One of the most abused words for the past few years is innovation. Ever since the likes of Apple or Netflix revolutionized their respective industries, you hear entrepreneurs telling themselves and others they also want to “innovate” and hopefully grow as large as these global brands. A good friend of mine recently borrowed Dan Ariely’s quote from Big Data to describe innovation:
In business these days, it’s not often that we find ourselves staring at a blank piece of paper feeling stupid and frustrated. And that’s a problem. We need to do it more.
The status quo is being disrupted, business as usual is no longer acceptable and nowhere is this more apparent than in the telecommunications sector.
Silos – they are a part of any large corporation – and they are the enemy of innovation & creativity.
Too often, in the big telecommunications companies, you will find marketing on one floor, distribution in a different building, sales on an entirely different floor, possibly even split across different states.
And what falls down the gaps? Genius ideas, a wealth of knowledge and team morale.
In the ever-growing world of smartphones and smartphone users, one thing has become fairly clear: We all love our own phone, but we hate yours. A self indulgent view of life amongst mobile & social technologies.
Mobile life has become the norm, but it doesn’t mean we all have equal ideas about it.
Bitcoin has been in the news a lot lately.
Involved in everything from space travel with Virgin Galactic, NFC with Nio Card and even Snoop Dogg‘s next record.
If you work in the travel industry you sell something of immense value. Holidays are some of people's most treasured experiences. They provide us with time to unwind, time to have adventures, and time to spend with family and friends. If you ask people to list their 10 best experiences, many of them would be whilst they have been on holiday.
There's another benefit of travelling. It changes our perspective.
In this profile on the future of retail and consumer innovations, author and futurist Mike Walsh talks about the influence of social media on consumer behavior. He uses real-life examples like Japan's Tokyo Girls collection, which enables attendees to use their cell phones to scan the dresses they see and instantly order them. This segment appeared on Carte Blanche, a South African TV current affairs program.
Most organisations know that innovation is important, but many struggle to make it happen. It's a more complicated goal than, say, improving your IT. How do you increase the amount of new ideas your organisation generates, and create pathways for those ideas to be shared, grown, trialled and – when they are good – implemented?
In the late 16th century, a medical student in the Italian city of Pisa observed a swinging chandelier with interest. Later, after scrutinizing a collection of chandeliers of all shapes and sizes arcing from left to right the student, one Galileo Galilei, concluded that whatever their form or size, chandeliers take roughly the same time to complete one arc.
Galileo’s subsequent experiments led to theories that rocked the prevalent school of thought in Europe at the time – namely that the universe revolved around the Earth.
Someone recently told me that the company they worked for spent ‘2.8 million dollars last year on innovation.’
‘Great,’ I said. ‘Is it a very innovative company?’ He thought for a moment and then, slightly embarrassed, said ‘No.’
Would you like the next 90 days to be your best so far? What would you be willing to do to make this your reality?
We have an opportunity for a fresh start – a new financial year – and embracing the opportunity to step up to your potential is a choice. Get inspired by imagining what could be. Build a vision - what would you love to see happen? Put words to the progress you would like to see in the next ninety days – speak it out loud. Write down every benefit that you will enjoy when you accomplish your new goals. Get excited about the possibilities!