I had an interesting discussion last week where a very capable manager was complaining about being stretched and not having sufficient time to capture the process. Critical information was trapped in the heads of key personnel and this made it difficult for new staff to get up to speed without impacting those experts. Also, many process and ownership related problems resurfaced on a regular basis because there was never time to capture the outcome of the previous debates. Focusing solely on business-as-usual [BAU] is a trap. Few companies want to simply maintain existing performance; most want to improve it in significant ways.
I attended the thought-provoking Warren Centre Vision30 lectures last week. We spent the whole day considering what the key drivers would be for innovation over the next 30 years. So, I thought I'd share some of the key themes with you:
- Experiences trump products - a memorable event is a combination of goods and a service
- Personalisation - information and services tailored to individual needs
- Timeframes matter - faster cycles times - getting it out there, getting feedback and adapting
- Food scarcity - population growth fueling innovation in global food supply-chains
- Team Australia - we are well placed to to excel in the 21st century