Companies still reject innovation from outside

Much is made of open innovation, but it is found far less often than it is claimed. Most large companies remain closed to new ideas from outside, even those that boast about how much they seek it. I have seen many times in the past few years that companies do not simply reject ideas, but more worrying still, are unwilling to even listen to new ideas. It is ironic that the same person who calls for more externally sourced ideas the same day refuses to listen to one which has been proposed in response to the call.

MENG Trend Survey shows how social media challenges business

The Marketing Executives Networking Group recently carried out a survey among 533 senior Marketing executives. Among other key findings it showed that "social media" frustrates them. While they recognize how important it is, and plan to increase spending on it, they are unsure of how best to use it. This seems to continue the long-time discomfort with tools which are not completely under the control of the marketer. Public Relations is similar in that it is difficult to predict results, can easily backfire, and is tough to measure.

In fact, measurement of social media performance is becoming easier, and new "listening" tools,such as "Wise Window" are providing powerful new ways to track results. Since the tracking is almost instantaneous the company has the ability to fine tune. However, having said that, there is always the possibility of unexpected outcomes and the company has to go with the flow.

Potentially more interesting is the business which is dependent on social media, such as a networking site. For these, social media is not just a tool, but the product. Look for more and more of these to arise.

I am concerned for the competitiveness of the USA

The US continues to "offshore" manufacturing jobs. Yet, with the most expensive labor in the world, Germany continues to be the most succesful exporter of manufactured goods in the world per capita. Germany has an educational system geared to effectiveness, superb infrastructure, a strong support system for healthcare and the unemployed so that they are not a burden on industry. In the meanwhile, the US educational system is a two tier one, as is the healthcare system. Infrastructure, from roads to rail, bridges to electricity distribution is deteriorating. Most US exports are of commodities or financial services, whereas Germany exports primarily added-value manufactured products. We must learn to do the same.

Sucessful entrepreurs are ignorant..

Of the really low chances of success they face, and are supremely self-confident. In order to initiate a business, being too aware of the chances of failure is a handicap. Most entrepreneurs underestimate the challenges they will face, but because they have total self-confidence, start the business anyway. Yet the ranks of successful entrepreneurs consist of people like this. Too much experience and knowledge will make a potential business founder hesitate too much. The smart entrepreneur will, however, ensure that more experienced and cautious people are advisers so that some issues may be foreseen better.

The US has less intergenerational mobility than most Western countries

What a waste of human resources! While the correlation between individual and parental earnings is 0.15 in Denmark, 0.19 in Canada, 0.32 in Spain, it is 0.47 in the USA. This means that your position in life is determined by your parent's position more in the USA than othet Western countries. The children of poor people are destined to be poor. There is huge opportunity to increase the well-being of the US by providing more opportunity to its young citizens.

Back to my Blog - vision

I have been quiet for a month. If anyone has been wondering why, I have been going through a series of eye surgeries, with one more (and I hope final) one on Monday. It has forced me to think about Vision - not the optical kind, but the imagination kind. Listening to President Obama's speech and reviewing some of the equivalent speeches from other countries, it strikes me that few really signal a long term view of the world. When the architect Gaudi started building the church of the Sagrada Familia in 1883 he knew he would never live to see it completed. He also designed it to have the design completed by others, even though he had the guiding vision. Few people have that kind of far-sightedness, and it seems, even fewer politicians and business people. I see that the founders often do, seeing far beyond their lifetimes, but too many others are simply caretakers, hoping only to see out their time.