Design is starting to gain attention from corporations all over the world. The discipline itself is expanding beyond “form and look” to include processes and business strategy in general. Corporations are also using design as a tool to stimulate creativity and foster innovation on the market.
Category: Management
Strategy and Resource Allocation
A solid and well-crafted strategy is vital for the success of companies, specially if they are operating in emerging and high-tech sectors where innovation plays a central role. This point is clear and beyong discussion. What is not so clear, however, is what forces within a company are responsible for the formulation of that strategy.
Self-Management
In our modern economy many industries are facing a shortage in managerial talent. At the same there is a need to improve the responsiveness and the collaboration among employees and among different departments and business units.
Strategic Planning vs. Strategy Innovation
It is important to differentiate between strategic planning and strategy innovation. Most corporations indeed have defined processes only for carrying out the former, basically studying historical data and making extrapolations for the future.
First Mover Advantage Revisited
There is a lot of theoretical evidence supporting the model, but does this evidence emerge empirically as well? Not quite. Consider the markets for safety razors, disposable diapers, photographic film, laser printers, game consoles, VCRs, energy drinks, personal computers, internet browsers, operating systems, search engines, online bookstores, online auctions, VoIP services, and the list goes on.
Creating a Market for the Technology
The message is that managing new and innovative markets is distinctively different from managing existing ones. It will require different competencies, different strategies and, most importantly, a different managerial mindset.
The Enemy is the Mindset
The expression managerial mindset is often used in the business world to describe the set of assumptions and hidden norms that govern the behavior of managers. Bear in mind, however, that mindsets or paradigms have a much broader meaning. Every society, organization or geographic region carry its own set of assumptions and patterns; ruling how people communicate, interpret information, react to given situations, and so on.
The Electronic Cash Register Innovation
What do daycare teachers and managers have in common? Both should learn storytelling. Stories represent a powerful tool to illustrate ideas, convince people and generate commitment. Below you will find the story of the cash register machine and NCR, the undiscussed leader in the manufacturing of mechanical cash registers during the 1960s.
Change and Innovation
There is no novelty in the fact that carrying change, in whatever dimension, is a difficult task. Already in 1513 Niccolo Machiavelli affirmed that “there is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful on its success, then to be a leader in the introduction of changes”.
China and the Management Education
China has invested heavily over the past decades to improve its industrial capacity and competitiveness and to create internal Research & Development poles. Now the domestic companies, in order to become true global players, will need to mix all that investment with solid management techniques and business expertise.