I had the good luck to mentor Krisztina, and Sara - two very enterprising students who took part in the University of East Anglia's Change Makers competition. Participation enabled them to develop and pitch their social enterprise NourishED promising wider access to affordable and nutritious meals. Up for grabs was a competition prize award and... Continue Reading →
The power of pairs More than a decade ago, one of my clients redesigned their organisation to support more innovation-led growth. A key part of this transformation was ensuring projects were led by a partnership of two innovation directors or managers—one focused on technical challenges and the other on customer adoption. This combination of expertise... Continue Reading →
Robots want to help us stay connected. The Dawn Café where customers mix with robot staff suggests future possibilities for social care. Each of the robots is a physical avatar controlled by a human via phone, tablet or eye-tracking device from their own home or even hospital. Creator Kentaro Yoshifuji explains his innovation as “teleportation.” Those losing... Continue Reading →
Landing the evidence needed to progress an innovation is a big challenge for the best of innovation teams. Stakeholders tend to seek a level of certainty that won't be possible without time, trial and error. Financial projections face benchmarks based on established products or services. Isolating the impact of changes can be particularly difficult where... Continue Reading →
Constructive dissent is critical for innovation and problem-solving. The generation of potential solutions needs to be followed by a critical evaluation of assumptions and challenge to determine the best choices. This requires a shared curiosity in available information and respectful consideration of conflicting viewpoints. The prize is the discovery of important insights, more informed decision-making... Continue Reading →
Any self-respecting brand manager will know a stretch to a new category or segment needs to be consistent with the brand's values and identity to prevent consumer disconnect and support success. The fabled* Colgate frozen lasagne story continues to remind brand managers not to overlook brand fit. Stretch success also depends on the business model... Continue Reading →
I have captured some highlights from 2024's typically ECLECTIC portfolio of projects. Many thanks to everyone who approached me for help, contributed insights or bravely participated in my workshops. TECH-ENABLED CARE. The challenge was how to deploy 'tech-enabled care' solutions to sustain independence for adults seeking social care support. Recommended service model embraced the potential... Continue Reading →
Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain is a compelling read for anyone, but especially those involved in marketing. Extensively researched it explores the history of the Sackler family, their private company Purdue Pharma and the introduction of OxyContin. It highlights greed, corruption, failures in regulation and unrestrained, ruthless marketing among the contributors to the opioid crisis in... Continue Reading →
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. Their generous input supported some detailed findings and from this I have picked out six key core elements which... Continue Reading →
Oatly makes it emphatically clear that you should be drinking Oatly and not (dairy) milk. The side of the carton invites you to join the post-milk generation, the website informs you that the milk lobby think you're stupid and advertising suggests dad's drinking milk have a bit of a problem. This confrontational, zealous anti-establishment communication... Continue Reading →
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