level meeting on the issue for a major industrial company. If you don't have this issue figured out yet, you'd better start thinking about it in a hurry. There are certain things we know for a fact that relate to the future of the organization. More information The disappearance of change management?
One of my key messages in my opening keynote today is that as CFO's and CEO's, they must ensure that they are putting in place a culture of agility and flexibility, such that their staff are able to deal with rapid change that comes with the high-velocity economy. Enter the new boarding pass bar code, as seen on the right: I'm using this Blackberry enabled boarding pass on my flight to Montreal. This is an initiative set-up by Air Canada -- you check in online with your mobile device. You are then sent a text message/SMS that contains a 2-dimensional barcode. At the airport, ostensibly, it will be wanded at security, at the gate, and I'll be on the plane. (The bar code shown will have expired by the time you read this.) The reaction of my 14 year old when he saw it? "It will never work dad! I don't have good feelings about this." His reaction, he explained, comes from his belief that the security people won't know what to do with it; that I will get some cranky gate agent who wasn't aware of the new technology; that simply, from what he has learned while travelling with us, is that this simply represents too much change, too fast. I promised to text him along the way with any updates! He does have a valid point though : today, we live in a world in which change management is a big issue. I've run (and continue to do) workshops or keynotes where I am addressing issues of how to cope with change. It's a big issue that I cover off in my new Ready, Set, Done: How to Innnovate When Faster is the New Fast book. Yet a big question looming on my mind these days is this: what happens when the need for change management goes away? Twenty years out, we will have a generation in charge which has embraced technological change from their birth. They are attracted to new ideas, innovation, and new ways of thinking, like bugs drawn to a light. Their world will continue to involve a flood of new technologies, new ways of working, constantly shifting work structures, rapid micro-careers, and all kinds of other things that involve what we would consider to be rapid change. What happens when change management disappears, and change occurs even faster than it happens today? The airline involved in today's flight is quite focused on innovation. The big issue to watch is whether they are keeping the change-process up-to-date with their innovation process. Or whether the issue of change-management is starting to disappear and go away.... Nov 5 update Quality, skills and the high-velocity economy
I focused, as I often do, on the need for rapid action in the high-velocity economy. At that time, just a few months ago, we had just seen the recall of various pet food products as a result of production quality issues at the Chinese manufacturer. I noted -- and these words are verbatim from the tape - "What do we do with quality in terms of velocity?" I went on to note that with we might soon see the issue of quality and China merge together ... to such a degree that companies might have to scramble to deal with quality issues that were completely unexpected just a few months ago. Fast forward, and we've got toy manufacturers testifying to Congress about quality concerns as a result of offshore production. It used to be that when it came to quality, you'd plan --> execute -- > evaluate ---> innovate. But now, with high-velocity change, sudden new issues can appear, and you've simply got to execute before you plan. What's the point? In my new book, Ready, Set, Done, I argue that talent and project agility -- that is, the ability to rapidly refocus your organization and team to deal with the rapid emergence of new issues -- will be a key cornerstone for future success. This week, I'll be doing a keynote for Tenrox, a company that specializes in software that helps an organization with resource management and optimization: in other words, deploying the right skills at the right time for the right purpose. Exactly what I talk about in the new book. The CEO, Rudolf Melik, has written a book, The Rise of the Project Workforce: Managing People and Projects in a Flat World. I contributed the foreword for the book, focusing on the theme of skills agility. It's an important issue that you need to be thinking about, particularly given the new urgency for planning on the fly. With all due respect to Web 2.0, what's really important at a strategic level?
Top of mind for these folks isn't their Facebook strategy, nor are they focused on thinking about what to do with Web 2.0. They've got businesses to run, critical issues that need to be tackled, and strategies to be implemented. There's a lot of really cool Web 2.0 stuff going on, and yet from a pure strategic level, I'm coming to realize that there's a lot of hype with the bathwater. It's like it's 1999 all over again! Here's what these folks are thinking about: Groundhogs, innovation, and the end of summer
There were two keynotes during the summer, including for the Destination Marketing Association International association, and the National Association of College Stores, as well as a private management get together with a major commercial/industrial construction company. The plan was to take the summer slow, recharge, and gear up for what looks like a busy fall. One of the highlights of the summer involved the war with the groundhog who decided to take up space in our yard. I clearly lost -- he's back again today. I've tried everything, and even ended up writing an article for one of my regular columns about my efforts. Aside from that, great feedback was had from the events I spoke at this summer : the NACS folks had this to say: "You were right about being highly energetic! You definitely did a great job in pepping the crowd up at Innovate 2007 in Tampa. The buzz in the hallway after your presentation was outstanding! Just thinking about the word "innovate" can be overwhelming. You did an excellent job in explaining the simple steps they need to take to incorporate innovation into their stores." The new book is in final edit; we should be going to print within the month. Ready, Set, Done: Jim Carroll's latest book
Titled Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast takes a look at We're targetting late fall for release. Faster is the new fast: innovating for the new. high velocity customer
This is a video clip from a recent keynote that I gave for hundreds of executives from the grocery and consumer products industries, titled Faster is the New Fast: Innovating for the New. High Velocity Customer . I take a look at what innovative retail, packaging and consumer goods companies do differently. This is the third retail presentation that I've done for a major retail conference this year; earlier, I spoke to several hundred convenience store owners and their franchisees; as well as to a group of executives involved in health care retail. There are a few key themes that I wove through this keynote that retailers, consumer goods and packaging companies need to be thinking about, as well as their advertising agencies: Related postings: What do innovative companies do that other companies don't do?
They ensure that they innovate and adapt based on rapidly changing circumstances, on a continuous basis. Innovation isn't just about new product; it's an inclusive mindset, in which everyone knows that they must stay relentlessly focused on the religion of innovation: how do we do things differently to run the business better, grow the business and transform the business. How do they do this? By adopting several key guiding principles that form the basis for all corporate strategy and activities going forward: Innovation - agility is critical
In this video clip, I take a deeper look at the concept of agility, outlining that organizations that master the capability have several key attributes:
Contact Jim Carroll for details, to explore this fascinating new opportunity.
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Empowering staff and partners to make quick decisions is an essential component of innovating in the high-velocity economy.
RBC Plaza's Grand Opening is on, but, Um, About Those Sky Divers ...
Part of my consistent innovation message through the last several years -- "faster is the new fast" -- challenges organizations to think whether they can move at the fast pace required of them in today's high velocity world. Innovation isn't just about new products and design -- it's about challenging yourself as to how you operate, act, compete, change and do things differently to keep up with rapid trends.
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Given the rapid pace of global economic developments, organizations are faced with a pretty stark choice.
The last choice might seem to be the only response given the velocity of events as they occur, and it will be an unfortunate reality for some as the credit crunch hits.
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Because of corporate demand, we've had to go to a second print run of my book, Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast.
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Well, I'm back from summer holidays, and the keynote in Australia was a particular bit of fun. Sydney is a dazzling modern and efficient city -- some of its' infrastructure put other global cities to shame.
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I'm off to keynote an event in Sydney, Australia; and after that, two weeks of family time in the tropics of Australia.
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I've had a new article published for Association Executives for the CSAE, about how you can innovate and jazz-up your annual meeting or conference.
Here's an extract:
Does your conference marketing suck? Maybe it does, and you don't know it.
People today don't want to go to an "annual conference" and attend "plenary sessions." Kids (and today's 30-40 somethings -- the demographic you increasingly want to get to attend!) go to FESTIVALS.
I think they're expecting the same brand image velocity for the conferences or events that they might attend. Would you rather go to the "121st Annual Tree Farmers Association Annual Meeting and Trade
Show?"
Me, I'm all for idea of TreeFest!
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As some economies continue to experience rounds of volatility, there are still plenty trying to figure out what to do next. And there are a many who are focused on the theme of "what do we do after the world has gone flat?"
There are three good blog posts in which I looked at this topic; an increasing number of keynote and workshop inquiries are coming from executives who want to help their organizations go "post-flat."
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I just returned from a keynote for the Direct Seller Association; the industry dedicated to selling products to individuals in their homes. One might think in the Internet era that such an industry is on the skids; yet organizations like Avon, Mary Kay, and new direct selling companies continue on a growth trajectory; through innovation in traditional markets, and through fascinating growth in the Asia Pacific region.
My keynote focused on two primary trends: how the customer of today is changing; and how marketing and advertising are changing. I then spoke about how these organizations need to continue to keep up with the rate of change that is occurring around them.
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The media is all abuzz with the concept of "user oriented innovation," and that is certainly an important innovation trend. But it's not the only trend. Innovators would do well to recognize that there are many, many other concepts that can help to focus and refocus their innovation efforts.
While everyone focuses on having "customers" modify and design their next product, there is an even more powerful and important trend underway. I call it "upside down innovation," and it involves new levels of innovation partnership between organizations.
I keynoted the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Vail, Colorado, and offered up this example: traditionally, your local garden store features the same, endless rows of plants, in the same old order, often according to their Latin names. There's no inspiration; there's no excitement; there's no solution to the fact that you are a busy consumer and just want to "buy a backyard."
"Upside-down innovators" take it one step further; they offer a retail environment that provides you with outdoor living solutions. They've combined the insight of leading edge retail ideas, with innovative, packaged solutions, and with unique products that "fit" together.
Here's what upside-down innovators do:
Upside-down innovation is a critical trend, and one that should be watched carefully, particularly with all the hysteria about user-oriented innovation. After all, customers often don't know what they need -- they didn't know they wanted an iPod, until they saw one.
More information
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Supertramp -- a band from the 80's -- had a minor hit with the song "On the Long Way Home," which featured the memorable line, the line, "when you're up on the stage, it's so unbelievable."
That's a good starting point. The key issue: I'd begin by aligning the organization to the concept of "thriving in the high velocity economy."
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At a particular keynote last week, I met a number of senior executives who certainly agreed with my message - we need to constantly realign our company to the reality of change that surrounds it. That's where innovation comes from. But they also also indicated that they found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the rapid change occurring all around them.
What you need to do is ask yourself these tough questions, so that that you're thinking about where there might be new problems and new opportunities that will impact your business in the future, not just in terms of what you sell, but in terms of the structure that you use to get things done.
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My blog posting ten days ago (a "Memo to the CEO") stirred up quite a bit of interest and response. In the item, I noted that the most important thing CEO's "can do *right now*, as you work to navigate your way through the challenging economic shoals that surround you, is to make sure that you don't kill innovation in its tracks.
I'm seeing innovative leaders do innovative things, and there's a certain core theme that is out there.
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Last week, I gave the opening keynote for a leading global auto collision repair group, Fix Auto, which has locations throughout the US, Canada, the UK and France.
Maybe the catch phrase is "branding in the high velocity economy." Folks who figure out how to do this will cause significant transformation in their industry, and from that, new and growing business opportunity.
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The April issue of the Advertiser magazine ("The Voice of the Marketing Community") from the Association of National Advertisers features an article, "Five Secrets for Creating a Culture of Innovation."
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To: CEO's worldwide,
(particularly in the financial sector)
I know things are extremely busy, particularly given our economic climate, but I think there's a key issue that you need to make sure is on your agenda.
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Gloom has set in on global markets. Volatility rages. Some organizations have gone into a mode of "aggressive indecision," deferring action while they try to figure out "what comes next." A pretty lousy strategy that is doomed to fail in the longer term.
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Years ago, I wrote a little article, "10 Great Words," as a way of summarizing how to instill an innovative mindset.
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I'm about off to keynote a conference for Visa. With executives in the room from Apple, Sony, Ticketmaster, HomeDepot and other organizations that are e-commerce heavy hitters, I'll be focusing on the message, "what do high velocity companies do to stay innovative?"
10 years ago this market didn't exist. Today, it is valued in the hundreds of billions, and growth continues to compound. Anyone in this space is faced with a lot of real, significant change: with technology, customers, expectations, competitors, business models and just about everything.
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Organizations today are looking for deep insight into the trends that will affect their markets and industries. CEO's are focused on the need for innovation, knowing that a world of high velocity change requires that they respond to opportunity and challenge in an instant. They are looking for guidance on establishing high-performance, innovation oriented teams that are focused on achievement.
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Years ago, I wrote of the need for a new type of business degree: a Masters in Business Imagination. I've also called it a Masters in Business Innovation.
You can do this by abandoning any pretense that the skills of yesterday will be important tomorrow. Figuratively and literally, it is time to move beyond the thinking that has led us to a world of MBA’s – Masters of Business Administration – and focus upon the critical skill that will take you into tomorrow.
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Even as news and financial pundits endlessly debate the question, let's face reality: the US economy is in a recession.
One of my first comments for this audience of senior executives? We need to think about the sub-prime mess in the context of a longer term view. In the last ten years, we've been through many economic challenges:
Sub-prime is a big issue, but it's just another blip in the grand scheme of the churning engine that is the global economy. Through the next ten years, we'll see a few other economic challenges along the way; various regional economies and sectors will be impacted; yet innovation will abound. That's why I've also indicated that a key leadership mantra for the high velocity economy is this: "volatility is the new normal." That's a topic I covered in a recent economic interview.
I tend to be an optimist: that's because I think in a longer term perspective. Think about it: over the next 10 years, there are several certainties:
The reality of future trends: grab the What Comes Next trends overview
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It's long been touted as one of the greatest innovation success stories ever: FedEx.
What happens when FedEx fails? I don't know -- and I think there is a lot of inspiration that can still be found with this innovative organization.
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One of my recent keynotes for a global organization focused on the issue of high-velocity change. No matter who you are and what you do, there are certain realities: your markets, customer expectations, competitors, cost structure and business model continues to change really, really fast, and will continue to do so. This little video clip captures that message.
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It's a Sunday afternoon, and a full day of skiing is done: and all the roads home are closed because of the snow. So we've settled in for an evening in the chalet with blankets of snow falling outside.
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Credit Suisse, headquartered in Zurich, is global financial powerhouse operating in 50 countries; 48,000+ employees, assets of $75 billion US, and net assets under management of $1.345 trillion.
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I spent the day yesterday with management executives and store owners of DoItBest, one of the largest US hardware retailers. It's a fascinating organization, because in the midst of the current economic challenges in the US, it's managed to grow its profit at the same time that it saw a dramatic revenue decline.
I was there to help take them to the next level, with a keynote theme, "Creating the Future: Leadership in An Era of Innovation and Change." In the talk, I looked at additional ideas that they might pursue to stay on the leading edge.
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As we end the year and start a new one, it's a good time to be thinking about some of the trends and issues which will impact us in the future.
It's an Adobe Acrobat document; feel free to grab it, share it, and distribute it!
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Grab the SantaRocks! PDF now
It's likely a good time to put into perspective the critical lessons we can learn from someone who is a true master of leadership, insight, creativity and innovation.
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Can you innovate across the generations? If you can't -- then you've got a big problem to fix!
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You become innovative by identifying obvious and not-so-obvious trends that will impact your business or organization -- and then undertake change and actions to deal with those trends. I think we’re still very short-term minded out there. I think a lot of organizations are just going from quarter to quarter.
What should forward oriented organization be thinking about? Several things:How quickly is our marketplace changing? How quickly are our products changing? What do we need to do from a cultural perspective and an organizational perspective, to be able to deal with a world in which our product life cycles are collapsing? A lot of organizations who don’t appreciate the new forms of competition that can walk into their marketplaces’ business models continue to evolve.
How do they do that? By making innovation core to their "soul."The word ‘innovation’ has to be a part of the responsibility of everybody in the organization and that’s what I find goes wrong in a lot of companies. I think what has happened is people have made innovation out to be one of these special things that it’s the people in the back room who design new products – that that’s innovation. To me, innovation is so much more than that.
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I was the opening keynote speaker yesterday in Dallas for a get-together of the Strategic Marketplace Initiative. This is a group that represents a variety of health care providers and hospitals, as well as pharmaceutical companies and other health care suppliers. There were some heavy hitters in the room -- even WalMart was there, which is indicative of the role it is seeking to carve out in the pharmaceutical side of things.
At the same time, the health care system must innovate at a furious pace to keep up with the trends that are set to impact it in a significant way, such as:
The sad thing is that little of the political debate occurring in the US on how to fix the system has to do with the real trends which are occuring; it tends to focus only on the difficult and challenging issue of insurance and coverage.
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I'm here in Las Vegas today, about to provide the opening keynote for Pharmalink 2007.
There's an entire theme on these issues in my Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast book -- so it ties in nicely!
More information
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I'm off today for a full day of filming for a small business portal that will be hosted on the site of MSN Sympatico, a major Canadian ISP, in partnership with Cisco.
Watch this space, and I'll post a link when the first video/ article goes live, possibly within the next two weeks.
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My new book, Ready, Set, Done: How To Innovate When Faster is the New Fast, is now available in print.
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Take a look at this kid.
The whole issue is massive, and is one of the areas in which innovative thinking is needed now. It's a CEO / Board level issue. It's transformative. It's urgent.
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I'm off today to Montreal, to keynote the 2007 International Financial Leaders Forum. This is a gathering of several hundred senior financial leaders from throughout the private and government sector.
Just about what I expected!
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Back in May, I keynoted the World Congress on Quality / American Society for Quality, a fairly massive conference with about 3,000 attendees.
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In the last few weeks, I've had several high-level sessions with the CEO and management team of a major construction company, as well as with the senior management team and customers of an organization in the packaging/consumer products industries.
These are a lot of the themes covered in the upcoming release of Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast. We should be going to print within a few weeks.
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I'm back at work, although when you work at home, you never truly leave it.
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We've got a cover, and have the first draft of my newest book in for design/edit.
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In the fast paced world of instant obsolsolescence and rapid innovation, time-to-market is becoming a key factor for success.
Watch the video clip
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Innovative organizations focus upon the concept of agility: they can manage fast change, new risk, business market turmoil, staffing challenges, and market commoditization. They can do this because they are relentless focused on the future and the trends that will impact them.
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I often talk on stage to my clients about the concept of organizational agility: that is, the ability to respond to fast-changing circumstances. In the high velocity economy, everything can move quickly : markets, customer expectations, competitors, products ....
Watch the video
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