Winnovation
Ah, the bittersweet last blog of the semester…!
When looking back on which topics intrigued me the most throughout the course of COMM 101, it is difficult to pinpoint a specific issue, or class, or reading. I think what opened my eyes the most, however, was discovering innovation. The innovative operations strategy, the innovative business model, the innovative organizational structure—Dell’s virtual integration, Muhammad Yunus and microfinance, and Zappos’ hula-hooping employees all made me appreciate how I am living, and will likely be working, in a generation of business practice that is evolving, reinventing, and becoming more and more meaningful.
Zappos Employees Photo by Colin Christensen
My thoughts are echoed by Rahim Kanani’s interview with Innosight director Scott Anthony. Anthony describes how business culture is incorporating more and more innovation, to the point where large, multinational corporations, not just startups and venture-backed small businesses, cannot grow without entrepreneurship at the core of the company.
Innosight Logo Photo by PhilaSocial Innovations
Global conglomerates such as Amazon and Starbucks, started first with an innovative business model. Others, such as Syngenta’s uwezo program mentioned in the interview, oversee a variety of activities including product development and product use training for African farmers, for the overarching purpose of increased efficiency in agricultural production—and it all sounds a whole lot like a certain “shared value” we covered in class.
Anthony attributes this shift to decentralized decision-making and the need for more flexible, resilient businesses, which he believes came about because of social media and the 2008 financial crisis. I might add that it may also be due to changes in organizational culture and a newfound appreciation for intrapreneurs within corporations.
Ultimately, it is inevitable that technological advancements, trends in consumer behaviour, and new approaches to management will continue to force the business world to react, adapt, and transform. And ultimately, that means that companies will need to develop innovative ways to create, distribute, influence, partner, grow—and win. (So yes… pun totally intended)
“In three years, every product my company makes will be obsolete. The only question is whether we will make them obsolete or somebody else will.” – Bill Gates (1999)