Not Invented Here: Cross-Industry Innovation
By Ramon Vullings and Marc Heleven
Resistance to third-party solutions
‘Not invented here’ is the phenomenon of people blocking out ideas from outside.
But radical solutions are necessary
Organizations need more radical and game changing innovation to be able to meet the challenges they will be facing.
BMW’s iDrive system was inspired by the video game industry; Nike Shox was adapted from Formula 1 racing shock absorbers.
The route:
- Concept – ask why
- Combine – ask what If
- Create – ask how
The art of powerful questions
- They generate curiosity in the listener
- Are thought provoking
- Surface underlying assumptions
- Channel attention
- Focus inquiry
- Stimulate reflective conversation
- Generate energy
- Evoke more questions
Ask the right question
If I had an hour to solve a problem, and my life depended on it, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask.
Questioning is a strategic asset
In Germany, companies such as Daimler, Bayer, Siemens and SAP all have an entire department—a department of fundamental questions, and they see questioning as a strategic asset.
Tips for better questions
- Refuse to accept current reality
- Invite outsiders to ask questions about your work and industry
- Imagine the perfect situation
- Detect real customer insights by analyzing their actual behaviour
- Challenge everything
Learn from others
“No one lives long enough to learn everything by starting from scratch” – Brian Tracy
Spend time learning from other markets, other sectors. Apply the best ideas from one sector into another.
Connecting the dots
“We can only connect the dots that we collect” – Amanda Palmer
10 disappearing jobs that won’t exist in 10 years
- Retail cashier
- Telemarketer
- Freight storage provider
- Newspaper delivery boy
- Travel agent
- Postal worker
- Taxi dispatcher
- Typist
- Social media manager
- Meter reader
Which jobs will disappear in your industry?
“We are preparing students for the jobs that do not exist” – Sir Ken Robinson
Conflict drives innovation
War and human conflict have always been a source of misery, at the same time, one cannot deny that they have been incredible drivers of innovation.
Lessons from F1
A 5 second pit stop in Formula 1 racing has lessons for: machine maintenance in factories, rehearsal for Broadway shows and fast food drive throughs.
Look for business synonyms
Business synonyms is a great way of looking at other industries that treat the same word and experience differently. That’s a great place to start.
Synonyms for ‘customer’
Customer = Client = Student = Patient = Shopper = Buyer = Purchaser = End user = Patron = Prospect = Supplier = Pain in the *ss = King = Queen = Employee = Stakeholder
Synonyms for ‘service’
Service = Help = Support = Listening = Aid = Life-support = Account = Advantage = Applicability = Benefit = Business = Check = Courtesy = Dispensation = Duty = Employ = Employment
5 Business lessons from Lego
1. From the beginning Lego was designed to be modular
2. It is unafraid to experiment with emerging new technologies
3. It gives its designers cost parameters
4. It is not just for children
5. It combines different types of innovation.
On the art of copying
“Good artists copy, great artists steal” - Picasso
Try something new
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
“No candle maker has become a bulb manufacturer, no carriage maker has become a car manufacturer and the post office did not invent e-mail” – Prof. Marc Giget
Growing your business
- Simplify
- Cut the crap
- Virtual buying
- Try before you buy
- Freemium
- Aim high
Learning from uncommon businesses
What can we learn from strange, uncommon businesses or even illegal businesses?
- Really jump at opportunities
- Outsource to specialists
- Collborate across borders
A different angle
Try the following prefixes and see what happens to your innovation:
- Mixed
- Dual
- Hybrid
- Functional
- Smart
Break your thinking silos
Many industries stay within their thinking silos and within the boundaries of present day rules and regulations.
Not Invented Here: Cross-Industry Innovation
By: Ramon Vullings and Marc Heleven
