Breaking Through Organizational Impediments To Innovation - an HR Industry Case Study

It has taken a decade for social media to finally deliver on its promise of democratising the work place. We might not have the paperless office but we certainly have free social media that poses a huge problem for the revenue, profitability and very existence of service driven organizations. The problem now for services organizations is not when to change but what to and how. This means organizational innovation is no longer an imperative. It is a must do. Yet, organizations find it extremely difficult to implement innovation as it requires strategic, tactical and behavioural change and to align those elements can be an Herculean task. This difficulty was highlighted recently when I was invited to a meeting with the MD of one of Asia-Pacific’s leading HR services companies. The MD has responsibility across all divisions for revenue, is passionate about innovation and recognizes the HR market is changing rapidly

Click to read more ...

What makes a Mozart? Secrets of extraordinary performance - YouTube

Exploring A 6 Year Case Study Evolving into World's Best Innovation Practice Behaviors

I thought you might like to know about a highly successful webinar we ran recently “How A Mature International Financial Services Organization Succeeded in Turning Innovation Into A Core Value for Success". The webinar explored how against the most turbulent financial times of recent history, Allianz UK over 6 years built and implemented a powerful innovation ecology that now contributes directly and measurably to the organization’s growth and value. It is one of the best examples of innovation practice globally I have come across and have had the pleasure to write and speak about. Interestingly,

Click to read more ...

The Days of "Manager Knows Best" Are Ending - Harvard Business Review

To get a glimpse of what tomorrow's young global managers might be like as leaders, take a look at how today's young people think about communications. For one thing, they are devoted to connectivity. In a recent survey of more than 2,800 college students and young professionals in 14 countries, Cisco found that more than half said they could not live without the internet, and if forced to choose, two-thirds would opt to have an internet rather than a car. This intense desire to be connected leads to a demand for greater flexibility: Two out of five people said they'd accept a lower-paying job if the position offered greater flexibility on access to social media, the ability to work from where they chose, and choice on the mobile devices they could use on the job. Tomorrow's young managers will share these attitudes, and workplaces will inevitably become more flexible.

Click to read more ...

A Neat Networking Methodology for Employing The Right People - MIT Sloan Review

IDEO, the global design firm, is known for the innovation it brings to its clients, from nifty swivel classroom chairs made in collaboration with Steelcase to a revamped in-store environment for GE Money Bank’s outlets in Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic. But according to authors Margaret Schweer, Dimitris Assimakopoulos, Rob Cross and Robert J. Thomas, writing in “Building a Well-Networked Organization,” IDEO is equally adept at bringing innovation to its internal operations. The company has 550 employees at its locations in the U.S., London, Munich, Shanghai and Singapore. Specifically, IDEO excels at using talent networks and social networks to be smarter about internal staffing. The authors write that:

Click to read more ...