Buzzword of the decade

Innovation, one of the most used buzzwords over the past 10 years is quickly becoming a word used by everyone to describe things that are new and supposedly groundbreaking. However I think that our expectations have outgrown the meaning of this word in the past decade. The definition of Innovation is the introduction of new ideas, methods or things. The problem with this word is that we are so used to big leap innovations that we don't care too much for smaller leaps of innovation any longer.

The best example to use is the newly announced Apple IPad. "A larger IPhone" was the verdict from many critics as they concluded that Apple had failed to live up to the high expectations associated with Steve Jobs famous keynote. I don't think the IPad will be a flop but I don't think it will be a game changer like the IPod or the IPhone. The announcement of the IPad clearly demonstrates what we have come to expect from organisations and technology in general. We are no longer satisfied with small leaps, improvements and upgrades. We want big groundbreaking innovations that truly change the way we live and enjoy our lives.

Over the past 100 years we have seen the introduction of cars, TV's, Mobile Phones, computers and the Internet. These inventions have truly changed the way we human beings live our lives. Most of these innovations came along, ripped up the status quo and created a new way of doing something. Small leap innovations are simply less exiting, but are they less effective in moving us forward? The trend on the Internet seems to be similar at the moment as we impatiently wait for the next Google or Facebook.

But what if the upcoming decade or two don't bring any big leap innovations, but instead smaller and more linear innovations? Does it actually make any difference?

Microsoft believes in the Millennials

Recently a Microsoft evangelist covered a story on his blog regarding millennials, which he took influence from a podcast we recorded for The Envisioners (www.theenvisioners.com).

Great exposure, and it goes to show that even the big transnational organisations are taking notice of what is a very pertinent subject to the times!

Check out James Senior's blog here!

Change

Over the past 12 months myself and Jonathan Peach have done so many presentations to different people that I struggle to remember them all. As people this is what we do, we do things and then forget about them. Very rarely do we get the chance to reflect upon what actually happens. Blogging is good for this purpose, because you can go back and read about what you had forgotten. When we present our research around the Workforce Evolution we tell people that things are changing and that it would be wise for them to understand that change so they can prepare for it. The change we talk about is a difficult one. The workforce is already evolving, but it might take more than a decade to see the full effects, and as anyone can imagine it is difficult to tell people to change today in order to prepare for ten years ahead. Although, I would argue that if you cannot respond to the way your workforce will change then you will probably not be in business in ten years time anyway.

I think many business leaders find what we say interesting, but they do as we all do, they forget. Buzz words like strategy, innovation and future are widely used by business leaders, but do they act upon it? Some people argue that short term thinking brought us the recession; business leaders talked the “long term language” then but clearly did not walk the talk.

Over the past couple of months I’ve met with many decision makers and its incredibly tough for them to make strategic decisions as the whole economy seems to be in survival mode. If your ideas do not show quick ROI or saves money then it’s not interesting. To me it seems we have gone from one extreme to another. Looking to the past to determine the future can sometimes work really well and when it comes to recession behaviour this is definitely true. Companies like Proctor & Gamble, Walt Disney, Microsoft and Google were all recession era start ups. Also, let’s not forget that transformational innovations such as the PC and the IPod were invented during tough economic times.

These companies believed in innovation and the long term but still managed to survive tough times. Maybe focusing all efforts on driving down costs will work for some, but the real winners will be those who can do what’s right now and act upon what they predict will happen in the future. Too often innovation is associated with technology and inventions, but it’s much more than that. Innovation is “a new way of doing something”, so how about behavioural innovation? Businesses will have to change their culture and behaviour to suit the most diverse workforce ever witnessed, and the way in which they respond will have a massive impact on their future success.