In July 2012, Paul Omerod spoke at the RSA on network effects. He described this as positive linking – but not because the effects of networks are all positive. His contention is that – especially in economics – we tend to be subject to (but over look) network effects. Better attention to this trend could lead to a revolution in our…
When thinking about roles at work, maybe it is worth thinking about fantasy. Indeed, the idea of ‘what role do you play’ implies something about imaginary drama – about the play- within-the play. At a conference in Elsinore in Denmark, I attended a socio drama workshop. The session was led by Ron Weiner. He described us to each other as ‘each…
One of my partners, Mandalah, have developed an approach to innovation as a process which is beautiful – I encourage you to visit their stunning www site. They describe this multi-disciplinary method as behavioural based innovation – based on a blend of systems’ thinking, complexity & integral theory, design thinking, and biomimicy. They blend these together in way which are ‘matched’…
In the London Review of Book (January 3rd 2013) Paul Myerscroft writes about Pret a Manger, and ‘affective economics’. He paints a picture of a dynamic beneath the surface of the affable, funky, good natured feel of the shops. He writes: ‘Pret workers aren’t supposed to be unhappy. They are recruited precisely for their ‘personality’, in the sense that a…
A video from Nokia documents the 5 years of work and innovation by the 50 person Nokia team that went into the 41 megapixel camera of the Nokia 808 Pureview: The video introduces you to the Nokia team members pursuing their purpose of innovation and new technology products. The results of their pursuit of purpose is amazing innovation that is sure to…
It is accurate to see ‘iWorld’ and Google as special instances of intimacy, where aesthetic experience is part of what is being bought and sold, part of what is being exchanged, and to a degree co-created. Platform technologies like those that underpin Apps create massive distribution systems where individuals ‘pull’ the product that interests them with little or no ‘friction’…
Bryan Applehard in his book ‘The Brain is Wider then the Sky’, further explores the twist that reality is ‘presented’ to me – based on the history of my preferences, my search habits. He describes an example of two people searching ‘on Egypt’ at exactly the same point in time; one gets a series of ‘search’ results which prioritise (in…
Daniel Soar discusses the way in which Google is like a ‘baby’s brain’, developing its relationship with me through its relationship with me; learning from my search habits and inferring information from my interactions with it (eg where I tend to keep my Android phone overnight is my ‘home’ address, in their database). Something similar – but different in terms of…
The risk in any brand experience based on aesthetics is that so long as I am part of this organisation (so long as I am organised like this) I will never have a new experience – as Eric Schmidt (then of Google) envisioned, in 2030 young people will either ‘be asleep or on-line’. The idiom could not be more clear- ‘on-line’,…
Philip Kotler write about ‘making the invisible visible’ through his concept of ‘ingredient branding‘. One of the features of intimate innovation in business, product development and the uses of technology is that ‘my experience of the brand becomes the central ingredient’. My interactions with the brand are what adds the value for me – as if the brand was itself…
Slingshot