Formula for innovation and pace in organisations

Posted on August 22, 2013 by worthip

After experiencing a number of organisations from the small to the very large, it is clear that pace and innovation can be stifled in large companies but also there are good examples of innovation in big companies. Smaller companies by dint of their size have some advantages in terms of pace and innovation but is there a way of understanding the similarities of success and therefore understand the common threads?

In my view a simple formula to explain it has just two components –

N = the levels in the organisation between the person with the clearest view of what is needed (V) to be delivered, not the senior manager but the product designer, key user, etc. and the lead person who can actually deliver it (P) again not the manager of but the software developer, production designer, artist, etc.

T = the amount of their time as a percentage that the person (V) spends on the project with the deliverer (P)

So an ideal situation is 0 and ideal time is 100% which gives an ideal of 100 in the equation

Innovation Index = T / N+1 or T / (W-P) + 1

So, for example,

The marketing manager has a visionary idea for a new proposition for a new way of delivering products to customers. He briefs a product manager, who briefs the portfolio manager for marketing, they define requirements, talk to their contact account manager in logistics, who appoint a project manager, who gets a logistics expert assigned to the project. In this case N would be at least 4.

The marketing manager will spend 10% of his time on this in steering groups and reviews.

Therefore the pace and innovation index for this would be 10 / 4 +1 and hence T = 2, and therefore if the ideal is 100 the pace and innovative thought in this project would not be high.

Feels like it has legs…:)

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Day 2….

Posted on July 27, 2013 by worthip

Well, the likelihood of finishing Project 525 is not high 🙂

Start weight at 99kg, fat % at 32.9%, muscle at 30.1% ( so what is the rest?)

Not a good start point having done so well in early 2012 but that’s all history now!

That leaves fat at 32.6kg, muscle at 29.8kg.

Target of sub 14st is sub 88kg but sub 17% fat suggests harder work!

88 kg weight ; 30kg muscle ; 37kg other means 21kg of fat which would still be 24% fat!

Ideal would then be to swap 6kg of fat for 6kg of muscle!! — hmmmm!!!

88kg, 36kg muscle, 15kg fat seems a little on the tough side but lets see.

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Project 525 – goals and initiation

Posted on July 23, 2013 by worthip

So, fancy idea, borne out of the view that you can achieve less than you think in say 3 months but much more than you can imagine over a much longer period. I think this is often seen in corporate world of over ambitious short term goals that create internal disruption and angst which has the counter productive impact on the ability and confidence to both imagine and deliver the truly impact full over a longer period of time.

Project 525 – number of days left to end if 2014.

Goals ( not likely to be ambitious enough given the above!)

Weight
– < 14st and or body fat <17% - stabilised for 6 months Learn - language - personal development For starters!!

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Well I thought I would leave it a year!!!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by worthip

I know I am the only one here!

Not used this for a while but definitely not a bloggice any more having spent some time blogging each week over the last number of months.

Learnings….they definitely need a consistent theme that can be developed not necessarily the same subject matter but a point of view on each subject that is a convenient set of route markers for the readers. Ramblings are ok for this but for a proper blog wouldn’t be.

Will continue now with this updating some of the topics and thoughts to help my own thought process…sometimes things seem different when you write them down rather than when they are in your head!

Topics – Chimp Paradox, fitness, mobile business models, trust based business models

Theme ? – customer excellence; new business models in a mobile / smartphone world; personal development and growth (physical and mental)

Fill yer boots!

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Risk of low carb diets

Posted on June 28, 2012 by worthip

I have spent some time on a low carb diet with some degree of success whilst also trying to decipher the complex battle of the lobbyists of the fast food industry and health professionals, the recent scuffle in this war appearing on the front page of the Daily Express this week with a serious attack on such diets as a major heart risk. Is this a reaction to the recent BBC programme – The men who made us fat? Is it a genuine research backed finding or another ‘funded’ piece of convenient research?
It becomes difficult to tell but the prominence on the front page and the emphasis on the female readership does ring a few alarm bells as to the motives.
I tend to focus on the sense of the likes of Patrick Holford for a more balanced and medical view on the relative pro’s and con’s of various nutrition regimes.

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Another phenomenom to come to terms with

Posted on May 21, 2012 by worthip

Just as I struggle to get to grips with the blogging world, I come across a newer craze called Phlogging, which is the streaming of voice from telephone calls directly onto the Internet. Hmmm, I am not sure that I am particularly interested in the verbal diarrhea of people with nothing better to do but perhaps I shouldn’t be so negative and see if I should inflict my whitterings and musings, in a Wigan accent, onto the Phloggersphere, has anyone coined that term yet?

However, I am sure that there must be some real business opportunity with this in terms of communication and perhaps even data entry and simple processes management as I am sure that sometimes we all over complicate such solutions in order to use the latest and greatest gadget or tool.

Watch, or should I say listen, to this space.

To see more, try http://www.ipadio.com

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Well the danger of being a bloggice…

Posted on May 21, 2012 by worthip

So, after an initial splurge, I guess the bloggice that I am hadn’t managed to bake the regular entries into my every day life…perhaps because I have a life? Discuss!

Anyway, lots to talk about so not giving in yet and the experiment to keep in going for all of 2012 lives on and we will see where it takes me.

So..

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Experiencing new music

Posted on April 27, 2012 by worthip

I am sure it is partly as a result of the post 7pm Radio 2 schedule that I have decided that I have not really explored enough of certain types of music in my life.  I guess they were unfashionable to 60’s child, but Country, Folk and Jazz in particular had never appealed…but I am getting to like them and will use this to explore more!

As a child conceived in 60’s psychedelia, damaged by glam rock, bored by prog rock, saved by punk rock, excited by reggae, soothed by soul, bemused by new romantics, deafened by the stadium bands, teased by house, revived by britpop and confused by everything past 1999…..there are some genres that I have found it easy to explore and love such as classical and opera but bizarrely the whole massive catalogue of Country has always seemed as though it belonged to another world, Folk seemed as though it belonged to another era and Jazz seemed to be a pointless cacophony of dissonant notes…I blame George Melly!

But I have come to the conclusion that I have been wrong and that I have heard some amazing old and new music in all of these genres and it is time to explore a bit deeper.  So my challenge is to listen and learn and I will buy 5 albums of each type (although I have already got a few of each, Emmylou Harris, John Coltraine, etc. but I will discount these in order to learn more!)  So…watch this space…I know it is only me here! 🙂

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Skills, Commitment and Luck…what matters most?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by worthip

Over the last few days there has been a number of phone-in’s (how tedious!) and comments in the media about the combination of various atrributes to explain success in Sport, in particular, but I would think it equally a maxim appropriate for success in life.

The 3 attributes have been variously articulated as ability, practice, attitude, motivation etc. but to me the 3 key areas can be summed up as Skills, which include natural talents plus the practice and dedication to improving those skills; Commitment, which to me is the attitude, drive, emotion and motivation that an individual or team brings to bear on a specific match, contest or mission and Luck, the seemingly random occurence of events that influence the outcomes of day to day activity, the impact of which has greater relevance for certain short periods of time but evens out over longer periods.

I am always reminded when thinking about luck of the famous Gary Player quote referring to the more he practices the luckier he got, which in the context of the above was in my view more of clear message that skills can and are improved through dedication and practice, often beyond the level that seems to be ‘normal’ to us regular folk!

The 3 factors in my view have direct relevance in much of sport and in my view the combination of the the 3 is what makes sport such a wonderful pastime to play and observe.  If life and sport was simply about skill then the dimension would be somewhat limited but clearly it is the single most important factor but the interplay of the other 2 factors when skills are within a certain proximity make for interesting outcomes, probably seen most in team sports.

Two out three aint bad…would seem to be a good theme tune to some of the most exciting sporting shocks over the years.  Even the Chelsea versus Barcelona match on the 24th April 2012 demonstrated that with great attitude, commitment and belief allied to some good fortune can triumph over a team with demonstrably greater skills.  Chelsea are not as skillful but are by fact of their semi final status are close enough in proximity for the other two factors to give them the edge.

The skills can be honed on a training ground and in long dedicated focused effort on all aspects of a game but commitment is more ellusive and is much more a feature of personal circumstance, relationships, incentives, loyalty and motivation that is truly a winning combination that can be observed in many of the great individuals and teams in sport, business and other walks of life.

It would be great in you could bottle some commitment for use at an appropriate time 🙂

I wonder who possessed the best combination of skills and commitment in sporting history?  There must be many candidates!

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4lb to go….

Posted on April 22, 2012 by worthip

The last few pounds to target weight seem to be the hardest…

I am sure it is a combination of the natural slowing down of weight loss the closer you reach a target, it seems for 2 reasons, that the burning of calories naturally reduces as you are carrying around less weight all day and that your body is also extracting more nutrients and calories from the food consumed. Both Dukan and Atkins refer to this. I am sure also that it is psychological with being so close and yet so far but the fact remains that after 40lbs it would be stupid to not complete the journey. And I will.

I also decided to up the exercise regime and have used the Body4life exercise routine which focussed on intensity and a 2 way spilt (Upper Body / Lower Body) interspersed with interval cardio. I am in week 5 of an initial 12 and will review progress after that. The downside to combining the two is that I think that Dukan doesn’t provide enough ‘fuel’ for the exercise regime but I don’t want to let up ahead of hitting the target.

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