I have been exploring how organisations successfully drive innovation across horizons and deliver more than just incremental core growth. Alongside some clever consultants I listened to innovation leaders from LEGO, bp, Essity, Hitachi, Nissan and Unilever. Based on this I have picked out six pieces of advice which are especially relevant for innovators within large... Continue Reading →
Peloton has gained a lot of recent attention with reports of slowing sales, unhelpful fictional heart attacks and investors calling for the CEO to resign. A share price comparable to that before Covid-19 is certainly eye-catching for a business that has grown paying subscribers from around 1 million to around 3.2 million last year. Something... Continue Reading →
I am missing the energy and interaction of a workshop in a real room. That said, I can concede that virtually delivered projects in these Covid-constrained times can prove more effective. A good example is a recent project for Unilever. Our project objective was to determine the key business model and capability developments that would... Continue Reading →
You may not have heard of the Indian telcom brand Jio but investors certainly have. The company has recently gathered $20bn from investors that include Google and Facebook. Jio is a company with lots of latent e-commerce potential. It has about a 45% share of Indian mobile phone users and via parent company Reliance... Continue Reading →
Keeping a safe social distance means changes for workshops. With technology such as TEAMS, Zoom or WhatsApp ready to help, the challenge is creating a remote experience that maximises engagement and productivity. Your participants are likely to be spending plenty of time on conference calls and may not relish more. So when planning think about... Continue Reading →
I feel some discomfort defining Banksy as a brand. On the important attributes I am on solid ground: the artist's work is distinct, recognisable, and consistently purposeful in message. However, I suspect it is a label that the anonymous street artist who has deemed commercial success "a mark of failure" would dislike a lot. Labelling... Continue Reading →
There are many startups postponing launches, but not the money saving app Snoop. With many of us getting anxious about our finances Snoop was gently introduced two weeks ago. The app takes advantage of the disruptive potential of 'open banking' to review your spending and provide personalised money management tips. With a bit of artificial... Continue Reading →
Covid-19 has hurt the happy meal restaurant. About 25% of McDonald's restaurants are closed globally, including all of the 1,270 in the UK. Despite the sales impact the McDonald's brand looks set to emerge stronger post-pandemic. In recent weeks the global attachment to the brand born in 1940 has become very visible. McDonalds clearly has... Continue Reading →
The painful Brexit debate has sharply polarised the UK public in recent years, but that is changing. According to YouGov in March, 59% of UK adults believe we are closer together Vs 11% feeling more divided. The common enemy of Covid-19 will explain some of our growing togetherness. But our shared admiration and support for... Continue Reading →
How pharma companies such as Gilead are seeking to solve the new problem of Covid-19 offers inspiration and encouragement for innovators. With early trial results indicating that Remdesivir can speed Covid-19 recovery the drug looks it will help many of those hospitalised. It may be a modest success but Remdesivir is set to be memorable... Continue Reading →
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