Nokia and Polaroid once were so profitable, that even a 38% margin was deemed too low for them. But they are both history now. Can this happen to your company, even if you are at the peak of your power and profitability today?
The answer is: YES! It can happen! And your company may be doomed faster than you think. This week I wrote some use case reports on Nokia and Polaroid that are based on studies that interviewed dozens of former executives of those companies. And the lessons learned are applicable for many companies today. One shocking fact is that you may not even have a chance due to your own history and the big resistance that you will encounter in your company. And if you have a chance, it's a very tough road to take the right measures. The road will be paved with tears, blood and sweat.
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INNOVATION is a mindset and not only companies are effected, but the mindset of whole countries. The Economist looks at Germany - Europe's economic powerhouse - and the struggle to digitize its industry. And the Economist's conclusion is not an optimistic one. Too late, too little, too slow, with too many interest groups involved that kill speed and increase coordination efforts and you get a country that is not leading innovation but trailing behind.
Top down approaches to innovation rarely work. Because an executive has an idea doesn't mean it's the best. And it deprives the whole organization from contributing to innovation. INTRAPRENEURSHIP and innovation is everyone's task. If your company has an R&D or "Creative"-department then you give the rest of the company an excuse to stop thinking on hat can be improved. After all, this is now the task of the colleagues in those departments, right? But then you lose all the experiences of the rest of your workforce and tap only into small parts of what you pay for.
More and more GAMIFICATION is applied in areas where you would least expect it. The collection of articles from the last days gives a glimpse into how gamification trickles into all disciplines. From using it as a leadership tool as explained by former B2-bomber pilot and FEMA emergency responder Randy Brawley, using it as participatory budgeting tool for cities and communities, to recruiting secret service agents through cyber-security contests. What's the most unexpected use of gamification that you have seen?
Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and now executive chairman of Alphabet, introduced us to the 70-20-10-rule of using your time at work. Seventy percent of your time should be used to work on your core tasks. Twenty percent you should look into tasks that are complimentary to your core tasks. And ten percent of your time you should spend on doing something totally unrelated.
Why should you do that? Because you never know how the 10% time will bring, and here is serendipity at work. Maybe some algorithms on how robotic hands are able to grab an egg without breaking it give a spark of how you can use the same algorithm and approach to determine a more efficient way of running a debugging process in software development. But: you never know in advance from where a future solution may be inspired, that's why you need to do a scattershot and allow employees to use their ten-percent-time on things they choose.
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STARTUPS are a very risky business, no doubt about that. And founding one or being part of one is very nerve-wrecking. If you are more on the squeamish side, then this may be not for you. But if you understand that you may be more empathic of the struggles of startup founders and support them. This can be a little thing like giving them 15 minutes for feedback, or connecting them to some of your acquaintances who may be able to help them, or just giving them moral support and inviting them to present their services and products to your colleagues or friends.
Adopt a startup today! Browse blogs such as Techcrunch, or startup-sites like Austrian Startups and go through the list. There may be a startup that you really like. Share the link to their website on social media. After all, startups are our future. They are the ones who will create most of the new jobs. And with a lot of unemployment in many countries we need to make sure that we all work together on creating a better future for us and our children.
NSFW - A Daughter's Halloween Costume and a Mother's Reaction
Today's NSFW - internet lingo for Not Safe For Work - is a short film from The New Yorker Magazine. The film is based on the story behind the current New Yorker cover. A mother and a daughter try Halloween costumes and the 13-year-old daughter chooses to go as Hillary Clinton. When she puts on Mascara and lip gloss, her mother looks at her and says something that she immediately regrets.
