To generate knowledge and share interesting perspectives around innovation in 2021, we invite you to get insights from this lively innovation circle around innovating during a pandemic, overcoming external challenges in this “New Normal,” and supporting innovation culture to prepare for future shifts in the business landscape. 

Entering into the State of Innovation in the New Normal

Technological advancements and digitization are not necessarily enough to transform an entire industry, but the innovative business models that introduce the technology are disruptive. We’ve witnessed how companies have innovated their business models, products, services, and customer interaction techniques during the global pandemic. Innovation is more critical than ever, or as Kevin Minier says, the current status quo is now entering into a “state of innovation”. 

Adapting to the “New Normal” will determine which companies simply survive and which companies thrive. How will innovation look in a post-pandemic world? As pointed out by Robert Cloughtery, companies should expand their innovation vision from short-term fixes to long-term business model innovation.

For example, Hussein Dajani, General Manager of Digital and CX Transformation for Nissan Motor Co. in Africa, Middle East, India, Turkey, and Oceana, discussed how customer experience transformation had been a crucial strategy to meeting customers’ “where they are” in today’s landscape: in their homes (due to lockdowns). “Innovation, I believe, boils down from empathy, from really listening to your customers, seeing what their real needs are, and being able to deliver on that innovatively,” says Dajani.

Shirin Kurtuldu also contributed excellent knowledge on how to capture customer-driven ideas by running a Voice of Customer program and asking your own customers what they want, what kind of innovation they are missing.  

Corporate Innovation is Key 

However, innovating strategically for the long-term in an established enterprise can be difficult, considering bureaucratic measures, regulatory barriers, and risk-averse structures that hold big companies back from implementing transformational changes.

As Hussein Dajani points out, big firms often think from a place of “revenue, dollar signs, and immediate profit,” making short-term approaches more feasible to execute. The focus on short-term profit is a signal that a company is not as forward-thinking as it should be to innovate and gain a competitive advantage over time. The company’s mindset is another key factor.

Axel Schultze, CEO and Founder of BlueCallom, says, “the culture shift from a non-innovative company to an innovative company is a massive change…it’s a significant change in mindset.” The question then becomes, how to create a culture of innovation? Facilitating a culture in which accepting “failing fast is such a key technique to helping with innovation,” says Tony Namulo.

Regardless of whether a company adopts a ‘freedom to fail’ attitude or not, half the battle is pushing a great idea from concept to creation and convincing others of its merit. Circle attendee André Lüscher says, “for every idea, you need someone to convince other people that this idea is great.” An idea won’t make it past the gatekeepers and bookkeepers at each milestone check-in without a product or service champion supporting the idea along the journey to development and commercialization. 

Turn the Pandemic into an Innovation Opportunity 

Due to the pandemic, the nature of work changed. Teams work together in an online and remote capacity. As pointed out by Mikel Mangold, “all this international collaboration that is going on right now is incredible” and is requiring innovation around online collaboration tools to make remote work accessible and productive.

Aside from virtual collaboration, remote work also enables the ability to reach a broader audience. Furthermore, companies can find talents across the global stage. A lot of companies are going to be considering “the global talent pool, in terms of being able to increase the pace of innovation within companies,” says Tony Namulo. Thus, a silver lining to the pandemic is new value creation through the various opportunities presented.

But not only are digital work tools in demand, but digital lifestyle tools are also increasingly important. For example, gyms and the fitness industry are undergoing a moment of reckoning as digital fitness services adapt to meet our new needs, as Laurent Guinand discussed.

The business of education is another industry in a moment of upheaval as online education has been thrown into the spotlight, and online education platforms’ successes might even indicate that online education is the future. Axel Schultze says that “the education system has followed the needs of the industry,” and with changing industries across all sectors, the future is in the hands of the innovators and creative minds. In this way, ‘timing,’ in addition to ‘need’ and ‘technology available’ can be considered the keys to building a successful innovation, as deemed  Tony Namulo. 

The team at BlueCallom will continue the Innovation Thought Leader Roundtable exchange. If you are interested in joining our next by-invitation-only event, please send us an email: tanja@bluecallom.com

The post Key Thoughts: Innovation Thought Leader Roundtable | February 2021 appeared first on BlueCallom.

Massive digitization amplification

The amplification in connectedness, however, is also exposing a widening gap between digitally empowered people and the still massive digital illiteracy. Digital Interaction is a skill. That skill is composed of fast cognitive recognition, heightened content differentiation, digital body language, multi-language communication, the ability to cut loose from old needs that every exchange needs to be physical, understanding the power of asynchronous communication, and much more. We learned to walk, read, write, speak, hear, and now we extend all these skills into the digital world that is no less real than our physical world. Once it is experienced over a timeframe of 6 months more people will want to keep and expand those powers than go back.

One of the big questions is arising: Will the digital literate look down on others and enjoy their added powers or will they help to elevate those who have a hard time expanding their capability of experiences through global digitization?

Profound changes in production

Another gap is widening to a degree that most people cannot even comprehend the consequences. Our global economy lost trillions of dollars almost overnight due to the lack of production continuation strategies. Companies with a very high degree of automation could continue to have their robots and autonomous machines run and produce, and even shift gear to produce what’s needed. Those doing pretty ok. Those that require armies of workers have all of a sudden multiple challenges all at the same time: Production if anything at all is only possible in a very limited capacity. Plus, the social liability of having to send people home by the thousands. And, opening doors for the competition to come in with more automated companies. On top of all the fully digital businesses rise to phenomenal heights in value and revenue. The consequences may be dramatic: In order to compete in future crises – no matter in what form or reason, Large manufacturers will need to substantially increase their degree of automation in production, digitization in processes, and world market interactions – not for profit improvements but sheer protection of production continuation AND to ensure product availability for our ever more complex society. Even political pressure is already on the horizon that business continuation plans and capabilities to maintain the product flow in the local society must be ensured. What was thought to be Artificial Intelligence, that takes away jobs just because we can, is now a very different reason. Some companies will not even survive this pandemic – but the next pandemic may increase the closing of businesses and jobs by order of magnitude. Once the pandemic is over this effort may actually just begin.

Accelerating Innovation

We have been working under huge pressure to modify our Deep innovation Design program so that a nine-month program can be run as a crash course in six weeks. In order to train as many scientists as possible to move from experimentation to a methodical ideation process we needed to move from in-person training to digital – but moreover from 25 people classrooms to online classrooms with some hundred attendees if necessary. Every top educator would say it is crazy and cannot work. But we don’t even have an option, other than making it work. Innovation is seen all over right now – with or without professional support. The degree of ingenuity hasn’t been that high for decades. New types of virus testers pop up in almost every industrialized nation. We see all kinds of innovative solutions, which only need a bit more coordination and information flow. And all this will not stop after the pandemic is over. Also here it will actually begin to fully unfold.

Sanitation

Will we go back to be dirty and sloppy after the pandemic is over? Sure, some will, but the majority most likely will keep the positive habit of more careful hygiene.

Keeping relationships online

Will we go back to always meet people face to face for everything we want to discuss. Of course not. We appreciate the learning that a quick video call is for both parties quicker and more efficient. For sure we will remain to be social and want to meet people in person – at least the first connection. But we don’t need to meet for every little detail and this has all been helped by global digitization.

Home Delivery

Will we go back to shop for everything by going from shop to shop? Most certainly not. Of course, we will still go shopping, having the experience and the fun doing so – but the hugely increased percentage of shopping online compared to the past will not go back to “normal” because the majority has a whole new set of experience by now.

Modernizing Operations

Will we go back to endless considerations, pilot projects, and eventually still not upgrade? Only the very weak companies will. Those who realized how much faster we are doing things right now will keep the pace – and if it is only to not let the competition take over. My old mantra: “Speed is more important than perfection” found its biggest proponent being a virus.

Home Offices

About ten years ago home offices have been seen as a large part of a companies way of workplaces. Why did it not work out? Nobody did actually try it for a more extended period of time. Now we do. We get quickly used to do it even full time for weeks. We chat regularly with the team, exchange notes via WhatsApp or email. Meetings are much shorter and also if they are still mega long – everybody can work while some others ramble on. The only short interruption: “can you still hear me”.

The list gets longer every day. Every week, new experiences carve out deepening neuro-pathways in our brain that make us learn without even knowing that we learn. And every adult between 30 and 50 learned faster than ever before. Not only about dealing with a virus but also ourselves our needs, and our capability to adapt.

What is your learning?

How do you see the post-corona future? What do you hope will change when we finally eradicated covid-19 or at least contained it relatively well? Do you think Global Digitization will stay? Please share your thoughts – so we all can learn from each other.

The post 2021 – Industries after Corona & Global Digitization appeared first on BlueCallom.