the european business review 2016-01-02

The Appearance of

INNOVATION

TheEuropeanBusinessReviewJanuary - February 2016

europeanbusinessreview.com

How to Get What You Want in Negotiations

Design, When Everybody Designs

Collaborative Innovation Driver of Growth

Soothe your Senses: Value Creation in Luxury Tourism

empowering communication globally

Page 18

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016

The EuropeanBusiness Reviewempowering communication globally

empowering communication globally

MarketingSoothe Your Senses: A Multisensory Approach to

Customer Experience Management and

Value Creation in Luxury Tourism

Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, Franziska Labenz,

Janina Haase and Nadine Hennigs

LeadershipAn Investor's Least Favourite Statement

Oops, Wrong CEO

Leslie Pratch

Female LeadersDevelop a Robust Female Leadership Pipeline

Alexia Vernon

ManagementRemote Teams: Managing Attitudes, Not Activity

Drew Gurley

TechnologyThe Fairness Challenge of the Internet of Things

Bang Ngyuen and David De Cremer

Creeping Towards Creepy: Companies Must Learn

Constraint with Big Data, Before its Too Late

Robert Owen and Christopher Surdak

InnovationCollaborative Innovation as Ultimate

Driver of Growth

Mark Esposito and Terence Tse

The Appearance of Innovation

Alessandro Di Fiore, Elisa Farri

and Andrea Segnalini

Design, When Everybody Designs

Social innovation and design for a new economy

Ezio Manzini

StrategyStructure Follows Strategy But May

not Look Like You Imagined

John Sutherland

Change as Strategy

Walter McFarland

What We (Think We) Know May

Not Be So: How to Get (More of)

What You Want in Negotiations

Margaret A. Neale and Thomas Z. Lys

RiskThe Rationality of Risk, Part 3: Rollercoasters,

Burning Ships and the Heros Journey

Christopher Surdak

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Change as Strategy, p34

Production & Design: Angela Lamcaster, Toni Rose Print Strategy: Stefan Newhart Production Accounts: Lynn Moses Editors: Elenora Elroy, David Lean Commissioining Editors: Ansherina Dela Cruz, Ed Margareth People Operations: Lynn Moses Managing Editor Europe & Americas: Yetunde Olupitan Group Managing Editor: Jane Liu Editor in Chief: The European Business Review Publishing Oscar Daniel READERS PLEASE NOTE: The views expressed in articles are the authors' and not necessarily those of The European Business Review. Authors may have consulting or other business relationships with the companies they discuss. The European Business Review: 3 - 7 Sunnyhill Road, London SW16 2UG, Tel +44 (0)20 3598 5088, Fax +44 (0)20 7000 1252, [email protected], www.europeanbusinessreview.com No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission. Copyright 2016 EBR Media Ltd. All rights reserved. ISSN 1754-5501

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www.europeanbusinessreview.com 7

Free speech: If free speech is free to

consume, free to seek, free to impart

and disseminate and free to gather,

then who is paying, because there is, as yet,

nothing free in this world. To borrow from

the ubiquitous world of the Internet, If you

are not paying for it, you are the product

being bought and sold over and over again.

In the matter of free speech, who gains, who

loses, who pays?

We start the year with that most sacred of

all concepts the freedom of speech and ex-

pression. The tragic incident in January last

year, brought Charlie Hebdo new exposure,

recognition, an army of supporters and mil-

lions of subscribers which catapulted it to

the role of leader of free speech of the free

world encompassing Western Europe and

North America.

It is not surprising that 2015 saw an

American presidential candidate exercise his

freedom of speech to the fullest possible

extent. In June last year he started his cam-

paign against Mexican immigrants, labelling

Mexican illegal immigrants as rapists, drug

runners, carriers of infectious diseases. This

cost him, it cost Trump a substantial amount

of business such as the Macy and Univision

deals, the cancellation of the Professional

Golfers Association of Americas Grand

Slam tournament at the Trump National Golf

Club in Los Angeles. But he is unbowed,

he is happy to pay to play! And December

last year saw Trump calling for all Muslims

From the Editors

to be banned from the US. Trump is unre-

pentant, despite the UK, Irish and Scottish

Parliaments entertaining motions to ban

him from their shores. But what about the

Mexicans, the Muslims who have been ma-

ligned by the free speech of the potential

leader of the free world?

And not to be left out, Charlie Hebdo, in

its inimitable style, and as the grand patron of

that sacred order, trots out its latest expres-

sion in the first week of the New Year with

a cartoon depicting the body of the drowned

Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, lying face down in

a puddle of water, accompanied by: "What

would have become of the young Aylan if

he had grown up? A groper in Germany." It

seems that in its zeal, to spread its message,

(whatever the message, because it seems it is

now lost on its many admirers who donned

I am Charlie Hebdo t-shirts following the

January 2015 attack), Charlie Hebdo dis-

counted the pain of the father and the family

of Aylan Kurdi who are still alive and still

mourning the loss of Aylan and many other

members of their family. Is the family to pay

for the sins of others?

Charlie Hebdos freedom to use the image

of a drowned child to drive home its message,

whatever that may be, is paid for, by thousands

of innocent young lives who by virtue of its

brush are robbed of their right to dignity, as-

pirations and security. Charlie Hebdos latest

offering serves to promote fear and loathing.

The satire is long gone!

Free Speech, free for whom?

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10 The European Business Review January - Febuary 2016

BY MARK ESPOSITO AND TERENCE TSE

Innovation

COLLABORATIVE INNOVATIONAS ULTIMATE DRIVER OF GROWTH

Entrepreneurship is the key to economic

growth, and right now, Europes economy

GLIFXOWLHV QHHG VROXWLRQV7KLV DUWLFOH GLV-cusses the challenges that businesses, par-

ticularly those in the Eurozone, face in a col-

laborative innovation partnership, and how

to overcome these challenges in order to

IRUPWKHPRVWEHQHFLDOSDUWQHUVKLS

The idea of collaborative innovation inEurope takes its cue from the WorldEconomic Forums long-term studies on

entrepreneurship and drivers of entrepreneur-ship. Europe in particular has been a regionof interest for increasing entrepreneurship-based activities because the continent has ex-SHULHQFHG VLJQLFDQW GLIFXOW\ LQ JHWWLQJ RXWRI WKHQDQFLDOGRZQWXUQWKDWEHJDQLQWhereas the US has slowly but surely been im-proving its unemployment rate and productiv-ity, countries in the Eurozone have struggled, especially countries such as Italy and Greece,

As entrepreneurship

has long been

regarded as a path

for economic growth,

entrepreneurship has

been proposed as a

specific course of action

to address Europes

economic woes.

where the threat of slipping back into reces-sion looms continually.

As entrepreneurship has long been regard-ed as a path for economic growth, entrepre-QHXUVKLSKDVEHHQSURSRVHGDVDVSHFLFFRXUVHof action to address Europes economic woes. Fostering entrepreneurship in Europe for the most part is particularly ideal as the continent has the elements necessary policy-wise and re-source-wise for creating innovative new busi-nesses that can offer the potential for new markets and new products and services. At WKHVDPHWLPHKRZHYHU LVVXHVVSHFLFWREurope such as restrictive regulato-ry frameworks and lack of access WRFDSLWDOKDYHDOVRVWLHGHQWUHSUH-neurial activity. Entrepreneurship as


a concept cannot thrive on its own; it is similar to a plant seed that must have the right factors in order to bloom.

In order to understand the factors needed to support entrepreneurship, researchers at the World Economic Forum and knowledge partner A.T. Kearney embarked on identifying the mechanisms of entrepreneurship. Through their work, they pinpointed three phases in the OLIHF\FOHRI HQWUHSUHQHXUVKLSWKHUVWSKDVHLVto promote entrepreneurship to attract indi-viduals who may not have otherwise consid-ered becoming entrepreneurs or joining en-trepreneurial enterprises. The second phase is capitalisation, or to ensure that access to capital is available to entrepreneurs to get their busi-nesses off the ground. The last phase is to scale these businesses and the ideas that come with them to be able to manage high growth and increase output quickly in order for new businesses to succeed.1

The objective of this article is to address WKH QDO RI WKHVH WKUHH SKDVHV RI HQWUHSUH-neurship: scaling up. The ideas gathered in a recent World Economic Forum summit of re-searchers, business leaders, and academics led to one main overarching idea: collaborative in-novation. In Europe, collaborative innovation has the potential to change the status quo as it offers an alternative to future and present en-trepreneurs who may have become frustrated or have had their momentum stopped by the slowing constraints of regulatory policies and government oversight.

WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION?Collaborative innovation is the partnership EHWZHHQ D \RXQJ HQWUHSUHQHXULDO UP RQ WKHmove and an established, large corporation. The goal of these partnerships is to commer-cialise new ideas and technology, with the intent of promoting economic growth and improv-ing regional competitiveness. The idea behind collaborative innovation is that the partner-VKLSV DUH PXWXDOO\ EHQHFLDO HQWUHSUHQHXULDOUPV JDLQ DVVLVWDQFH LQ VFDOLQJ XS DFFHVV WRPDUNHWV DQG FDSLWDO ZKLOH HVWDEOLVKHG UPVenhance their competitiveness by adding or ex-panding their businesses through technology

and market innovations gained from collabora-tive innovation. However, collaborative innova-tion comes with its own set of challenges, which the researchers at the World Economic Forum DQG$7.HDUQH\KDYHGLYLGHGLQWRYHFDWHJR-ries. We will describe each of these challenges in turn, along with ways to overcome them, fol-lowed by ideas on the role that policymakers can play to help facilitate collaborative innovation.

FIVE CHALLENGES TO COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION7KH YH FKDOOHQJHV WR FROODERUDWLYH LQQRYDWLRQare: 1. understanding the business case for col-laborative partnerships; 2. utilising the full po-WHQWLDORI QHWZRUNVFRQVWUXFWLQJH[LEOHSDUW-QHUVKLSVWUXFWXUHVGHQLQJPXWXDOO\EHQHFLDOintellectual property (IP) agreements; and 5. pre-paring management and employees for shifts in company culture in a collaborative environment.

1. The Business Case for Collaborative InnovationWith rapid improvements in technology and EXVLQHVV HIFLHQFLHV PDUNHWV DUH PXFK PRUHlikely to evolve more quickly than ever before. Within this macro-environment, business-es both large and small face a continual uphill climb to stay competitive and relevant. For this reason, constant innovation be they product or process innovations or incremen-tal or revolutionary innovations is necessary. Collaborative innovation offers an opportuni-W\IRUERWK\RXQJUPVDQGHVWDEOLVKHGFRPSD-QLHVWROOWKHJDSVLQHLWKHUKRZWKHLUEXVLQHVV-es are run or how they meet the needs of their FXVWRPHUV)RU\RXQJUPV ODFNRI FDSLWDORUaccess to markets in a very sensitive, early stage of existence can severely inhibit the chances for long-term survival. Meanwhile, many estab-OLVKHGUPVKDYHSUREOHPVZLWKWRRPXFKUHGtape that prevent them from having the type of agility that small startups have to produce

Collaborative innovation offers an opportunity for both young firms and established companies to fill the gaps in either how their businesses are run or how they meet the needs of their customers.


and test novel ideas and approaches. They are obliged to many layers of management that FDXVHV ODUJH UPV WR GLVWULEXWH UHVRXUFHV LQ Dway that rarely prioritises or rewards the risk that comes with R&D spending.

With collaborative ventures between young DQGHVWDEOLVKHGUPVWRJHQHUDWHDQGFRPPHU-cialise innovation, however, both of these busi-ness predicaments may be addressed. Put dif-ferently, the economic incentives are unique for HDFK W\SHRI UP IRU WKH\RXQJUPVKDULQJand co-creating business innovations with an es-WDEOLVKHG UP FDQ JDLQ WKHP DFFHVV WR FDSLWDOand to markets, credibility through brand recog-nition, and management expertise in scaling and distribution. For the established company, part-QHULQJZLWKD\RXQJUPDOORZVWKHEXVLQHVVWRlet its partner take the risk of doing discovery and R&D and also because they can accom-plish these goals more quickly. In addition, the HVWDEOLVKHGUPJDLQVNQRZOHGJHLQQHZDUHDV

In the beginning, the value and business case of collaborative innovation for small, young UPVZLOOEHPRUHHYLGHQWWKH\DUHLQDSRVL-WLRQWREHQHWLPPHGLDWHO\IURPPDUNHWLQJDQGoperational and scaling know-how. For estab-OLVKHGFRPSDQLHV WKHEHQHWVDUH OHVVREYLRXVin the short-term, but the most successful busi-nesses understand that blockbuster products and services dont appear overnight, and require an investment of time and effort. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company developed the program Coca-Cola Founders to pursue innovation by means of partnering with an experienced en-trepreneur from any country. The entrepreneur

is given funding and an advisor/mentor and access to Coca-Colas core business units such as marketing or distribution.2 In this collabora-WLRQVHWWLQJSUREOHPVDUHMRLQWO\LGHQWLHGDQGsolutions attempted by the entrepreneur. When the startup is ready to start, Coca-Cola provides additional funding to nurture the new business. Although Coca-Cola invests funds and resourc-es while not receiving any ownership stake or rights to the IP in return, they perceive these SDUWQHUVKLSVDVDQRSSRUWXQLW\ WRQGZD\V WRexpand the brand creatively for the longer term.3

2. Utilising the Full Potential of NetworksIn Europe, networks are fundamental for entre-preneurial businesses seeking to scale up their ideas and innovations. With twenty-eight coun-tries each functioning as a different market com-plete with its own distinct legal and regulatory obstacles, collaboration with local, established UPVRIIHUVDZD\WRHQWHUQHZPDUNHWVZLWKRXWhaving to start from square one. For the young UPWKHULJKWW\SHRI SDUWQHUZLOOEHDUHSXWDEOHbusiness that has a long-term view of operating the company, and therefore more likely to think strategically about their partnerships. Moreover, businesses which understand that market condi-WLRQVDQGSUHIHUHQFHVDUHFRQVWDQWO\LQX[DUHmuch more likely to be open to collaboration because they can see the value that startups offer experimentation, pilot programs, risk-taking, and agility. In other words, established business-es that understand the business case for collab-orative innovation are ideal for partners because they understand the value and are much more likely to be helpful in providing the necessary re-VRXUFHVUHTXLUHGIRUD\RXQJUPVFDOHXS2Qthe other end, location and proximity to young UPVLVPRUHLPSRUWDQWIRUHVWDEOLVKHGUPVIRUDFROODERUDWLYHSDUWQHUVKLSZKLOH\RXQJUPVhave yet to discover core competencies or their markets, established companies have existing markets and customers to serve that may have an impact on the type of strategic partnerships related to collaborative innovation to form.7KHLGHDOQHWZRUNIRUQGLQJVWUDWHJLFSDUW-

ners and promoting collaborative innovation HIIRUWV LQFOXGHV UPV DGYLVRUV LQWHUPHGLDU-ies, capital providers and service providers who

THE IDEAL NETWORK FOR FINDING STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PROMOTING COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION EFFORTS INCLUDES FIRMS, ADVISORS, INTERMEDIARIES, CAPITAL PROVIDERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WHO UNDERSTAND THE GOALS OF COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION AND HAVE THEMSELVES THE CAPACITY AND NETWORKS TO MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS AND PLAY THE ROLE OF MEDIATOR.

Innovation


understand the goals of collaborative innova-tion and have themselves the capacity and net-works to make the right connections and play the role of mediator. Partnerships within such a network also foster a commitment and re-sponsibility to achieve goals so as to protect those relationships. Ultimately, the networks should form an ecosystem within which each actor is part of an interconnected value web.

Additionally, joining and reinforcing the capacity and effectiveness of already exist-ing innovation-centric networks and ecosys-WHPVZLOODLGVRPHUPVLQGHYHORSLQJDQGLP-proving partnerships. EIPs, or EuropeanInnovation Partnerships, a European Commission initiative, are one place ZKHUHVPDOODQGHVWDEOLVKHGUPVFDQDGGto the diversity of actors seeking mentor-ship, partnership, and better coordination of resources and participants.4 &RQYHUVHO\ D UPmay elect to create their own formal ecosystem. One example is Lufthansa. With their headquar-ters based in Cologne, Germany, the company decided to start a unit called the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in Berlin, where there is a bigger startup scene. Using the power of their own reputation as a technology giant to attract entrepreneurs and startups, the Lufthansa ,QQRYDWLRQ +XE VFRXWV VSHFLFDOO\ IRU WUDY-el-oriented tech startups with the intention to co-create new products and services, and also to gain knowledge on startup tech technology trends for the main corporation.5 Networks, for ERWK\RXQJDQGHVWDEOLVKHGUPVDUHDQLPSRU-tant factor for collaborative innovation, whether it is drawing upon the aid of colleagues, creating an innovation ecosystem, or adding value to an existing network or ecosystem.

3. Creating Flexible Partnership Structures2SWLPDO SDUWQHUVKLSV UHTXLUH D H[LEOH VWUXF-ture in order to strike a balance between two ob-jectives of collaborative innovation: to quickly capture moving market opportunities while also carrying out due diligence and negotiations in RUGHU WR IXOOO WKH QHHGV DQG SURWHFW WKH LQ-terests of both partners. As one partner will EHD \RXQJHQWUHSUHQHXULDOUPDQG WKHRWKHUSDUWQHU ZLOO EH DQ HVWDEOLVKHG UP HDFK ZLOO

have different interests. As a result, to reconcile those differences, having clear sight of a vision and understanding the objectives and business FDVHIRUFROODERUDWLYHLQQRYDWLRQLVWKHUVWVWHStowards having an effective partnership. With WKDWLQPLQGDSDUWQHUVKLSVWUXFWXUHWKDWLVH[-ible to be able to react to various scenarios will EHWKHPRVWIUXLWIXOVHWXSIRUERWKUPV

It should be noted that partnership structures are different from corporate legal structures. Partnership structure refers to the conditions and boundaries within which the two companies work together. They can be formal or informal, and range from knowledge-sharing to acquisition. Technology innovation ecosystems have become a popular structure for corporations to collabo-rate with technology startups. For instance, in the technology sector, Microsoft works with start-ups through Microsoft Ventures, a three-pronged program that includes providing standard accel-HUDWRUVHUYLFHVVXFKDVRIFHVSDFHDQGPHQWRUVas well as free use of Microsoft products, access to Microsofts network and corporate part-ners, and seed funding for those startups ready to scale.6 GE Healthcare has a similar structure with Healthymagination, a strategic fund dedicat-ed to funding startups. GE has the opportunity to become a more involved partner once a startup is ready for commercialisation. For instance, one RI WKHLU UVW VWDUWXSV &KHFN&DS HYHQWXDOO\


established a formal relationship with

GE when they needed a partner to manufacture their product.7 In

summary, partnership structures should be able to minimise risk while taking advan-

WDJHRI HHWLQJPDUNHWRSSRUWXQLWLHVMoreover, the level and type of collabora-

tion will also depend on the industry and the demands of technology development. For in-stance, capital-intensive industries may choose to focus on early-stage collaboration so that they may test and assess technologies on their internal platforms before moving on to invest more on a potential innovative technology. A consortium approach as opposed to a collab-oration between just two companies, a young UP DQG DQ HVWDEOLVKHG UP LV OHVV QLPEOHand thus makes more sense only in particular in-dustries where the level of complexity requires more than two companies to innovate.

Finally, time should also be a factor in the structure. Innovation takes time to make an impact, and established companies should con-centrate their capabilities and resources on how to scale up impactful innovations.

4. Defining Mutually Beneficial Intellectual Property Agreements2QFHD\RXQJUPKDVGHYHORSHGLWV LQWHOOHFWX-al property to a point where it has value, how to share its value becomes an issue in a collab-orative innovation partnership. Entrepreneurs LQ \RXQJ UPV VHH ,3 DV WKHLUPRVW LPSRUWDQWDVVHWZKLOHHVWDEOLVKHGUPVYLHZHYHU\WKLQJDVfor sale. Interviews conducted during the World

Economic Forums research indicate that corpo-rate attitudes toward IP negotiations were per-FHLYHGE\KHDGVDW WKHQHZUPVWREH XQIDLUleading to a breakdown in goodwill and unwill-ingness to continue open collaboration in the ORQJHUWHUP(VWDEOLVKHGUPVVKRXOGDWWHPSWWRXQGHUVWDQGWKH\RXQJUPVSRLQWRI YLHZwhen negotiating IP agreements or even share their own technology. In the case of pharmaceutical industries, companies like

Eli Lilly & Co. licenses drugs to startups with an option to buy back the drug if they success-

fully pass some clinical trials.2WKHUZD\VWKH\RXQJUPFDQIHHOLQFRQWURO

of their IP is to document interaction. Informal, oral conversations should be summarised in writing after discussion to provide clarity on the information shared and evidence in the case of DQ ,3 GLVSXWH (QWUHSUHQHXULDO UPV FDQ DOVRprotect themselves by having experienced and sophisticated investors and members on their board of directors. Governance controls, ma-terial transfer agreements and restrictive cove-nants should all be reviewed and approved by WKHERDUG,3DQGVSHFLFDOO\,3SURWHFWLRQ LVSURJUHVVLYHO\EHFRPLQJDSOD\LQJHOGIRUFRP-petitors. While successful IP litigation can gen-erate licensing revenue for companies and en-feeble competitors, such as in the case of Apple versus Samsung, using IP protection as compet-itive and comparative advantage runs counter to advancing innovation and cooperation.,Q (XURSH WKHUH LV DQRWKHU VSHFLF VHW RI

challenges in IP protection. With the excep-tion of startups in the UK, web startups cannot patent text and datamining (TDM) inventions under European national copyright legislation. This means that startups are limited to treating their software and algorithms as trade secrets, which have virtually no legal protection. With the increase of human capital movement across borders and higher risk of compromised IT systems, safeguarding trade secrets is an unreli-able way of protecting intellectual property.

5. Preparing Employees for Shifts in Organisational CultureCulture is an important component in collab-orative innovation. Attempting to merge two

Innovation


separate identities into a single identity is neither the goal QRUDQHFHVVLW\,QVWHDGQGLQJZD\VWRUHODWHWRHDFKRWKHUcreates an environment for working together as partners, and not as one symbiotic creature. Now that industries and GLVFLSOLQHV DUHQR ORQJHU DV VROLG DV WKH\RQFHZHUHUPVare aware that they need partners in order to stay innova-tive and competitive. For collaborative innovation, more than likely the two partners will have different styles of op-HUDWLQJHVSHFLDOO\VLQFHRQHSDUWQHULVD\RXQJUPDQGRQHSDUWQHULVDQHVWDEOLVKHGUP(QWUHSUHQHXULDOUPVWHQGWRfocus on completing things quickly, as popularised by the OHDQVWDUWXSPHWKRG7KLVFRXOGEHDJRRGLQXHQFHIRUHQ-WUHQFKHGUPVZKRKDYHPRUH OD\HUVRI PDQDJHPHQWDQGare used to requiring more time to implement a project, but LQPRVWFDVHVZKDWWKHHVWDEOLVKHGUPFDQGRWRDVVLVWLQsuccessful collaboration is to be open about what they seek from collaboration. ,QRUGHUWRDFKLHYHWKHLUJRDOVDQHVWDEOLVKHGUPQHHGV

to be comfortable about being more open about sharing competitive insights and information. Building trust goes a long way toward developing the potential of the partner-VKLS7KHUVWVWHSWRZDUGVGRLQJVRLVWRZRUNWRJHWKHUWRQGFRPPRQJURXQGRQWKHYLVLRQDQGVWUDWHJLFJRDOVLQWKHQH[WWKUHHWRYH\HDUVWKDWUVWPDGHWKHFDVHIRUSDUWQHU-ing together. This essential step goes a long way toward elim-inating apprehension or hostility about collaborating togeth-HU,GHDOO\HDFKUPZRXOGORRNIRUZD\VWKH\FDQKHOSWKHRWKHUUPUHDFKWKHLUJRDOVDVZHOO7KHVHVHVVLRQVZLOOXOWL-mately help build internal support for collaboration. Another idea includes employee exchanges, where employees from the startup and employees from the corporation switch positions WRLQFUHDVHXQGHUVWDQGLQJRI WKHRWKHUUPVFXOWXUHDQGZD\of working, as well as to gain business knowledge. Being ready to allow mistakes to happen and accept failures along with small wins will also keep a collaborative culture intact.

PUBLIC POLICY CAN AID COLLABORATIVE INNOVATIONPublic policy can help spur collaborative innovation by pro-YLGLQJH[LELOLW\WRPDUNHWV)RUEXVLQHVVHVWRWKULYHSXEOLFpolicy should provide a framework that facilitates busi-nesses ability to run smoothly. In order to create the right framework, creating a conversation with multiple stakehold-ers will provide the necessary perspective on what business-HVQHHG VXFKDVVFDO DQG OHJDO VWUXFWXUHV WKDWHQFRXUDJH

rather than discourage collaborative innovation. For in-stance, patent registration is one area where policymakers can have a substantial effect for innovation. Patent costs are too high; patent attorneys and translation make up 94-99% of the cost; one way policy can lower costs is through sim-plifying the system and harmonisation. To create a multi-generational entrepreneurial outlook, policymakers can also use the classroom setting to create future entrepreneurs by teaching them the fundamentals of starting a business as well as how to become comfortable with risk-taking and with the possibility of failure.

CONCLUSION7KHJUHDWHVWFKDOOHQJHIRU\RXQJUPVDQGFROODERUDWLYHLQ-novation is in choosing the right partners. This may mean SDUWQHULQJZLWKVHYHUDOUPVDVORQJDVWKH\RXQJUPGRHVnot stretch itself so much that it has trouble managing either LWVSDUWQHUVKLSVRUUHVRXUFHV4XHVWLRQVD\RXQJUPPD\DVNto help them select partners include how a potential partner FDQ DLG WKH UP LQ UHDFKLQJ LWV JRDOV DQGZKHWKHU RU QRWthere are many barriers to getting started. Additionally, young UPV PXVW QRW XQGHUHVWLPDWH WKH VNLOO DQG LQYHVWPHQW RI time it takes to build and access networks. Although larger corporations may have more leeway in choosing partners ini-WLDOO\D\RXQJUPZLOOKDYHPRUHOHYHUDJHRQFHLWGHYHORSVits own value proposition. )RUFROODERUDWLYH LQQRYDWLRQWRKHOSWKHHVWDEOLVKHGUP

meet its business goals, commitment from top management LV LPSHUDWLYH$GGLWLRQDOO\ WKH HVWDEOLVKHGUP VKRXOG VWD\aware of any tendency to slip into attempts to assimilate the VPDOOHUUPLQWRWKHODUJHUUPDVLWZLOOJRDORQJZD\IRUthe partnership the startup needs to maintain creative men-tality and entrepreneurial drive that is necessary for innova-WLRQEXWHDVLO\GLOXWHGLQD ODUJHUUP7UXVWVWUXFWXUHDQGcomprehension of the strategic goals that each partner strives to gain from collaborative innovation is key to working to-gether and creating value.

Collaborative partnerships are meant to be mutually EHQHFLDO\RXQJUPVJDLQDFFHVVWRJOREDOQHWZRUNVDQGresources while large companies gain new knowledge and potential new markets to drive their own renewal process. *LYHQWKHLQQLWHVFHQDULRVDQGQHHGVWKHLGHDRI FROODE-RUDWLYH LQQRYDWLRQ LV DERYH DOO WR EH H[LEOH DQG RSHQabout possibilities.

Building trust goes a long way toward developing the potential of the partnership. The first step

towards doing so is to work together to find common ground on the vision and strategic goals in

the next three to five years that first made the case for partnering together.


About the AuthorsDr. Mark Esposito is a Professor ofBusiness and Economics, teaching atGrenoble Ecole de Management,Harvard University Extension and IEBusiness School. He serves as

InstitutesCouncilCo-Leader,attheMicroeconomicsof Competitiveness program (MOC) at the Instituteof Strategy and Competitiveness, at HarvardBusiness School. Mark consults in the area of cor-porate sustainability, complexity and competitive-ness worldwide, including advising to the UnitedNations Global Compact, national banks andNATO through various Executive DevelopmentPrograms. From 2013-14, Mark advised thePresident of the European Parliament, MartinSchulz, in the analysis of the EU systemic crisis andworked as cross theme contributors for the WorldEconomic Forum reports on Innovation DrivenEntrepreneurship. He tweets as @Exp_Mark

Dr. Terence Tse is an Associate Professor of Finance, ESCP Europe Business School & Head of Competitiveness Studies at i7 Institute for Innovation and

Competitiveness. In addition to working in gov-ernmental advisory capacity, Terence writes ex-tensively and appears on television programmes in China, France, Greece and Japan, discussing the subjects of competitiveness and economic affairs. Before joining academia, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Schroders, Citibank and Lazard Brothers in Montral and New York. Terence also worked as a business consultant both independently and at Ernst & Young. He tweets as @Terencecmtse

Endnotes1. World Economic Forum. Collaborative Innovation: Transforming Business, Driving Growth. World Economic Forum, 2014.2. Ron Miller. Coca-Cola Hopes Its Startup Incubator Is The Real Thing. November 10, 2014. http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/coca-cola-hopes-its-startup-incubator-is-the-real-thing/.3. Ibid.4. European Commission. European Innovation Partnerships. http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en. cfm?pg=eip.5. Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa Group unveils raft of quality and innovation actions. July 9, 2014. http://www.lufthansa-group.com/en/press/news-releases/singleview/archive/2014/july/09/article/3077.html.6. Wilhelm, Alex. Microsoft brings BizSpark, Bing Fund, and its accelerators under one roof. The Next Web. June 25, 2013.

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/06/25/harmonized-under-the-name-microsoft-ventures-microsofts-startup-activ-ity-set-to-rise-with-increased-investment-3-new-accelerators/.7. Parmar, Arundhati. GE Healthymagination Fund looking for startups to invest in. http://webcache.googleusercontent.FRPVHDUFK"T FDFKH,38+U-F-KWWSVZZZNDXIIPDQorg/resource-center/ge-healthymagination-fund-looking-for-

startups-to-invest-in.aspx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.

References1. Butler, David. From Startup to Scaleup: the Next Wave of Innovation. August 6, 2013. http://www.coca-colacompany.com/innovation/from-startup-to-scaleup-the-next-wave-of-innovation.2. Butler, David. Startup Refreshed: Why Coke is Joining the Entrepreneurial Revolution. May 30, 2013. http://www.coca-co-lacompany.com/innovation/startup-refreshed-why-coke-is-join-ing-the-entrepreneurial-revolution.3. The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola Founders. http://co-ca-colafounders.com/.4. The Economist. Apple versus Samsung: Copy That. August 25, KWWSZZZHFRQRPLVWFRPEORJVVFKXPSHWHUapple-versus-samsung.5. European Commission. European Innovation Partnerships. http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en. cfm?pg=eip.6. GE Healthcare. About healthymagination. http://healthymagination.gehealthcare.com/en/about.7. General Electric. Healthymagination | GE.com. http://www.ge.com/about-us/healthymagination. +XJKHV -RQDWKDQ DQG:HLVV -HII 6LPSOH 5XOHV IRU0DNLQJAlliances Work. Harvard Business Review, November 2007. https://hbr.org/2007/11/simple-rules-for-making-alliances-work.9. Jarvis, Lisa M. Licensing Out. Chemical and Engineering News vol. 92:12, March 24, 2014.10. Krasny, Jill. 6 Companies That Want to Invest in Your Startup. Inc.com. February 14, 2014. http://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/six-companies-that-want-to-invest-in-your-startup.html.10. Kurtz, Nathan. Microsoft Ventures: The Original Startup Goes Back to Its Roots. Entrepreneurship. http://www.entre-preneurship.org/resource-center/microsoft-ventures-the-origi-nal-startup-goes-back-to-its-roots.aspx.11. Lufthansa Group. Co-creation hub. http://hub.lh.com/.12. Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa Group unveils raft of quality and innovation actions. July 9, 2014. http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/press/news-releases/singleview/archive/2014/july/09/article/3077.html.13. Meisner, Jeffrey. Announcing Microsoft Ventures for start-ups to build, innovate and grow. Microsoft. June 25, 2013. http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2013/06/25/announcing-microsoft-ventures-for-startups-to-build-innovate-and-grow/.14. Miller, Ron. Coca-Cola Hopes Its Startup Incubator Is The Real Thing. TechCrunch. November 10, 2014. http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/coca-cola-hopes-its- startup-incubator-is-the-real-thing/.15. Parmar, Arundhati. GE Healthymagination Fund looking for startups to invest in. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/VHDUFK"T FDFKH,38+U-F-KWWSVZZZNDXIIPDQRUJUH-source-center/ge-healthymagination-fund-looking-for-startups-to-invest-in.aspx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.16. Van Gool, Lorenzo. Google-backed Factory Hub and Hardware.co Accelerator coming to Holland. Startup Juncture. February 17, 2015. http://startupjuncture.com/2015/02/17/google-factory-hub-hardware-co-accelerator-holland/.17. Wilhelm, Alex. Microsoft brings BizSpark, Bing Fund, and its accelerators under one roof. The Next Web. June 25, 2013. http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/06/25/harmonized-under-the-name-microsoft-ventures-microsofts-startup-activ-ity-set-to-rise-with-increased-investment-3-new-accelerators/. :RUOG (FRQRPLF )RUXP &ROODERUDWLYH ,QQRYDWLRQTransforming Business, Driving Growth. World Economic Forum, 2014.

The greatest

challenge for

young firms and

collaborative

innovation is in

choosing the

right partners.

Innovation

Aargau is a canton of technology, energy and culture. It offers an overall package that is

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Below-average tax rate, moderate wages and low

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The canton of Aargau is situated in the strongest

Swiss economic region, in between Zurich, Basel,

Bern and Lucerne.

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In Aargau, there are highly qualified specialists

in the high-tech industries of energy, electrical

engineering, life sciences, medical technology,

plastics, ICT and mechanical engineering.

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Anyone who appreciates nature experiences

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system, innumerable leisure activities and many

local recreational areas for the whole family.

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phone 40, Fax +41 62 835 24 19Tele +41 62 835 24

aargau.services [email protected], www.aargauservices.c

The Aargau Services team

f.l.t.r.

Josef Kffner, Monika Ulrich,

Annelise Alig Anderhalden,

Ellen Hildebrand, Antonietta

Lomoro, Florian Gautschi


Developing innovation capabilities is no

longer enough. For organisations, innova-

tion marketing is the next frontier.

Appearances are important. Look at lead-ership. How a leader looks and behaves in front of followers is key to the suc-

cessful practice of leadership. But, while we accept the importance of appearances in a range of business disciplines marketing and com-munication for example in some it is strange-ly under-valued.

Consider innovation. Companies invest in in-novation to foster growth and competitiveness. This hopefully results in a higher Innovation Premium the difference between the market FDSDQG WKH139RI FDVKRZV%XWZHZHUHsurprised when our research into the Innovation Premiums of major corporations found that WKH\ YDU\ VLJQLFDQWO\ DPRQJ FRPSDQLHV ZLWKWKHVDPHQDQFLDOIXQGDPHQWDOVHYHQZLWKLQWKHsame industry.

We then examined what differentiated these companies. We found that where companies differ is primarily in their ability to explain to in-vestors that they can sustain innovation. In inno-vation, reputation is crucial; being seen to be inno-vative is a vital differentiator. Seeing is believing.

BY ALESSANDRO DI FIORE, ELISA FARRI AND ANDREA SEGNALINI

The Appearanceof Innovation

Look at Salesforce.com, the San Francisco-based CRM company. According to the 2015 Forbes Most Innovative Companies ranking, 6DOHVIRUFHKDVDSHUFHQW,QQRYDWLRQ3UHPLXP1 This is almost double the industry average. Why? Salesforce not only has an innovation track record, but also a strong reputation as innova-tor. Marc Benioff, its CEO and founder, has suc-cessfully marketed the companys innovativeness across different channels. It is an innovative or-ganisation, but it also looks like one.

The reality is that innovation is a battle that has to be fought on two fronts. First, companies have to develop their innovation capabilities. Building long-lasting capabilities throughout the organisation lays the foundation for enduring innovation and growth. Today, most companies XQGHUVWDQGWKHLPSRUWDQFHRI WKLVUVWOHYHUWRsustain future performances. The real challenge here concerns execution.

The second front is the world of appearanc-es. Compared to developing innovation capa-bilities, innovation marketing is neglected. But, our research suggests that it is vital. Investors need to be informed and convinced of a com-panys ability to continue to innovate far into the future. This means being able to build a thought OHDGHUVKLS SUROH RQ LQQRYDWLRQ EH NQRZQ

Investors need to

be informed and

convinced of a

companys ability to

continue to innovate

far into the future.

Innovation


and perceived as an innovative company at theleading edge in the industry.

THE BARRIERSInnovation capabilities and innovation market-ing are both important. The second element isroutinely overlooked. There are three main bar-riers for this: 2EVHVVLRQ ZLWK FRQGHQWLDOLW\ DQG SULYDF\. Some

companies, particularly those active in IP-sensitive industries, such as chemicals, areZRUULHG DERXW EUHDFKHV RI FRQGHQWLDOLW\Worry becomes paranoia and all the goodthings they are doing are automatically cate-JRULVHG DV FRQGHQWLDO HYHQ ZKHQ WKH\ DUHnot sensitive. We have regularly met compa-nies that have turned down the opportuni-ty to be a case study for Harvard BusinessSchool or another leading business school.This is often self-defeating. The perceivedULVN RI GLYXOJDWLQJ FRQGHQWLDO LQIRUPDWLRQto the external world hinders effective inno-vation marketing beyond the company.

5HVHUYHG FRPSDQ\ FXOWXUH In some organisa-tions, to broadly communicate what you have done and achieved, to market them to raise your social visibility, is acceptable be-haviour. In other companies the culture is

WKH RSSRVLWH +DYLQJ D ORZ SUROH VSHDN-ing only through results, avoiding visibility are the norms. We found that having a re-VHUYHG FXOWXUH LQXHQFHV WKH VW\OH DQG LQ-tensity of a companys communication with the outside world. Take the fast moving con-sumer goods industry. On one hand, there is P&G. Its culture can be described as ego-powered, self-centric, show you are the best. It has built a reputation and image on inno-vation through articles, books, case studies and research studies. It comes naturally to P&G to spend time, resources and effort to let the world know how great it is. On the other hand, Colgate-Palmolive has a re-served culture and it doesnt come naturally for the company to invest time and resourc-es to boost its innovation reputation beyond the standard corporate actions (annualUHSRUWV QDQFLDO URDG VKRZV DQG VR RQ

/DFN RI DFFRXQWDELOLW\ Often, there is no clearaccountability for innovation marketing. The&KLHI ,QQRYDWLRQ2IFHUDQG WKH5'93are responsible for driving the companys in-novation funnel and priorities. Innovationmarketing is not part of their individu-al goals and targets. The CFO and InvestorRelationship Manager are focused on

Obsession withconfidentiality and privacy

Reserved companyculture

Lack of accountability

1

2

3

Innovation MarketingThree Main Barriers:


communicating to analysts on the companysQDQFLDO PHDVXUHV DQG KRZ LW LV SURJUHVV-ing on them. The External CommunicationManager is usually focused on the old fash-ioned activities of press releases and spon-sorships to raise a generic corporate image.In contrast, in our best practice cases, wefound that the CEO was the driving forcebehind innovation marketing. Think of Marc%LHQRII DW 6DOHVIRUFH RU $* /DH\ DW 3* LQKLV UVW WHQXUH :KHQ WKH &(2 LV QRW GULYLQJinnovation marketing, then the organisationis ill equipped to design and execute a properinnovation marketing plan.

THE INNOVATION MARKETING PLANWhile innovation marketing is often overlooked,as we have seen, there are exceptions, compa-nies that match innovation capabilities with

innovation marketing. Best practice companiesuse a number of levers, summarised in whatwe call the Innovators Thought LeadershipFramework (see Figure 1 above), to raise theirH[WHUQDO LQQRYDWLRQ SUROH

Intuit is a great example of a company that hasincreased and sustained its Innovation Premiumby using most of the levers in the framework.Starting in the mid-2000s, Intuit has supportedthe diffusion of cutting-edge innovation meth-odologies such as Customer-driven Innovation andDesign for Delight with the aim of strengtheninginnovation capabilities that create value for cus-tomers and the company. Moreover, Intuit hascommunicated the new capability-building pro-grams through various channels: The companys story was featured in presti-

gious books on management and innovation(The Innovators Method by N. Furr and J. Dyer;Inside Intuit by S. Taylor and K. Schroeder);

Intuit has opened its doors to authoritative pro-fessors and researchers, who have publishedextensively on the company. For example,Harvard Business School has published morethan 10 cases focusing on management prac-tices and business challenges at Intuit;

CEO Brad Smith and founder Scott Cook published Harvard Business Review articles and attended conferences, actively promoting Intuit as a leading innovator also in terms of management practices.Not only did Intuit effectively communicate

its ability to continue to innovate far into the future, but it also raised the companys thought leadership and coolness on innovation manage-ment practices to the eyes of the external world.

To create thought leadership, companies need to design a clear Innovation Marketing plan that states what the company should do. Content is the centerpiece. Companies should create content that is relevant and valuable and select the core messages to highlight their innovation capabilities in order to position the company as truly innovative.

Then, companies should identify the Collaborator they need to help build or amplify high-quality marketing messages covering WKHLU LQQRYDWLRQ SUROH 7KHVH FROODERUDWRUVmay include expert journalists or authoritative

Fig. 1 - Overview of the Innovators Thought Leadership Framework

To create thought

leadership,

companies need

to design a

clear Innovation

Marketing plan that

states what the

company should do.

1

3

2

4

Events and road shows to deliver innovation-related messages

Online media content to spur powered conversations

Research studies by top businessschools and authors

Prestigious and quality publications

Innovation


professors who are interested in researching the companyand publishing about it.

Finally, identifying the right communication Channels iscrucial. Successful companies carefully screen the availablechannels, and identify priorities based on content and targetaudience. Clearly, online media is now a powerful commu-nication channel. It enables companies to engage externalpeople in online discussions about innovation-related topics.In addition, it prompts people to talk to each other aboutthe companys innovativeness. Traditional media should notbe overlooked and be included in the Innovation Marketingplan. However, we believe that the use of traditional chan-nels should be more selective. Prestigious management mag-azines, as well as academic journals, provide, for instance,the right communication link between the company, leadingJXUHV LQ LQQRYDWLRQ DXWKRULWDWLYHQHVV DQG WKH WDUJHWHG FRP-SDQ\V LQQRYDWLRQ SUROH

To organise the work plan around these three streams Content, Collaborators, Channels while keeping a constant eyeon synergies and consistencies within the 3Cs will help compa-QLHV WR SODQ WKH ULJKW DFWLRQV WR UDLVH WKHLU LQQRYDWLRQ SUROH

CONCLUSIONSalesforce and Intuit have well understood that innovationmarketing is the ticket to leverage the innovation capabili-ties and performances built inside, which leads to even higherInnovation Premiums.

Investors look for companies that are not only innovative,but spark meaningful change in the industry and its innova-tion practices through thought leadership. If you are doingit, then you should tell the world in a concerted and thought-WKURXJK ZD\ 6KDUHKROGHUV YDOXH ZLOO EHQHW DV ZHOO DV \RXUcompanys reputation. Innovation marketing is the new fron-tier for innovation. Why wait?

About the AuthorsAlessandro Di Fiore DGLRUH#HFVLFRQVXOWLQJcom) is the Founder and CEO of the EuropeanCentre for Strategic Innovation (ECSI)and ECSI Consulting (www.ecsi-consulting.com), London.

Elisa Farri (left) is a Senior Consultant at ECSI Consulting, Milan. Andrea Segnalini (right) is a Consultant at ECSIConsulting, Milan.

Reference1. http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/list/

THE BASF CASE

For its 150th anniversary, the worlds leading chemical company BASF

chose to combine celebration and co-creation. For co-creation, they

launched Creator SpaceTM, a program aimed at connecting innovation-

minded companies and individuals around the globe to address challeng-

es of urban living, smart energy and food.

The program, still underway, is offering an opportunity to raise the

companys innovation profile. How? Lets see how BASF is attempt-

ing to leverage the four levers of our Innovators Thought Leadership

Framework:

1 Creator SpaceTM Tour. Throughout the anniversary year, BASF hosted

a global road show covering six mega-cities: Mumbai, Shanghai, New

York, Sao Paolo, Barcelona and Ludwigshafen (headquarters in Germany).

BASF showcased its innovation capabilities, provided insight and con-

nected with experts, innovation leaders, journalists, policy makers and

other stakeholders globally. BASF was able to build a unique innovation

ecosystem in each city. In Barcelona, for example, BASF brought togeth-

er more than 500 specialists in different areas of food consumption, in-

cluding customers, suppliers, scientists and NGOs. Jointly they worked

together to respond to the challenge of feeding a growing world popu-

lation through a sustainable supply of food. Overall, the Tour has offered

a great opportunity to extend the companys network and generate a key

innovation profile in each visited city and country.

2 Creator SpaceTM website. BASF has successfully leveraged online

media to create buzz around the program. Through a dedicated website,

BASF has gone beyond simply sharing information. The company has

driven multiple online discussions about ten challenges derived from

three innovation-related themes: urban living, food and smart energy.

Over 11,000 experts and interested minds worldwide have discussed

extensively about the proposed challenges. To foster the online discus-

sions further, BASF has published a series of blog posts by employees,

including experts and top executives, thought leaders and researchers.

Information about emerging trends and innovation initiatives has taken

the conversation to the next level.

3 Business School Case on Creator SpaceTM. Convinced about the

uniqueness of the program, BASF has proactively scouted for top busi-

ness schools interested in researching about Creator SpaceTM. After an

initial round of preliminary meetings, BASF accepted to collaborate with

an academic professor from a prestigious business school. With a case

study and a scientific management article under production, BASF is an

example of how a company can position itself as a case for innovation to

MBA students and global executives.

4 Creator SpaceTM publications. Due to its uniqueness and complexi-

ty, the program has gained increasingly media attention. In addition, in-

sights from discussions and collaboration with experts and scientists have

generated compelling content. Indeed, BASF has effectively leveraged

this content and published it in the form of thematic White Papers. For

instance, in the Mumbai White Paper, BASF has consolidated the findings

on the citys water challenges and outlined a potential path forward as

discussed with numerous experts. This Paper has provided the basis for

further discussion, but also positioned the company as a reliable source

of ideas and an innovative partner to tackle Mumbais water challenges.

Those are examples of good activities which fits well the four levers

of our suggested framework. If those activities and eventual future ones

will have a concrete impact on the BASF Innovation Premium should be

monitored in few years from now, considering that the program is still

running. In fact, in our experience only companies with long term com-

mitment and multi-year programs of Innovation Marketing are able to

generate sustainable Innovation Premium in their equity stories.


BY EZIO MANZINI

Design, When Everybody Designs Social innovation and design for a new economy

In a fast and profoundly changing world ev-

erybody designs. The result of this diffuse

designing is that society as a whole can

be seen as a huge laboratory in which new

social forms, solutions and meanings are

produced. These transformative activities

require unprecedented economic models

and courageous design choices.

My starting point is that in a fast and profoundly changing world everybody designs. Everybody means not only

individual people, groups, communities, com-panies and associations, but also institutions, cities and entire regions; and design means that, whether they like it or not, all these indi-vidual and collective entities are forced to bring all their designing capabilities into play to devise their life strategies and put them into practice.

The result of this diffuse designing is that society as a whole can be seen as a huge labora-tory in which unprecedented social forms, solu-tions and meanings are produced and social in-novation is created.1

Social InnovationIn the boiling pot of contemporary society weFDQQG D JURZLQJQXPEHURI FDVHVRI VRFLDOinnovation. Examples of them can be foundeverywhere: from how we deal with the mostgeneral issues, to the ways in which we organ-ise our everyday lives. If they often go unrec-ognised it is because, being radically new, theydoesn't emerge just where we are looking andoften we have to change our point of viewand approach them from a different angle. In

the complex and contradictory present society these innovations can change the systems in all the possible directions. Some of them, the ones that are interesting for us here, can be seen as promising steps towards sustainability and I willrefer to them as promising cases of social innova-WLRQ WRZDUGV VXVWDLQDELOLW\

With this expression I refer to all those newideas emerging over the last 10-20 years thathave led a growing number of people to act intheir everyday lives in ways that are promising interms of social and environmental sustainabil-LW\2QH HOG LQZKLFK WKHVH LQQRYDWLRQV KDYHled to particularly evident results is that of foodand the relationship between city and coun-tryside. All over the world we have seen newfood networks being created based on organic

The result of this

diffuse designing

is that society as a

whole can be seen as

a huge laboratory in

which unprecedented

social forms, solutions

and meanings are

produced and social

innovation is created.

Innovation


design mode map

expert design

problemsolving

sensemaking

diffuse design

Design andTechnology

Agency

Design andCommunication

Agency

4 3

GrassrootsOrganisation

CulturalActivists

1 2

Figure 1: A design modality map

production and on seasonal and proximity con-sumption. Other examples could be: forms ofmobility in alternative to individually ownedcars; social services conceived as collaborativeactivities; models of housing and neighbour-hood living better geared to the current realityof family life; activities aimed to redevelop thesocial and environmental quality of cities. Thelist could continue.

Looking at these examples more closely wecan see that, diverse as they are, they share afundamental characteristic: while solving spe-FLF SUREOHPV WKH\ DOVR SURGXFH VRFLDOLW\ DQGthus contribute to rebuilding the social fabric)and new qualities (thus contributing to the pro-duction of new value systems). In short, theycan be considered as experiments in new waysof thinking and doing things: working proto-types of a sustainable everyday life.

Given this short overview on social innova-tion towards sustainability (to which, from here on, ZLOO UHIHU WR VLPSO\ DV VRFLDO LQQRYDWLRQ, I can now move to design and to describe the possible in-teractions between the two.

Diffuse and Expert Design7KHUVWREVHUYDWLRQWREHGRQHLVWKDWDV,YHmentioned in the introduction, the social in-novation I'm talking about can be described as an interweave of co-designing activities. So all those who foster social innovation, though in very different and differently commendable ways are also actors in complex, and frequently contradictory, co-design processes. In effect, it is easy to note that an awareness of the need to adopt a design approach, and consequently also design tools, has been spreading in recent years. For example, the expression design thinking has recently been meeting with success worldwide, impacting on social enterprise and the institu-tions. However, we can go further.

This diffuse design (i.e. the design as a diffuse human capability) is not the only form in which WRGD\GHVLJQLVDSSHDULQJ:HFDQQGLWDOVRLQa second form, the one of the expert design: the design performed by who has acquired special skills and tool, becoming a design expert. Precisely because everybody designs, it becomes useful and even necessary for someone to help

them to do so, someone equipped with the cul-tural and practical skills required to integrate andpromote the design abilities of the others, thenon-experts. This means someone who is expertin the various ways of stimulating and support-ing wider, more complex co-designing processes.

Emerging DesignIn a rapidly and profoundly changing world, theactivity conventionally known as design hasalso changed. And like everything else, it haschanged much more than the cultural categoriesnormally used to interpret it have evolved.

To cut a long story short, we can say thatdesign as a discipline and profession, which herewe are calling expert design, emerged at the be-ginning of the last century in relation to thechanges brought by industry. The result was thatLWV LQLWLDO GHQLWLRQ ZDV WLHG WR ZKDW DW WKDW WLPHwas making it necessary: industry as it was thenand the products it was generating. So, design wasmainly seen as industrial design and was associat-ed with mass-produced industrial products.

A Design modes map can be built considering two main design dimensions:

the actors and competence axis, which moves from diffuse design to expert design

the motivations and expectations axis, which moves from problem solving to sense making.

By crossing these tow axes, we obtain four quadrants, each of which proposes a characterising

design mode. This map also indicates the various ways of putting designing capacity into action, the

different ways of designing and being designers.

This diffuse design

(i.e. the design as

a diffuse human

capability) is not

the only form in

which today design

is appearing. We

can find it also in a

second form, the one

of the expert design.


However, nowadays, the change has spread toand impacted on not only products, but also ser-vices, organisations and a growing number ofeveryday activities.

It follows that all these entities can no longerbe reproduced conventionally (i.e. by replicat-ing and adapting the way it has always beendone). Now they require designing. Therefore,they require that everybody participate in thedesign process (where everybody designs) and,in principle, they also call for the intervention ofdesign experts. The result of all this is what wecan call emerging design2 (see Figure 1: A designmodality map on the previous page).

Today, the basic features of emerging designare already clear. And they are very differentfrom those dominant in the 20th century. Themain difference is that its focus has shiftedfrom objects (meaning products, services andsystems) towards ways of thinking and doing(meaning methods, tools, approaches and, aswe will see, design cultures). In so doing, designbecomes an agent capable of tackling widelydiffering issues adopting a human-centred ap-proach: from traditional product-orienteddesign processes to complex and often intrac-table social, environmental and even politicalproblems).3 A second main change, linked toWKH UVW LV WKDW DOO GHVLJQ SURFHVVHV DUH GH IDFWRto be considered co-design activities involving avariety of actors: professional designers, otherNLQGV RI H[SHUWV DQG QDO XVHUV4

Now, given this overview on the recent evo-lution of the notion of design, I can go backto the initial question concerning its relation-ship with social innovation. And introduce thenotion of design for social innovation (to be more

precise I should name it design for social innova-WLRQ WRZDUGV VXVWDLQDELOLW\. But lets assume that,from here on, writing design for social inno-vation I will always refer to the one orientedtowards sustainability).

Design for Social Innovation.From this introduction it is clear that the design(both diffuse and expert) that is involved in thesocial innovation processes is quite far from theidea of design that has been prevalent in thepast century.

The recognition of this difference is crucial:to understand the possible relationships betweendesign and social innovation we have to, as aprecondition, understand how much design haschanged in the past decades. If we cling to theGHQLWLRQ RI th century design, as too oftenhappens, we cannot hope to understand howGHVLJQ FRXOG RSHUDWH DQG SOD\ D VLJQLFDQW UROHin social innovation and in steering it towards asustainable future.:KHQ WKLV SUHFRQGLWLRQ LV JLYHQ WKH GHQL-

tion of design for social innovation becomesquite simple: it is everything that design cando to foster and support social innovation, tomake its results more widely accessible and itsmeaning richer and deeper.:LWK WKLV GHQLWLRQ LW DOVR EHFRPHV VLPSOH

to observe that design for social innovation isnot a new design discipline. Rather, it is a newability that can be extended to all the designingactors: the ability to recognise the most promis-ing social dynamics and work with them.

In this framework, very different kind of designinitiatives can be considered as design for social in-novation. To give a general overview of them, wecan group them in three main typologies: Design activism, when design experts actively

promote social innovation. Design with communities, when design experts

collaborate with active groups of people inmaking a given solution more accessible andmore capable of lasting in time.

'HVLJQ IRU IDYRXUDEOH HFRV\VWHPV, when design experts conceive and develop material and im-material artifacts capable of making a whole eco-system more favourable for new initiatives WRHPHUJHRXULVKVSUHDGDQGFRQQHFW

IF WE CLING TO THE DEFINITION OF 20TH CENTURY DESIGN, AS TOO OFTEN HAPPENS, WE CANNOT HOPE TO UNDERSTAND HOW DESIGN COULD OPERATE AND PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SOCIAL INNOVATION AND IN STEERING IT TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

Innovation


Emerging Economy and Design To understand the design for social innovation po-tentialities we have to consider both the deep crisis of the old business models and the signals of an emerging one. An economy that (mainly) produc-es services, knowledge and networks of mean-ingful interactions. An economy that is neither a utopia, nor a far off future possibility, but one of ZKLFK WKHUVW H[DPSOHV FDQEH UHJLVWHUHG WRGD\and that, hopefully, will boom in the near future becoming the economy of the 21st century.

Considering this emerging economy, and looking at it with the lens of design, there is a lot to be done. Collaborating with a multiplicity of actors, design can play a role in the ecological re-orien-tation of the production and consumption system WRLQFUHDVHLWVRYHUDOOHFRHIFLHQF\LQWULJJHULQJand supporting the social production of services (to increase social cohesion), in developing sustain-able urban settlements (to face the new demandsand regenerate the existing cities and slums), indeveloping regional eco-development programs (topromote the sustainable use of local physical andVRFLDOUHVRXUFHV$QGQDOO\LQIHHGLQJWKHVRFLDOconversation on wellbeing (to generate a meta-narrative capable to be the cultural framework ofall the previous threads of action).

These transformative activities, to take place,require unprecedented economic models anddynamic social innovation initiatives (includinghere also cultural and institutional innovation).And most importantly, they require courageousdesign choices.

About the AuthorEzio Manzini has been workingLQ WKH HOG RI GHVLJQ IRU VXVWDLQ-ability for more than two decades.Most recently, his interests have fo-cussed on design for social innova-

tion. In this perspective he started DESIS: an in-ternational network of schools of designVSHFLFDOO\DFWLYHLQWKLVHOG

Presently, he is Chair Professor of Designfor Social Innovation at the University of theArts London (London), Honorary Professor atthe Politecnico di Milano and Guest Professorat Tongji University (Shanghai) and JiangnanUniversity (Wuxi).

His most recent book is Design, When (YHU\ERG\ 'HVLJQV $Q ,QWURGXFWLRQ WRDesign for Social Innovation, MIT Press 2015.

References1. This paper is largely based on the book: Ezio Manzini,

'HVLJQ:KHQ(YHU\ERG\'HVLJQV (MIT Press 2015)2. A very clear statement on the nature of emerging design,

and in my view of its present limits, was proposed in 2014

in a manifesto named DesignX, collaboratively authored by:

Ken Friedman (Tongji University, College of Design and

Innovation and Swinburne University Centre for Design

Innovation), Yongqi Lou (Tongji), Don Norman (University

of California, San Diego, Design Lab), Pieter Jan Stappers

(Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial

Design Engineering), Ena Vote (Delft), and Patrick Whitney

(Illinois Institute of Technology, Institute of Design). http://

www.jnd.org/dn.mss/designx_a_future_pa.html (accessed

October 2015).

7KHOLVWRI DXWKRUVZKRFRQWULEXWHGWRVWDUWWKLVUHGH-nition of design could be very long. My main references are:

Richard Buchanan, Wicked Problems in Design Thinking,

'HVLJQ,VVXHVQR6SULQJ1LJHO&URVV'HVLJQThinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work

(Oxford, UK: Berg, 2011); Tim Brown, Design Thinking,

+DUYDUG%XVLQHVV5HYLHZ-XQH4. Pelle Ehn, Participation in Design Things, 3DUWLFLSDWRU\Design Conference Proceedings, (Bloomington, Indiana, USA:

6HSW 2FW (]LR0DQ]LQL)UDQFHVFD5L]]RSmall Projects/Large Changes. Partecipatory Design

as an Open Partecipated Process, CoDesign, Vol. 7 no

3-4 (2011): 199-215; Pelle Ehn, Elisabeth M. Nilsson eds,

Making futures(Cambridge: MIT Press 2014).

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BY JOHN SUTHERLAND

Structure Follows Strategy But May not Look Like You Imagined

,Q WKH ZRUOG RI VWUXFWXUDO GHVLJQ RQH VL]H GRHV QRW WDOO ,W SD\V PDVVLYH GLYLGHQGV WR JHW WKH VWUXFWXUH W IRUWKH SXUSRVH DQG VWUDWHJ\ RI \RXU YHU\ VSHFLF EXVLQHVVIn this article, John Sutherland discusses the seven

structural archetypes and the six guidelines for struc-

tural design to make organisations more effective and

capable of delivering your strategy.

Brian and his team had come up with their new strate-gy, after several months of vision setting, market anal-ysis and detailed feasibility studies. Now he needed

to ensure he had a structure that was capable of supportingthe delivery of their new business plan. At this point manyUPV UHDFK IRU WKH WULHG DQG WHVWHG OLQH VWUXFWXUH EDVHG RQa clear hierarchy. But that would not have given Brian whatKH QHHGHG 6R KH VHW DERXW GHVLJQLQJ LW IURP UVW SULQFLSOHVusing the six guidelines laid out here.

1. Structure Follows StrategyThe purpose of structure is to organise your resources in suchD ZD\ WKDW \RX DUH DEOH WR GHOLYHU \RXU VWUDWHJ\ 6R WKH UVWguideline is to ensure you have coherence of direction beforeembarking on the journey to determine your structure. Tick inthe box for Brian and his team here. You must be able to artic-ulate what the structure has to enable in order to build an ef-fective organisation. If, for example, you plan rapid growth orInternational expansion your structure must be able to scale

and cope with multiple time zones. If you need to bring in in-novation, into a traditional structure, something will have toVKLIW LQ WKH GHVLJQ WR HQDEOH LQQRYDWLRQ WR RXULVK RU LW ZLOO EHsuffocated at birth by bureaucracy. You could be forgiven forthinking that structures are independent of strategy, when youconsider how many businesses trot out similar versions of thetraditional line structure despite having diverse aims and pur-poses. It saves brain work to reach for the usual line diagramEXW WKH UHDOLW\ LV WKDW RQH VL]H GRHV QRW W DOO LQ WKH ZRUOG RIstructural design. It pays massive dividends to get the structureW IRU WKH SXUSRVH RI \RXU YHU\ VSHFLF EXVLQHVV

2. Structure Must be Aligned with Values and Espoused Culture


around a compelling idea, such as a belonging toa tribe, region, political party or sporting club. Itgives us a massive advantage over other species.Millions of people follow Manchester UnitedFootball Club even though the majority seldomget to Old Trafford to watch a match in person.Organising principles are powerful catalysts and,of course, are also active in our working lives.So the fourth principle in structural design is tomatch the organising principle of your structureto the needs of your strategy. Here are seven ar-chetypes to stimulate your thinking.

THE HIERARCHICAL LINE STRUCTURELet's start with the one we all know. Here the or-ganising principle is positional authority. I am incharge of you and you are in charge of them.The vast majority of organisations assume thattheir new structure will be some variant of a hi-erarchical organisational chart. This becamepopular in the days of the 'mill owner' indus-try, where there was a clear boss who (hopeful-ly) knew more than everyone else about whatto do and how best to do it. But few organisa-tions today have a boss who knows more or canperform better than their 'subordinates'. In factmany managers pride themselves on their abilityto hire people who are better than themselves.

Recently, line structures have developedGRWWHG UHSRUWLQJ OLQHV LQ DQ DWWHPSW WR UHHFWthe more complex organising patters that areactually at play than a simple command andcontrol chart can convey. Wherever you have aline drawing with a multitude of dotted report-ing lines you can safely assume that hierarchy isWKH ZURQJ RUJDQLVLQJ SULQFLSOH IRU \RXU UPTime to move on.

and relate to others, internally and externally. And they are consistent with the aims and pur-poses of the organisation, so that everything resonates harmoniously. So how does your VWUXFWXUHQHHGWREHH[HGWREHWUXO\DOLJQHGwith your values and emerging culture?

3. Size Matters:LWKDVPDOOEXVLQHVVRI XSWRSHRSOHUPVQDW-urally run as a family cluster. Once they reach 24-30 they start to operate as an extended family, and ev-eryone still knows everyone. The big changes start to kick in when the group size exceeds our ability to function like a family. The more people, and the more complex the interactions, the more you will QHHG WRFOHDUO\GHQHKRZ\RXU VWUXFWXUHZRUNV%\WKHWLPH\RXJHWWRSHRSOHWKHIDPLO\IHHOKDVbeen replaced by multiple families, a tribe or has transformed into one of the organising principles discussed in the next section. 6RPHUPV DWWHPSW WR LPSRVHKHDY\ VWUXF-

WXUHVRQVPDOOUPVWKDWDUHVWLOODWWKH IDPLO\size' end of the spectrum, and this usually leads to problems of unnecessary bureaucracy, slowing down the organisation rather than en-abling it. It is akin to trying on your dad's suit when you are still a kid. There is no need to complicate structures too soon. 7KLVDUWLFOHLVDLPHGDWRUJDQLVDWLRQVLQWKH

- 10,000 employee size. For much larger organ-isations, over 50,000, issues of control re-assert themselves. Some attempt to tackle the problem by imposing a strong command and control culture, aimed at quality assurance, health and safety and budget control. Others allow divi-VLRQDO VWUXFWXUHV WR DGDSW WR VXLW VSHFLF ORFDOneeds whilst ensuring their reporting structures are consistent and aligned.

4. The Organising Principle and Structural ArchetypesBehind every structure is an inherent organ-ising principle. As Yuval Harari helped us un-derstand, in his wonderful book 6DSLHQV$EULHI KLVWRU\RI KXPDQNLQG, as a species we are in a con-stant search for an organising principle around which to cluster. Our rise to dominance, on this fragile planet, is in large part attributable to our ability to organise very large numbers of people

SALESOPSTECH FD

CEO

The Hierarchical Line Structure

Wherever you

have a line

drawing with

a multitude of

dotted reporting

lines you can

safely assume

that hierarchy

is the wrong

organising

principle for

your firm. Time

to move on.

Feature


THE STAR PERFORMER CLUSTERA variation of the matrix archetype is to cluster resource around a small number of 'brilliant' star performers, rather than client projects. As in the matrix, the resources are used in an agile and mobile way so that the unfolding needs of WKH HQWHUSULVH FDQ EH H[HG DV WKH VWDUVZRUNevolves. This structural principle can often be found in fast paced technology development companies, such as software houses or hi-tech HQJLQHHULQJ UPV ,W WHQGV WRZRUN EHVWZKHQthe resources are all in the same building so they FDQ PRYH XLGO\ EHWZHHQ VWDUV DQGEHJLQV WRcreak at the edges when the work crosses loca-tions and time zone.

THE CONSTITUTIONA number of organisational designs are, essential-ly, empowerment structures where an agreed set of guidelines, values or meta processes become the organising principle. This allows the work force to crack on with tasks unimpeded by the need to gain permission and sign off for their work. As long as they abide by the constitution they are free to act. A well worked through example of this

THE CUSTOMER DOUGHNUTAnother popular concept, although more fre-quently described than actually used as the basis for the true design. Here the organis-ing principle is customer focus. Everything we do needs to make sense of what the custom-er needs or can be encouraged to want, so we put them in the middle of our 'doughnut' and ensure that all are activities and resources are co-ordinated around their discernible current and future needs. Some organisations extend the model to think about how to view all staff as 'customers', with operations being the cus-tomers of the sales team, and so on.

THE PROJECT MATRIXMatrix organisations tend to get a bad pressas it can be hard to make them work effec-tively when superimposed on a traditionalculture. But the key to unlocking their poten-tial, at least in my experience, is to understandthat the organising principle behind them is tofocus on the larger scale projects that are re-quired to give the customer what they need.Arrayed around the matrix are the organisa-tional strands of customer interface (North plane), divisional strands of internal organ-isation (West plane), 'job family' strands of skills clusters (South plane) and support func-tions (East plane). Once a customer project KDV EHHQ LGHQWLHG WKH DSSURSULDWH UHVRXUFHVto deliver that project are drawn from the West, South and East planes for the life time of that project, and then return to base awaiting the next project. The senior team's role is to ensure the constituent parts of the matrix remain just ahead of the emerging customer's need.

Customers / Region

Div

isio

ns

Support functions

Job families / Skills group

Project Matrix

Star Performer Cluster

Whenever you

hear that an

organisation is

values led or is a

meritocracy you

know that there

are a set of agreed

guiding principles

that steer actions

day by day. It is

the constitution,

rather than the

hierarchy, that

provides the rules

of engagement.

Finance

Divisions

Technical

Marketing

Ope

ratio

nsSa

les

Customer

Customer Doughnut

Strategy


is 'Holacracy', as described by Brian Robertson(www.holacracy.org) but there are many othersbased on the same principles. Whenever you hearthat an organisation is values led or is a meritocra-cy you know that there are a set of agreed guidingprinciples that steer actions day by day. It is theconstitution, rather than the hierarchy, that pro-vides the rules of engagement. What Robertsonhas shown is how the system also leads to gover-nance, which is a useful development.

At present some 'values led' organisationsalso have a residual line structure, as if not ableyet to fully commit to this form of structure.In most cases we have come across this hasonly served to confuse people who, when pushcomes to shove, revert to authority to satisfytheir felt need for control. If you are going for aconstitutional paradigm it needs to be the domi-nant and deciding force.

THE AMOEBAEHow much do you remember from your biologyclasses at school? The amoebae has the ability toslowly change shape to suit its purposes and theHQYLURQPHQWLWQGVLWVHOI LW$GDSWDELOLW\LI QRWagility, is the organising principle here. There is a nucleus, aka the senior team, that governs the overall shift of evolution and rate of adaptation not so fast that the inherent structure is lost not so slow that it fails to capitalise on changes in the environment. Because of the inherent

Values

Principles

Processes

CEO

The Constitution

X[ LQ WKH VWUXFWXUH WKH DPRHEDH SULQFLSOH UH-quires the organisation to have the ability to ar-ticulate its current and future structure require-ments on a regular basis, usually once a quarter.

THE FAMILY GROUPINGEvolution has hard wired us to do well in groupsof up to 12 as a family or 24-30 as an extendedfamily. So some organisations use 'family' clustersas their organising principle. There may be a tech-nology cluster and a key account cluster but eachhas their own space in the organisation and devel-ops an inherent sense of belonging. I work witha market research organisation that is success-fully structured in this way. Outside of the workenvironment Churches, Mosques and Templesoften use this structure, so that each person isa member of a study or house group, allowingthe overall size of the organisation to continue togrow without losing the sense of family grouping.

The Amoebae

The Family Grouping

You are not finished when you have the structure design neatly laid out on a sheet of A3.

That is often just the start of a journey. The next step is to ensure the senior team understand

and abide by the inherent organising principles in the structure and 'walk the talk'.

Feature


5. Descriptive and Prescriptive7KHIWKVWUXFWXUDOGHVLJQSULQFLSOHLVWKDWWKHVWUXFWXUHKDVto genuinely say something predictive about the observable behaviours in your organisation. Anyone can draw a new structural diagram, that is relatively easy, but to have that DFWXDOO\ LQXHQFHGD\E\GD\DFWLRQVDQGGHFLVLRQV LVPXFKharder. Sometimes an organisation will base their structure on the behaviours that actually take place in the real world of work, rather than attempt to change culture. Petra's organisa-tion was a case in point. They wanted to bring in a new CFO DQGKDGKDGGLIFXOWLHVQGLQJDVXLWDEOHPDWFKWRWKHH[LVW-ing senior team as the ones they found were used to more traditional structure. Although they had never articulated it Petra's organisation was running as a matrix with a constitu-tion, and had been doing so since the early days of its for-mation. Everyone knew the rules of engagement but they were never written down. Fine when you have been there a number of years but confusing if you are joining from a dif-ferent mind-set. So we wrote down the key rules they actu-ally ran the organisation by, which were to do with meritoc-racy (the best idea wins regardless of 'rank') and organising around main projects. Once 'described' these rules were then 'prescribed', as the constitution and matrix through which they worked. ,WIROORZVWKDWLQ\RXUVWUXFWXUDOGHVLJQZRUN\RXDUHQRWQ-

ished when you have the format neatly laid out on a sheet of A3. That is often just the start of a journey. The next step is to ensure the senior team understand and abide by the inherent organising principles in the structure and 'walk the talk'. In fact I usually suggest the senior team try the new structure out 'for size' to see if they can live by it before announcing to the rest of the organisation. Less embarrassing that way.

6. Compliance and Independence One of the most intriguing aspects of structural design PDNHV XS WKH QDO SULQFLSOH $OO VWUXFWXUDO GHVLJQV KDYHto cope with holding opposite forces in balance. Some are well known, such as the tension between sales and opera-WLRQVZKHUHWKHQHHGIRUH[LELOLW\RI VDOHVRIIHULQJLVKHOGLQFUHDWLYHWHQVLRQZLWKWKHQHHGIRURSHUDWLRQDOHIFLHQF\Others are less well articulated, of which the most common in our experience is the compliance and independence co-nundrum. The organisation needs its members to complywith a number of key performance constraints, for examplehealth and safety policies and 'just in time' processes. Setagainst that need is the fact that individuals usually want tofeel empowered to achieve their objectives their own way,DQGQGWKHLUHQHUJ\LQKLELWHGLI PDQDJHGWRRFORVHO\QRWonly being told what to do but also how to do it.

0RVWRUJDQLVDWLRQV,KDYHZRUNHGZLWKKDYHQHHGHGWRQGa way to do both/and set clear parameters within which people must work and free up the talent to produce excellent results. Some structural designs emphasise control and com-pliance, such as the hierarchical line structures. Others empha-sise independence, such as the constitution. But you are likely to need both in your design. How will you reconcile the com-peting needs in your organisation, especially if you are a person who has a felt need for control?

Integrating Your Structural Design,QGLWKHOSVWRGUDZWKHGLIIHUHQWVWUDQGVRI VWUXFWXUDOGHVLJQout on one page, as we did with Brian's engineering organ-isation. The plan was to grow from 20 to PRYHUYHyears in a business focussed on providing commercially fo-cussed technology development for its clients. The business was now too big (over 100) to be a family structure; it had become a tribe. He required clear governance but also needed UHVRXUFHVWREHH[LEO\FOXVWHUHGDURXQGWKHLUVWDUSHUIRUP-ers. And he wanted to underscore the strong Northern pride that was alive and healthy in the business. People needed to want to work there. It was more than just a job.

Putting it all together Brian's call was to have a mix of a con-stitution and star performer clusters as their organising princi-SOHV7KHFRQVWLWXWLRQIRFXVVHGDURXQGDVSHFLFPHWDSURFHVVthat applied to all internal and external projects, allowing each person to know what stage gate they were at. The star perform-ers worked on varied aspects of their clients technology devel-RSPHQWSURMHFWV$VEHWVDFRPSDQ\IRFXVVHGRQFRPPHUFLDOtechnology development, Brian had designed a structure that was inherently 'state of the art', matching the culture in his or-ganisation. An old style line based hierarchy would simply not KDYHZRUNHGIRUWKHP7KH\ZHUHWRRHHWRI IRRWIRUWKDW6RZKDWDERXW\RXUVWUXFWXUH":KHQ\RXUHHFWRQKRZ

you are organised is it aligned with the needs of your busi-ness plan, values and culture? Most businesses have st

the european business review 2016-01-02

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