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Contents
Contents
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Tom Penney asks whether marketing and PR has now become more Don Draper or Peter Drucker Sustainability within business strategies is now worth more than positive PR claims Simon Barton Helena Macadam takes a look at what key roles a Chief Strategy Officer should hold in a company How are companies using social media and advanced analytics to create new strategies? Yulia Ivanova investigates how GAP are incubating innovation with their Dean of Innovation, Michael Perman
May 21–22 San Francisco, 2014
STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE & CHANGE MANAGEMENT SUMMIT Driving Performance Improvement Within Your Organization
Editor’s Letter
Letter From The Editor
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Welcome to this edition of this is being approached as more Draper or Drucker. Chief Strategy Officer. In this magazine one thing that we are always looking for are the new ways that people are implementing and conceptualising strategies. Whether this is a new way of looking at things or an original way of incubating innovation.
Simon Barton also looks at how companies are implementing ethical strategies for more than just PR credit and how this can give genuine positive impact on bottom lines.
This edition takes a look at how companies are doing both. We look at GAP and how they are using new approaches to create innovation within the company and how their Dean of Innovation, Michael Perman, is using new techniques to approach innovation.
We are also looking for new contributors, if you feel that you have a new idea that you want to spread, please get in contact at
The use of social media and analytics in formulating strategy is also investigated and we look at two case studies of how this is being used in both TV and music to identify new opportunities.
As always, if you like the magazine please share it.
Managing Editor George Hill President Josie King Assistant Editor Simon Barton Richard Angus Art Director Gavin Bailey
ghill@theiegroup.com
Advertising Hannah Sturgess
George Hill Managing Editor
Contributors Tom Penney Helena Macadam Yulia Ivanova
Helena Macadam also uses her knowledge of the role of Chief Innovation Officers to decipher the role that this new position has to play in modern If you are looking to put your companies. products in front of key decision As well as this, Tom Penney, makers, Contact Hannah at CEO at Social Kemistri hsturgess@theiegroup.com looks at how companies are for more details. approaching their marketing and PR strategies and whether
General Enquiries
ghill@theiegroup.com
Advertising Enquiries hsturgess@theiegroup.com
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#CINOEU
Chief Innovation Officer Summit Inciting Discovery, Inspiring Change
29th & 30th April London, 2014
Speakers include:
For more information contact Lewis Chandler +44 (207) 193 8469 lchandler@theiegroup.com theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/chief-innovation-officer-summit-london-2014
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Draper or Drucker
Draper or Drucker
The first slide in my deck was an image of an iconic character from a popular American TV series. ‘Who is this’, I asked? There was a rush of hands as this was an easy one. John Hamm plays Don Draper, star of Mad Men. He was my poster boy for the beginning of what we think of as modern business. This was an era of mass production, renewed optimism, prosperity and hope as people recovered from the trauma and misery of a cruel world war and its consequential economic austerity.
just had more stuff then we’d be happier, it was the beginning of consumerism, the cult of self, and advertising as persuasion instead of mere information. This was a time of bright, shiny, new products for every home; cookers, washing machines, ref r i g e ra t o r s , cars, and of course TV. Mass manufacturing, mass media and one size fits all. More of eve r y t h i n g was good, but more profit was the underlying goal. There was b a r e ly a tip of the hat to morality, truth or ethics. These things seemed unimportant in a world where economic growth was the new imperative.
But it also marked the emergence of the idea that if we all
Next up was a picture of one of the titans
Recently I spent a day in Glasgow with a group of PR and marketing students. I was there to talk about how business and marketing had lost the trust of society and what was needed to re-establish it as a good citizen and partner in the everyday lives of ordinary people. This is the focus of my current research. It’s a story about a clash of cultures and ideologies. The scope of my research has been wide ranging including some deep dives into behavioural economics, psychology, philosophy, big data, social media, capital markets, customer satisfaction and value. The challenge was to bring together all of this and more into a single, coherent, engaging, entertaining and educational talk of no more than a couple of hours.
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Draper or Drucker
of business and management thinking, and also a great educator. I was certain that few, if any, of my audience would recognise him. Indeed, I was so confident that I perversely offered a £20 note to anyone who could name him. There was one, only one person who could and he admitted it was a guess. The Head of Department identified my next witness as Peter F. Drucker. Drucker was a deep and insightful thinker. He believed that the primary purpose of an organisation is to serve its customers and that employees are an organisation’s most valuable assets. Drucker also believed that business and corporations had a positive role to play in society. He taught busi-
ness as a ‘liberal art’ with lessons learned from history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, culture and religion amongst others. He also held strong views on companies’ responsibilities to society and the greater good, stating, “That in modern society there is no other leadership group but managers. If the managers of our major institutions, and especially of business, do not take responsibility for the common good, no one else can or will.” I’d painted two starkly contrasting images. One where we make things and persuade people to buy them; motivated only by profit and shareholder returns, and another where discovering and satisfying the needs of customers is the main goal and profits sustain the organisation to produce goods for customers and society as a whole. There are three big drivers of change. These will cause all of us to radically rethink the meaning of business and how we do it. Let’s look at them in turn, and then we can think more about what they mean for business in the short and medium term as well as from a strategic viewpoint. I call the first of the three forces, hyper-transparency. Search, social and mobile changes everything. They allow people to look behind the glossy images of clever marketing and PR campaigns and see the real stuff of
Draper or Drucker
business that sits behind them. Now people know about the marketing techniques that are used to seduce them into buying things that may or may not, or in some cases simply cannot meet the expectations created by the ad men selling them.
clude emotions in your value equation. However you look at it, people’s feelings are important in getting to grips with notions of satisfaction, value, and loyalty.
Now it’s easy for customers to share their good and bad experiences with products, services, brands, companies and the people who work for them. Employees can also share their feelings about being exploited, or made to do things that they think are wrong or the shady practices and ideas of their superiors. There are no more secrets. Welcome to the world of hyper-transparency.
Thirdly, value is not sold; it’s co-created by the customer. It’s all about the cust o m e r experience. Ownership or possession of a product is limited in value, most value is crystallised in use, and every use case is individual and personal. For example, we buy cars to make journeys, and for many other reasons too, some not so obvious - but not every journey is the same, and the driver optimises the car for his /her needs for any
The second force is that people don’t behave the way economists say they do. Most of us in business like to think we are rational, and by that I mean, rational thinkers. We use logic and reason to make decisions or guide our behaviour, and we try not to let emotion get in the way. But I wonder why? All the research says that human beings are driven by emotions. Emotions and personality drive our goals, motivations and ultimately our actions. If you really want to understand people and or discover their needs and satisfy them then you’re going to have to understand something about emotions. At some point you’re also going to have to in-
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Draper or Drucker
particular trip. The enjoyment and value of each trip depends on many variables including the brand promises and expectations, but the delivery of value is co-created by the driver each and every trip. If business is to be more relevant and engaged with society and customers in particular then it must start by committing to understanding the why behind the what. A lot of effort and expense is spent asking what people are doing but rarely why people do what they do. To find that out we need to know more about personality and emotions. We do that by building deep, trusting and meaningful relationships with our
customers. Today’s businesses are mainly geared up for sales and transactions; channels optimised for persuasion and conversion. The new value equation means knowing how customers feel about their experiences or value in use. Making it easy for them to create personal narratives with emotion changes the number, frequency and types of interactions we have with them. Social proof trumps marketing hyperbole. Many CEOs and senior executives will feel uncomfortable with any perceived loss of control. Even now they wonder why in a world of big data analytics they’re no better equipped to make decisions about the future direction of their businesses. Most market research does not give them the insight they need. Don Draper’s world is made possible by our acceptance of one size fits all and a culture of command and control. Many organisations pretend that they are not part of that world. Bringing customers inside the organisation and giving them a greater sense of ownership and control will be unsettling. But this is the only sensible response to the questions posed by hyper transparency and the fact that value is co-created in customer experiences. Mistakenly, identifying and investing in new customer ca-
Draper or Drucker
pabilities is often overlooked in creating business or marketing strategies. More and more customers expect brands to be part of a joint enterprise focussed on producing good outcomes. Designing outcomes is a new core competency and that means understanding our customers’ capabilities as well as the potential of our product or service. Although delivering new and desired outcomes often requires new capabilities it may also require changes of mind or behaviours by organisations and customers. Developing customer capabilities can make for improved outcomes and value for all involved. My audience left me with the lasting impression that if free to choose they would reject the world of business characterised by Don Draper. They really don’t see the worlds of life, work, business and society as being separate layers. And nor do I. They really have to come together as one, recognising the fuller role and influence of business in our lives and society. It will require a major change in attitude to move from profit taking to progress making. Helping people live happier, healthier more fulfilled lives is a mission with real purpose and meaning. What side are you on?
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Chief Strategy Officer Summit Creating & Implementing Innovative Strategy for a Sustainable Future
May 21-22 San Francisco, 2014
#CSOSF Speakers include:
For more information contact Elliott Jay +1 (415) 315 9404 ejay@theiegroup.com theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/chief-strategy-officer-summit-san-francisco-2014
Sustainability
Sustainability Reporting, More than Just a PR Opportunity Simon Barton Assistant Editor
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Sustainability
UN PRI reiterate that by adhering to their principals, a sustainable global Even in the U.S., where Chief Fi- f i n a n c i a l nancial Officers have always s y s t e m been unconvinced as to the val- can be ue of the Sustainability Report, c r e a t investors are increasingly put- ed that ting the heat on them to incor- maximises porate it into company strategy. the future profits and The adoption of sustainabili- endeavours ty reporting is now widespread, of parwith sustainability disclosure not t i c i p a t i n g an initiative solely for the excep- companies tionally green. Ninety-five per- and percent of Global 250 companies haps more publish sustainability reports, e s s e n t i a l outlining their commitment to ly diminishes the improving operational perfor- chance of a future mance through ethical strate- financial crisis. gies, designed to protect their In today’s business climate a reputational assets. company needs approval from It’s impossible to get away with it’s stakeholders to operate efbeing unethical now. Consumers fectively and profitably. This are fully aware that the mar- necessary green light has been ket-based economy that many referred to as a ‘social license’, thrive in leads to a number of wherein an organisations ability social inequalities. Born out of to develop is based upon their this awareness, initiatives such acceptability and adherence to as the UN PRI, which sets a glob- ethical principals. The ability for al benchmark for organisations a stakeholder to bear witness to looking to invest responsibly has the endeavours of a company been established. It sets six prin- is far easier nowadays. Organcipals that revolve around ESG isations are far more transpar(Environmental, Social and Gov- ent, and whether they like it or ernance) and their implementa- not, there is a vast amount of tion into financial strategy. The information in regard to their
Being ethical, or appearing to be ethical, is an imperative cog in corporate strategy. A Sustainability Report depicts a company’s commitment to ethical behaviour by measuring the effects of its output on the environment.
Sustainability
strategy, financial performance and social responsibility online. It is due to this that sustainability reporting, in some form, is widespread. 499 companies in the S+P 500 integrated some sort of sustainability disclosure, although according to an IRRC survey, only 1.4% have fully integrated it. Thus, it transpires that although implementation is widespread, going forward, the majority of companies need to include more information in order to improve their social sustainability. Non-compliance brings a plethora of risks linked with negative brand reputation and employee demotivation. There is significant proof backing up this hypothesis. In 2013, The Boston College Centre for Corporate Citizenship and Ernst & Young survey acknowledged that 50% of participants issuing sustainability reports saw an improvement in their company’s reputation. Improved company reputation means increased profits. The Innovation Bottom Line Report in 2012, stipulated that 37% of companies reported profits from their sustainability efforts, which was up by 7% in 2011. Perhaps fuelled by this development, 48% of companies included in the aforementioned report, developed their business models to adhere to sustainability opportunities. Interestingly, organizations in developing countries
are more willing to change their business models, perhaps down to the fact that issues such as resource scarcity can directly affect their operations. The advantages of being ethical do not stop at profitability and company reputation, as the implementation of the sustainability report can have a positive effect on internal stakeholders. Employees are likely to feel more loyal to a company if they are being viewed as an important cog in its future. E m p l oye e retention was the most prevalent trend with the S+P 500 companies. Other issues such as Climate Change and the reduction of Hazardous Waste were also deemed important environmental factors for companies. Climate change is an issue that companies have to approach head on, as it contin-
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Sustainability
ues to play an important role in the public psyche and the implementation of a sustainability report can go some way to quelling this fear. For example, the Global 500 report analyses how key sectors are addressing climate change. 80% of the Global 500 responded to the questionnaire, and by aggregating that data, it’s now apparent that; higher emissions are closely linked to rapid company growth and that financial incentives for employees, particularly at the board level, drive down emissions. By having an understanding of such notions, companies can implement best practices, designed at taking a holistic view of their operations, so that issues such as climate change are not directly effected by their outputs. It is clear that Sustainability reporting can be a profitable endeavour for major companies. If the implementation of sustainability reports allow for numerous advantages, then surely we will see reports becoming standardized by every company who wants to work in an ethical manner. Some of the worlds largest companies have complied, HSBC, Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse Coopers all publish sustainability reports
and are active in their mission to help create a sustainable global economy. Outside of climate change, other issues remain of upmost importance, including; the scarcity of natural resources, poverty, human health and clean water consumption. Companies lacking one will ultimately run the risk of their operations being heavily scrutinised and deemed unethical, a situation that is catastrophic in today’s business climate.
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Chief Innovation Officer
The Role of Chief Innovation Officer in New Strategy Implementation Helena Macadam Strategy Leader
Chief Innovation Officer
Strategy today is more than just coming up with the way forward for a company for the next 5 years. In many cases it is more than creating the pathway for companies over the next 2. There are business models that won’t have wholesale changes but in general we are seeing changes within industries accelerating.
include anything as diverse as IT infrastructure or marketing management. This is the same with any new position being adopted across multiple companies simultaneously, they are often given roles that reflect the company’s outlook, strengths and weaknesses rather than a specific task.
So what is the role of the Chief This is down to a combination Innovation Officer going forof improved technologies and ward? Is it to be the creative increased competition. With force behind ideas or the driving larger numbers of companies force to implement change? vying for market share, gaining Both are important roles, as one a foothold forces them to make without the other is fruitless. Imchanges and be more experi- plementing a poor strategy well mental. Success then leads to can have poor consequences, others following or attempting whilst creating a strategy that isn’t implemented effectively further innovation themselves. Within this environment of can cause confusion or worse. change we have seen a rise in the number of companies employing Chief Innovation Officers, who have the task of conceptualising and implementing new innovations and strategies. The role of the Chief Innovation Officer differs from company to company and as such the expectations for those working within this role is not always the same. Some will have the responsibility to implement new innovations that have come from elsewhere, others will have the responsibility to conceptualise and also implement. Others will have responsibilities beyond these remits and can
A Chief Innovation Officer needs to be able to implement new strategies regardless of coming up with the ideas. New ideas are one thing but they need to have
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Chief Innovation Officer
effective use throughout the organisation. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to be implemented with draconian rules and laws about how this must be done and how the old ways need to be binned. Instead, a Chief Innovation Officer’s key role is to get buy in from all levels of the company, from the board down to the people on the floor.
should be a key role for a Chief Innovation Officer regardless of their ultimate role as either implementor or idea maker.
This is why the Chief Innovation Officer needs to be fluid, they need to be able to discuss changes with different areas of the company. Getting buy-in from the board is one thing, but major input needs to be from those who will ultimately be effected most by the changes. Having an idea at the board level that sounds great, may not work lower down the chain for specific reasons that could be from left-field when discussed with those utilising it every day. This is why a flexible approach and gaining feedback from all areas of the company is important and
Officer needs to make sure implementation is fully adopted to make sure they are judged properly. Therefore, working with all interested parties is necessary regardless of their position within the company. Creating full buy-in throughout the organisation is vital and this can only be done through collaboration with the entire company.
The idea of a Chief Innovation Officer in itself also requires that implementation is adopted throughout the company. The idea behind this is simple, regardless of ultimate roles and responsibilities held, a Chief InThis is not always going to be novation Officer will be judged something that can be done on the innovations that a comthrough a chain where a sen- pany has whilst they are in poior executive tells a subordinate sition. then moves it down the chain. Innovation is only ever as good By the time it moves down a as its implementation, therefew levels, the reality is that the fore believing that a role like this passion and arguments behind would simply be to think up ideas the changes are gone and peo- and pass them down the chain ple do not feel consulted about would not be fruitful for either changes and may not be able the Chief Innovation Officer role to implement at the front line as or the individual in that position. effectively as it should be. An effective Chief Innovation
However, simply making sure that implementation is effective does not mean a new innovation or strategy is going to be successful. Implementing something new is only ever going to be as profitable as the idea itself.
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Chief Innovation Officer
Therefore a key understanding of what works and why, is one of the major factors in the role and even if not the initiator behind the idea (this is o f t e n still a key role for the CEO) they must act as a qualified advisor and be willing to question the effectiveness of the idea. To excel in this role this understanding of what makes things work is vital as is understanding that big ideas do not always come from the boardroom. Often these are likely to come from those at the frontline or those who work across multiple areas at a lower level. Therefore a key role is always going to be approachability and creating an environment of openness where people throughout the company feel that their ideas will be heard rather than simply dismissed. Think about it this way, if Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t founded Facebook and simply become a software developer, would people have listened to his ideas as a 19 year old?
as Google have demonstrated, creating an atmosphere where innovation outside of your core role is not only accepted but actively encouraged can have very positive results. This forward thinking aspect of a role beyond simply P&L and numbers, is important for companies when moving forward especially in today’s world where the number of competitors are increasing in almost every area.
But this does not really answer the question of which role is more key to a Chief Innovation Officer, but I would argue that both hold equal weight. The importance of implementation is just as key to what is being implemented and one does not work without the other. Creating environments whereby innovation becomes the norm rather than the exInnovation can come from ception is important and reanywhere in a company and mains at the centre of any
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Chief Innovation Officer’s role. In conclusion, I think that Yulia Ivanova, organiser of the Chief Innovation Officer Summit in New York has it right when she said to me ‘The role of the Chief Innovation Officer is less about one or the other, instead it comes down to a key responsibility to innovate the innovation infrastructure’.
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Social Media & Analytics
How Social Media and Analytics are Changing Strategies George Hill Managing Editor
Social Media & Analytics
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One of the keys to social media today is not simply what you post, but what others are posting about you and the response that you have to that. When companies think about this, they think about the response to tweets, replying to messages on Linkedin and participation in conversations on Facebook. This is not the only way to be responsive on social media and some companies are not only basing their strategies around it, but the entire basis of their company. Recently 300, a new music label has done just this.
Lyor Cohen is a former Warner Bros executive who has created the 300 music label, which is using big data and analytics to find the next big things in music through the use of sentiment analysis and popularity on Twitter. An agreement announced at the MIDEM music business conference, allows 300 to organize Twitter’s music data, including location tags that are not visible by the public. They are also planning on software development around the information that might also be useful to musicians, record companies and publishing companies.
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Social Media & Analytics
This use of sentiment analysis means that 300 have the opportunity to find the artists who are popular on social media and make choices based not only on the quality of the music but also on their marketability. This kind of work helped find multi-million selling artists like Justin Bieber and 1 Direction. Justin Bieber initially became popular thanks to his use of Youtube and despite 1 Direction appearing on the X Factor UK, they didn’t win and became popular almost exclusively due to their support on social media.
What we are also seeing is a trend moving towards the use of not only social media, but personal preference analytics in order to create new products and take new approaches to aspects of the business that already exists.
This was a successful business for them and when internet speeds began to increase they saw that they could begin to stream the same content directly to their customers rather than using postal services. This gave their customers more freedom to watch whatever they wanted to without the need to wait on the titles to arrive in their letter box.
The ultimate example of this comes from Netflix, who use the viewing habits of their users to not only buy new shows to cater to their tastes, but move away entirely from their The move was not only a success for customers who wantinitial product. Netflix began life as an online ed to watch a wider variety in DVD rental service even of- a shorter amount of time, it fering to sell 49% of the com- also gave Netflix the opportupany to Blockbuster in 2004. nity to really know their user’s This demonstrates the ways The idea behind the model wants and needs. in which new products or was to license TV shows and It allowed people to make commodities can be sourced films from the original produc- broader choices and with on social media, it allows ers and then rent them out to the amount of choice, meant executives to find the next big the people who wanted to see that through using analytics, thing, potential acquisition or them. This allowed them to Netflix could see thousands make changes to their existing be delivered directly to their of metrics and track who was products based on the homes rather than having to watching what, when and why. feedback that their customers go a store in order to pick up Over time, this information are giving through social the rental. allowed them to not only put platforms.
Social Media & Analytics
the programmes that people wanted to watch in front of them, but also allowed them to see where there were gaps in the market.
in roughly 13 hours.”. A 13 hour binge-watch is uncommon, but is testament to the general habits of users. They want to watch multiple episodes in one sitting.
This allowed them to make the unprecedented step of making their own programmes. The first was Lilyhammer, which has an average rating of 8.1on IMDB released in February 2012. The most successful has been House of Cards, a series that has an average rating of 9 out of 10 on IMDB.
These are two examples where the use of social media and analytics have created new opportunities that would have otherwise never existed. The data from these (despite being untested in the case of 300) have proven that, especially in the entertainment business, this kind of work can pay huge dividends and can change the strategies of companies completely. The success of this in the case of Netflix has not only been in monetary value and audience engagement, but also in quality. House of Cards has won universal acclaim from many demographics and Netflix is now the first online content creator to have been nominated for an Oscar with ‘The Square’. These changes have helped companies improve their outlook, outpace competitors and take market share from more established industries, what could it do for yours?
"House of Cards was obviously a big bet for Netflix," Joris Evers, Netflix Spokesman said. "But it was a calculated bet because we knew Netflix members like political dramas, that they like serialized dramas. That they are fans of Kevin Spacey, that they like David Fincher." This showed that people liked certain aspects of the show and that these aspects were likely to make people want to watch the show in the first place. Another aspect that they saw was that when people wanted to watch a show, it would be in a bingeing fashion, not watching one episode then waiting for a week before watching the next. Instead it would be one episode after another. One of the most impressive examples of this was the user who “finished [House of Cards] with just three minutes longer than there is content. So basically, three total minutes of break
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Innovation at GAP
Innovation at GAP Yulia Ivanova Innovation Leader
Innovation at GAP
At the Chief Innovation Officer Summit in New York, Michael Perman, Dean of Innovation at GAP gave us an insight into how the company, one of the world’s largest retailers, innovate’s. Examples of innovation in the ancient world are not hard to come by. From the work of Aristotle to the use of building techniques at the Parthenon in Rome, it seemed like a time of endeavour and new ideas. This is certainly true and the ideas that have come from this time have evolved to today’s modern equations that allow much of modern infrastructure and the skyscrapers that dominate the landscape of the world’s major cities.
In reality this scenario happens every day. This may not necessarily be with new products that are lost or ideas rejected. It may even be down to the simple things like somebody having an idea and not having the confidence to Perman gave an example of how come forward and say it. despite this, there were innova- This is the kind of thing that Mitions that would have changed chael is looking to minimise at everything that were either lost GAP. He says that this is not alor ignored. A ship carrying a new ways easy given the size of the astronomical device sank dur- company. They may be looking ing the voyage and nothing like to innovate and create new and this device has been found any- interesting products and experiwhere else. The device, a bronze ences, but in reality these need instrument with internal gears to be conducted within a set of and cogs, was found in 1905 by paradigms and principles. sponge divers, and with the use of scanning technology later in This is why in a company with the century, they realised that it over 136,000 employees there would have been the first ever is a core group of 300 who have this kind of responsibility. Howcomputer. ever, this is not a unique group If this had reached it’s destination and ideas do not necessarily or if another instrument had have to come from this group. been created that would have He points out that GAP has a been similar, we would have had policy of rewarding entrepreover 2000 years of innovations neurialism and innovation that in the area and who knows has been implemented under where this would have left us the radar. today.
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Innovation at GAP
The idea behind this core group is to use the mantra of ‘From Fuzzy to Fruition’ taking an idea and making it workable in stores or across the company in general. He takes the idea that innovation should be something done across the company but ‘Innovation should not be everyone’s job because some people aren’t born that way, in the same way that not everybody is born to be an accountant’. This is where the core group of 300 work, between the idea and implementation.
being asleep and awake. There are also numerous other activities that are designed to light up different areas of the brain and create new ways of thinking.
One of the aspects of innovation that Michael continues to come back to throughout his presentation is the idea that innovation requires a degree of bravery and not taking the facts at face value. He gives the example of the invisible helmet where on the founders claims that it’s chicken to be a realist. The best innovations occur because peoIn order to increase innovation ple are not stuck on the idea of at GAP there has been a move what they already know, but by to not only bring together inno- being brave enough to try somevators, but also to engage them thing new and exin order to make them more in- perimental. novative. The new programme A c c o r d i n g launched in 2011, ‘Mindspark’ to Percreates environments where in- man, idenovation can take place whilst as should also consciously and subcon- not be sciously learning. m a d e by one personnel then passed d o w n in a linear fashion. They should be made collaboratively within teams and these teams should not One musician that Perman contain just exmentions was instructed to play perts in the field, experimental music designed to there needs to relax people because some of be elements of within the best ideas come between naivety The use of neuroscience in order to improve the productivity of this department is an important part of the programme. During the meetings of this group there are a variety of activities that are not designed to be directly aimed at creating new ideas, but activating certain parts of the brain, including the use of outside speakers and entertainers.
Innovation at GAP
the team. He believes that it is important not to approach problems whilst concentrating on established facts and having an element of naivety in this helps eradicate this problem. In the same vein as this, he knows that cultural and societal changes are the great innovators. He mentions the old way of working before the 2008 recession, where people would invest in personal ideas, through investments in large but ultimately flawed companies. The cul-
tural changes that happened due to this meant that more socially shared companies like Air BnB came to fruition, an idea that had not been considered before but is now a well established and highly profitable. The passion for innovation at GAP through the leadership of Michael is a great example of how large companies can innovate from within. There has been a long held belief that true innovation within a company of this size is almost impossible given the complex-
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ities and the number of people who would need to be involved, but the approaches taken here show that it is not necessarily the case. It will always be easier to implement new ideas and new initiatives within a smaller company given the small number of stakeholders involved, but by making innovation accessible throughout the company and taking steps to improve those who have a passion for it means that the process becomes far more efficient.
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Do You Have The Spark? If you have a new idea that you want to tell the world, contact us to contribute an article or idea ghill@theiegroup.com