Fighting The Innovation Straitjacket: Innovating Inside Large Organizations S11 Ep33
Summary: Innovating inside large organizations can be challenging in the best of circumstances. So how do you go about getting leaders inside of established large companies and organizations get it when it comes to creativity and innovation and be successful? How do you get out of the innovation straitjacket?<br> Topics covered in this week show include:<br> <br> * What is meant by the concept of “innovation at the speed of life”?<br> * How do you succeed when you are operating in an innovation straitjacket?<br> * What is an “innovation dividend” and how do you use it to persuade others that your idea has value?<br> * What is the difference in innovation approach between the US, UK and China?<br> * Why do Chine leaders have a different approach to giving teams the “freedom to innovate”?<br> * Can innovating inside large organizations even be possible?<br> <br> Guest: Matt Bross<br> Matt Bross is the former Global Chief Technology Officer of Huawei, British Telecom and is a well known industry visionary who is passionate about harnessing new technologies and driving service innovations that improve and transform the ability of people to communicate. Matt has a strong track record of understanding key global business trends and translating them into innovative products, solutions and services. Matt is currently the Chairman and CEO of Compass-EOS which is a next-generation routing company.<br> You can connect with Matt at:<br> <br> * <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-bross-a654b88" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a><br> * <a href="http://www.compassnetworks.com/compass-eos-appoints-matt-bross-as-chairman-and-chief-executive-officer/" target="_blank">Compass Networks</a><br> * <a href="http://www2.ewi.info/profile/matt-bross" target="_blank">East West Institute </a><br> <br> Killer Question:<br> One of the first products I created as a software developer was a touch-typing program called <a href="http://www.individualsoftware.com/?product_cat=typing-instruction" target="_blank">Typing Instructor</a>. This was back in 1985, and at that time there was no such thing as a standard PC. Instead you owned a specific brand and had access to the programs that had been written specifically for that make, whether IBM, Wang, or DEC. Each of these companies was attempting to create lock-in for their third-party software developers. If a user wanted a specific application, they needed to own the computer for which it was written.<br> Now, was this a good thing or a bad thing? All of these brands approached the problem in unique ways. Compaq, a dinky start-up in the 1980s, had the most expansive philosophy about building their business. The team at Compaq realized that to win against the industry strategy of creating unique, proprietary PCs, they must push for PC uniformity. They decided to make their products compatible with IBM. Similarly, IBM licensed MS-DOS, a Microsoft operating system designed specifically for their PCs, a decision that subsequently made a fortune for Bill Gates.<br> On the other hand, companies like DEC and Wang thought they could create some unique differentiators that would make the software developers come to their platforms first. Wang was especially notorious for wanting to keep their programs proprietary. Because the PC manufacturers were in a fight to dominate the market and win over the largest market share as quickly as possible, locking a customer into using their brand and making it as hard as possible for the customer to switch in the future seemed like a good idea.<br> One of my first jobs in computer engineering was with a company called <a href="http://www.individualsoftware.com/" target="_blank">Individual Software</a>. I was twenty-four at the time and married with a kid when Individual called me. I knew these guys, and I had faith that they were going to do interesting work, and that it would be a good place to get in on the gro...
