Innovation and turf wars

I have this quotation from James Martin on the wall of my home office, from my time as a battle-scarred project manager.

'Coping (with a disaster) is visible and dramatic. Prevention is unpopular, because it usually means changing something that is not yet failing; it is thankless, because the only testimony of its effectiveness is a non-event'.

The same could be said of organisations, particularly successful ones, that struggle with the adoption of innovative ideas. In July 2018 the Harvard Business Review reported on a survey that looked at blockers to innovation in large organisations and concluded:

'Change-makers trying to conduct experiments are rarely greeted with open arms — especially when they’re working on an idea that may cannibalise stable businesses or upend today’s distribution model'.

I witnessed a perfect example from in the early days of retail outlet stores. A large, hugely successful multi-national retailer wanted to experiment with this store format in the UK. A bright, young high-flyer was chosen by the CEO to lead this innovation, given a substantial budget and told he could have the pick of the bunch to join his small team. Having cherry-picked individuals and assembled resources, a two store trial was started. It was an abject innovation failure. Not because of the concept or execution, but because of turf-wars and resentment by other senior managers. 

The report charted the factors that leaders thought that most stymied innovation. Top of the pile, unsurprisingly, were cultural issues (politics and turf wars are symptomatic of cultural mores). One factor that appears to be missing is attitude to risk. It's not clear whether this was because survey recipients were not offered 'tolerance to risk' as an option, or it wasn't considered by them to be a major factor. From my discussions with many organisational leaders, most successful innovative organisations have an overt policy towards risk and its attendant inevitable misses.
The KPMG sponsored report (excerpt available here) goes into some detail about the negative actors and barriers to innovation. It is worth looking at each for your own organisation or division and what mitigations you can put in place for each. As with all cultural issues, particularly 'politics and turf wars' the only way to effect change is through leadership action and modelling behaviour. 

Innovation Announcement: Designing your ideal KIN Innovation masterclass...

We are planning a KIN Innovation Practice Masterclass in the first half of 2019. Andrew Pope of Innosis has offered to run a one-day event on the following topics. We would like to know which you would like to hear about the most, so that Andrew can plan a day that best meets your needs.  Email me your views gary.colet@mail.wbs.ac.uk 1. Building self-organising teams for innovation Hierarchies and control as an organisational technique inhibit the potential for innovation in workplace teams. Empowering teams to sense, respond and act underpins active collaboration and pre-conditions for innovative teams, especially in complex working environments. 2. Designing digital (social platform) innovation strategies Commonly used in medium and large organisations, enterprise social networks offer a unique opportunity to connect workforces to business needs and market drivers. However, digital social innovation requires an understanding of what engages us on social networks as well as how to create appropriate content for these channels to ensure any innovation strategy will have a greater chance of success. 3. Building collaborative behaviours that underpin innovation Innovation that arrives from structured or spontaneous means is largely served by active collaboration between people and teams. Understanding what makes good teams thrive and how to start creative conversations is essential when planning innovation programs, campaigns and actions. 4. Mapping innovation facilitation to virtual channels Facilitating innovation involves setting an environment and starting conversations that promote ideation. Here we explore the different focus that virtual channels require to compensate for the lack of in-person interaction.

Designing your ideal KIN Innovation masterclass

We are planning a new Innovation Network Masterclass in Q1 2019.
Andrew Pope of Innosis has offered to run a one-day event on the following topics.

KIN members are invited to let us know what's most important to you in setting up and running an effective innovation practice. Let us know your preference, so we can create the most valuable agenda for the event. 

gary.colet@mail.wbs.ac.uk

1. Building self-organising teams for innovation
Hierarchies and control as an organisational technique inhibit the potential for innovation in workplace teams. Empowering teams to sense, respond and act underpins active collaboration and pre-conditions for innovative teams, especially in complex working environments.

2. Designing digital (social platform) innovation strategies
Commonly used in medium and large organisations, enterprise social networks offer a unique opportunity to connect workforces to business needs and market drivers. However, digital social innovation requires an understanding of what engages us on social networks as well as how to create appropriate content for these channels to ensure any innovation strategy will have a greater chance of success.

3. Building collaborative behaviours that underpin innovation
Innovation that arrives from structured or spontaneous means is largely served by active collaboration between people and teams. Understanding what makes good teams thrive and how to start creative conversations is essential when planning innovation programs, campaigns and actions.

4. Mapping innovation facilitation to virtual channels
Facilitating innovation involves setting an environment and starting conversations that promote ideation. Here we explore the different focus that virtual channels require to compensate for the lack of in-person interaction.

Bricks and mortar to bricks and clicks - the future of retail innovation

We've all read about the apparent demise of high-street retail, most of it put down to the massive move to online purchases. Shopping centres report a drop in footfall of 3.5% in September, compared to last year. House of Fraser and Debenhams are in real trouble. It seems that bricks and mortar retail is in desperate need of innovation.

Whilst in New York last week, I bought a mini camera tripod from Amazon. Nothing special in that. However the way I did it was very different. Amazon are experimenting with channels that supplement their pure online offering. The store in Spring Street, Soho that I made my purchase in is their first 4Star location. Every item on the shelves is rated by customers as more than 4*, new or 'trending'. Shelf edge prices are updated dynamically to match online. The place was heaving with customers. I suspect that the store will also stimulate additional online sales.

Other store formats are also being trialled. In Seattle, their 'Amazon Go' store allows Amazon Prime customers to register on entry, select their items and simply walk out with them. No sales assistant interaction, no cash desk. Purchases are simply billed to their Prime account. The way they do this is through a combination of camera tracking, RFid tags and other tech. The Prime store may just be an experiment (they trialled it for a while with Amazon staff only), but all credit for trying.

Having worked in retail for many years, this is these are the biggest innovations I have seen in a long time. A perfect example of bricks and mortar turning into bricks and clicks.

This could be seen in two ways. Either Amazon are going to swallow even more of the high street by parking their tanks there, or existing retailers are going to see this type of melded retail offering as their future. Amazon have been pioneers and innovators without peers - and this proves it.

Chatbots & Digital Assistants: Shaping the future of work. (Sponsored event for Children In Need), 13 Nov 2018

Way back in 1966, the natural language processing program, ELIZA, played the role of a digital psychologist. This early chatbot was capable of "listening" to you as you shared your life story, delivering mostly coherent, yet vague canned responses to whatever you typed in. Chatbots have come a long way since then. Many in the current generation are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), making them more powerful than ever. And today, chatbots are used by organisations to listen to and respond to requests, find the answers to commonly asked questions, or even help us order a pizza. Meanwhile, using our smart devices we can ask intelligent assistants, such as Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, to set up events in our calendars, dictate emails, play from millions of songs, turn off the lights, and more. And the more we talk to them, the better intelligent assistants get at understanding and serving us, thanks to AI. Chatbot technology is becoming commonplace in our homes, on our phones and even in our vehicles – but what about in the workplace? This dedicated breakfast briefing will explore the contemporary world of chatbots and digital assistants and their increasing utility for automating routine tasks. Can they be relied upon to do some of the knowledge management 'heavy lifting', and if so, what will the future workplace look like? This event would be of particular interest to and benefit the following roles and functions: HR Customer Support Community Managers CIO's Innovators Knowledge Managers Legal/Paralegal The key learning points from this event will be: Understanding the current and emerging role of chatbots in the workplace Identifying the skills, resources and costs of developing a chatbot Seeing/interacting with NRF's latest chatbot Plenary discussion about how chatbots may shape the future of work A hot & cold buffet breakfast will be available during the briefing. Full details can be found on this event page: Roundtable: Chatbots & Digital Assistants: Shaping the future of work. (Sponsored event for Children In Need)' Tickets for this special event are £32, available from Workplace Week, with all proceeds donated to BBC's Children In Need charity.

A battery of problems

Whilst electric vehicles are becoming commonplace on our roads, we don't really think about the technology that powers them. The Innovation Network members had a unique opportunity to visit the Warwick Manufacturing Group's research facility at Warwick University last week. 

Part of our tour took us to the battery testing facility, where we saw the power packs that propel Teslas, Leafs, BMW i3s and other electric cars. The expectation that we would see revolutionary technology was quickly dispelled when we were shown the ubiquitous AA size batteries, of which hundreds power the Tesla. Sure, there is very smart tech that monitors and controls them. However it seems battery manufacture and chemistry has not moved on dramatically since the aptly named Professor John Goodenough invented the Lithium Ion cell in 1980.

I've been preparing for the KIN Spring 2019 members' workshop 'Work in 2030 - it may not be what you think'. In talking to members about a potential case study on horizon scanning, it's become clear that techniques that keep a collective open mind are just as important as any innovation process. As one individual said to me 'horizon scanning only shows you what's already possible, not what seems impossible today'.   There is a wonderful 1964 clip of Arthur C Clarke predicting the future (3 mins). Clarke starts with 'Only if what I tell you seems completely unbelievable, have we any chance of visualizing the future'. 

This fits with a recent posting from Greg Satell on 'We need to re-engineer our organisations for a new era of innovation'. As he says 'It’s becoming more important to prepare than adapt. By the time you realize the need to adapt, it may already be too late'.

The second point that he makes is that 'it is crucial to build a continuous pipeline of problems to solve'. Whilst Apple is renowned as a tech innovator, the reality (certainly in the early days) was that Steve Jobs was a brilliant problem-identifier. He didn't have the solution to 'put 1000 songs in my pocket' - he gave the challenge to hard drive manufacturers.

Innovators need to re-engineer their organisations and people to think in this way, in order to vizualize the 'completely unbelievable'.

https://www.digitaltonto.com/2018/we-need-to-reengineer-our-organizations-for-a-new-era-of-innovation/

Enabling Technology Announcement: New Roundtable Event: Supercharge Collaboration With O365, 16 Oct 2018

The most recent Enabling Technologies Survey (conducted April – May 2018) identified two topics that could potentially be combined into one Roundtable event, namely the generic 'Collaboration Tools & Technologies' and the more specific 'Sharepoint/Office 365'. Whilst recognising that KIN Member organisations are using a wide variety of technologies and platforms for user engagement, collaboration and knowledge sharing, (e.g. Jive, G-Suite, Facebook for business, Wikis, Microsoft etc.) it is proposed we focus primarily on Sharepoint and O365 for this Roundtable. Recognising that our member organisations are at different stages of their implementation journey from Sharepoint to O365, this Roundtable provides an ideal opportunity for knowledge sharing between those at the beginning of their journey and those who are just starting it. As with previous Enabling Technologies events, we don't just talk about the technologies themselves, but look at the pragmatic issues around their implementation and effective use. For this Roundtable, we are seeking: People who have knowledge to share about … People who want to know more about …. Sharepoint Online Searching for Information using Delve  Understanding document libraries  Using Groups/Team Sites for collaborative working Setting up Communities of Practice  Grouping and Sharing documents using Boards  OneDrive for Business Navigating OneDrive Uploading content Sharing Documents and Collaborating Synchronising OneDrive to the Desktop Skype for Business  Communicate using Instant Messaging, Voice and Video  Setting up Group meetings  Integration with Outlook  Sharing – Presentations, Content/Screen, Polls, Virtual Whiteboard Office Desktop Applications What's new in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint? Creating and editing documents in 'The Cloud'  Sharing documents and collaborating with colleagues online Strategies for encouraging user adoption and engagement      When registering for this event, it would be helpful if you would indicate whether you have knowledge to share, or whether you are there to learn. Full details can be found on this event page: Roundtable: Supercharge Collaboration With O365'

Enabling Technology Announcement: Gartner Hype Cycle for AR and VR

As can be seen from the Gartner Hype Cycle, AR lags VR a little on the slope of productivity, yet it is clear that the technologies have navigated the hype cycle in tandem. There is a very real distinction between the wider adoptions of AR and VR; whereas VR has generally been driven by entertainment applications particularly in relation to gaming, the adoption of AR is increasingly being driven by the workplace. We'll be looking at some examples of how AR, VR and MR (Mixed Reality) are being used in the workplace environment at the Autumn Workshop (10/11 September), and particularly how they are being used to drive better collaboration and productivity.

Enabling Technology Announcement: Results from the Enabling Technologies Survey 2018

The output and analysis from the Enabling Technologies Survey is in the attached pdf. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the survey. The findings are fairly self explanatory, but the key points are: AI and BigData/Analytics are the most popular topics, and have featured in recent workshops and webinars. We will run future events on these topics, including one of the quarterly workshops scheduled for 2019. Members wanted to know more about Blockchain. A very successful and well-attended Masterclass was arranged for the 3rd July at the PwC offices in London. Presentations and other knowledge assets are available from the KIN Memberspace event page, or alternativley, KIN Members and WBS Alumni can contact me if they want copies. There is a lot of interest in collaborative tools & technologies and Office365, so it makes sense combine these into a single event, which will be a blend of Masterclass (with an expert on O365) and Roundtable, for peer knowledge sharing. This event - Supercharging Collaboration with O365 - has been scheduled for the 16th October. We're looking for a venue for this event, so please let me know if you can accommodate. Immersive Technologies (Augmented and Virtual Reality applications) is the topic for our forthcoming Autumn Workshop on the 11th September. We are have also arranged a visit to the WMG labs for the afternoon of the 10th September to see some of the leading-edge developments, including AI, robotics, 3D imaging etc. We will be joined by KIN Alumni for this visit. We ran a webinar on Chatbots & Virtual Agents on the 14th June, organised by Nancy Kinder in conjunction with the  Knowledge & Community Network. The webinar was recorded and is available on Youtube and the event page. I will follow up with the organisation that has expressed an interest in G-Suite. If anyone has any additional feedback on the survey, or would like KIN to consider running an event on a topic not mentioned in the survey, please contact Steve Dale (steve.dale@mail.wbs.ac.uk)

Enabling Technology Announcement: Algorithms In Decision Making - Commons Select Committee Report

Anyone who attended the December 2017 Workshop on "Data Driven Decision Making" couldn't have failed to be impressed by the presentation given by Dr Stephanie Mathisen, who spoke about the dangers of unregulated algorithms in the public sector that may influence decisions that could affect any of us. But whether you attended or not, I highly recommend reading the recently published report by the House of Commons Science & technology Select Committee.   The report acknowledges the role that Stephanie played in bringing these issues to the attention of Government: "The Report responds to a request for an inquiry into algorithms suggested to the previous Committee's 'My Science Inquiry' by Dr Stephanie Mathisen. She raised the question of "the extent to which algorithms can exacerbate or reduce biases" as well as "the need for decisions made by algorithms to be challenged, understood and regulated".

Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Workplace

Recent ‘innovation’ themed KIN Quarterly workshops have included “Reimagining the Innovative Organisation”, “The People Side of Innovation” and AI-augmented decision making. We continue the series for our Autumn Workshop (10/11 September) looking at how innovative technologies are shaping the way that work is done. We will look at how immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have transitioned from game-playing to serious business applications.

The emphasis will be on the business application of the technology rather than how the technology works. We will hear (and see) from pioneers in the practical application of AR and VR to solve real world business problems. There will be case studies from PwC, Severn Trent Water and the National College. The best way to understand the potential of these technologies is to actually try them out. Participants will be able to ‘immerse’ themselves in some of the AR and VR applications in our “Showcase” demonstrations from Kazendi, Cognitant, and Mbyronic.

Examples of business and operational tasks to which AR and VR bring benefits are: 

• Hands-free tasks: From engineering to medicine, the ability to access information and digital objects through AR and VR devices.  Examples: AR to enable engineers to see inside complex machinery by overlaying a design schematic. Allowing employees to check judgements, consult models or literally ‘see-through’ the problem.

• Visualisation of data, objects, projections and models: AR and VR technologies allow for visualisations of all kinds to be shared between teams within their working environment. Example: AR used to enable architects or product designers to share models with clients. 

• Improving teamwork, collaboration and communication: AR and VR have real potential to facilitate remote working and virtual team-working. Example: Team or project co-presence / virtual meeting in digital environments.

• AR and VR can provide cost-effective solutions for knowledge-intensive training on high-value assets. Example:  Virtual ‘on-the-job’ training in simulated hazardous environments.

KIN events always strive to balance academic and experiential learning. We will will start the day with a thought-provoking keynote from Dr Fridolin Wild. Fridolin has undertaken significant research into performance augmentation and enhanced learning techniques provided by Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality applications.

This workshop is not a glimpse into the future or ‘what might be’, but a practical exploration of what business and industry innovators are doing now to augment human capabilities and change the way that work is done.  But you need to experience this rather than read about it. If you're sceptical, I’m sure you'll come away more excited than you thought you would be.

KIN members can register to attend the workshop by contacting Jane at kin@wbs.ac.uk. Please register by 29^th August.

Not only, but also….

Previous KIN members (alumni) are invited to join current members on Monday 10th September from 2.30pm - 5.00pm for a guided tour of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). WMG provides innovative solutions to industry; through research, education and collaboration. The tour will include a visit to the Manufacturing Automation Centre, where they use immersive technologies and advanced 3D imagining. We will also visit the Autonomous Vehicle development centre where we will be able to try their simulator. This will be followed by a networking dinner in the evening. KIN alumni should let Jane at kin@wbs.ac.uk know if you’d like to attend the tour and the networking dinner by 29^th August.

10 years of KIN Bloggin'

It's almost unbelievable, but it's 10 years since KIN started this Blog.

We have covered a huge range of topics, moving from old-school Knowledge Management to cutting-edge innovation practices. We've covered site visits, member news, changes in KIN personnel (we miss you Dawn!) and some personal perspectives on the changing nature of work.

Individual blog posts: 264
Most unlikely topic: James May and Meccano
My favourite post: Rory Sutherland
Funniest posts: Don't laugh and Tongue-in-cheek project management definitions

We hope that you continue to enjoy the KIN Facilitators' picks.

Gary, Steve, Erica (and Phil, who posted the very first KIN blog in 2008)

PS, If you don't subscribe to KIN Bloggin' you can easily sign-up here.