Innovation: The Who's Where's and How's

Many of you, I am sure, have travelled to Europe, rented cars and rejoiced in its glorious landscapes. Many, however, have not had the courage to rent a car and drive in crazy places like Italy. Many of you have shared these fears and I write these words in order to curtail those fears. It is my conviction that driving oneself is the most enthralling way to experience a country and those atypical cultural subtleties. I hope that the end result from reading this story is that the fear is minimized enough so people take the plunge.   It is just so much fun. Without the ability to be independent during our trip, we would have not had the chances to experience things the way we did. Like when we attended a weekend festival in one of Italy’s spectacular medieval towns. Hanging out with the locals and sipping the local beer and eating the local pizza was, for certain, a life experience we will cherish into our next lifetimes. Or when we drove to a secluded beach near...

From years of working with the internet and advising companies how to manage digital adaptation (noticed did not use the word transformation), one best practice that consistently works is the creation of a “digital swat team” designed and tasked with pursuing emerging digital trends, synthesizing their impacts on the business and recommending courses of action including new products and services. Now, before all my innovation colleagues jump on the “it does not work” bandwagon. They do, if designed, staffed and properly aligned with all stakeholders. Like everything else in life, if a process or product is not designed properly, it will suffer. (Just ask Boeing and the Super Max. Had they used design-thinking technics to consult with the pilots in a deeper basis, perhaps they would not be where they are.) It is the same with digital swat teams. As a service to the organization, it must be designed properly at the outset. These teams can themselves be disruptive...