Why Big companies can't innovate

Growth through innovation always sounds like a great strategy but the truth is that big companies cannot innovate because they are not designed to do so. Max Wessell offered up a great read on this topic in a HBR blog and below is what I believe the central issue for all big companies.

"For executives who want to secure growth through innovation, the answer lies in recognizing the limits of their organization and empowering groups to function with very different goals and operational metrics. To allow teams the freedom to create Odwalla Smoothies as opposed to forcing them through a mold that outputs Gerber Singles." read the whole blog (here)

Faith, Freedom and Happiness

(illustration by William Sharp)

Understanding the nature, and meaning, of Faith, Freedom and Happiness has always intrigued me. Aside from the Bible no one I know of has done so masterful a job tackling this topic as did F. Dostoyevsky in his book The Brother's Karamazov, a book which truly mesmerized me back in college. That said, when I saw the following write up (below) in Sunday's NYT re: what is arguably the most intriguing section of the book itself  in the form of a story in a story titled The Grand Inquisitor I wanted to share it.

Enjoy.

The Freedom of Faith: A Christmas Sermon

By SIMON CRITCHLEY

The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless.

TAGS:

CHRISTIANITY, FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY, PHILOSOPHY,RELIGION

In an essay in The Times’ Sunday Book Review this week the writer Paul Elie asks the intriguing question: Has fiction lost its faith? As we are gathered here today, let us consider one of the most oddly faithful of all fiction writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky. More specifically, I’d like focus pretty intensely on what some consider to be the key moment in his greatest novel — arguably one of the greatest of all time — “The Brothers Karamazov.” (Elie himself notes the 1880 masterpiece as an example of the truly faith-engaged fiction of yore.) I speak in particular of the “Grand Inquisitor” scene, a sort of fiction within a fiction that draws on something powerful from the New Testament — Jesus’s refusal of Satan’s three temptations — and in doing so digs at the meaning of faith, freedom, happiness and the diabolic satisfaction of our desires.

First a little biblical background.

Scene 1 – In which Christ is sorely tempted by Satan

After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, Jesus is understandably a little hungry. Satan appears and tempts him. The temptation takes the form of three questions. The first involves food. The Devil says, and I paraphrase, “If you are, as you say, the son of God, then turn these stones in the parched and barren wilderness into loaves of bread. Do this, not so much to feed yourself, starved as you are, but in order to feed those that might follow you, oh Son of God. Turn these stones into loaves and people will follow you like sheep ever after. Perform this miracle and people will happily become your slaves.”

Jesus replies, “Not on bread alone shall man live, but on every word proceeding through the mouth of God.” In other words: “Eat the bread of heaven.” Jesus refuses to perform the miracle that he could easily carry out — he is, after all, God — in the name of what? We will get to that.

read the rest of the article here

Ever wonder what the work of Holy Spirit looks like?

Was thinking of ways to describe the work of God's Holy Spirit may look like and after reading Genesis Chapter 1 (here) and viewing images of Mars (here), comparing Earth and Mars might be good example of a worlds "with" vs one "without" the Holy Spirit.

With the Holy Spirit

Without the Holy Spirit

Leading vs Leaders

One of the best explanations of the difference between one who leads a project vs a team of people.

Sinofsky Led at Microsoft, but That Doesn't Make Him a Leader

by Eric McNulty  |   3:11 PM November 15, 2012

• Comments (44)
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The departure of senior Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky earlier this week has had business and tech circles buzzing. It was unexpected, immediate, and came on the heels of the release of Windows 8. Throughout the press accounts of the breakup, Sinofsky was consistently referred to as a "leader." In fact, the New York Times held up this event and the departure of Apple executive Scott Forstall as examples of the challenge of knowing when to keep "brilliant leaders who cannot seem to get along with others..."

Full disclosure: I do not know Mr. Sinofsky and I want to disparage neither him nor his accomplishments. He may well be looked back on as a technology visionary. What I take issue with, however, is our collective tendency to automatically call people in senior positions "leaders" and then be disappointed when they fail to display leadership.

Read the rest of this article here.

Mobile vs Digital: How a 180+ Year old publisher figured it out.

Every once in a while I find a company doing something cool.

Was speaking with a friend of mine John Morse, President of Merriam-Webster (M-W) and he reminded me that he now has two (2) legacy products; "print" and "digital". What I really liked about this comment is that regardless of what you may think about America's most oldest and most venerable Publisher that is pushing 180+ years of existence - and yes they are still in same building in Springfield, MA that they moved into in the early 1930s - John and his leadership team understands how to refresh what is arguably the dowdiest of published products - a dictionary - by keeping current of their customers needs. For example their two most recent "mobile" offerings include an integration into of their core dictionary into Windows 8 and for use on a SmartPhone are good examples of what publishers can and should be doing to delight their users. (BTW - I have the M-W app on my smartphone.)

I believe the key to M-W's success with their mobile offerings is that they've figured out that it's not the 180+ year old dictionary (the ISBN) that matters for their success but it's the benefit derived from the use of that published product that "delights the users". Words are more important than ever given the growth of IM, FB, Blogs and email and M-Ws mobile solutions can make it even easier for anyone to express themselves clearly, correctly and more effectively (aka make yourself look smarter and sharper) by enabling them to quickly find just the right words. Besides, I often come across words in books and novels that I need to look up.  Maybe I'm old fashioned but I still love good prose. With the new mobile offerings M-W can bypass the "ISBN-shackles and monetize the benefit of what they have to offer their users. For everyone outside of traditional "textbook" publishing this may not seem so radical but for those on the inside of traditional publishing Morse and his team's efforts are more akin to proving that the world is in fact round.

(Note - I realize that there are many other good examples of publishers who have made the transition from digital to mobile but I just thought M-W's efforts were notable by virtue of their history and core offering.)

Fixing Farming ... remarkable new info.

Every once in a while a story hits me that is really great news and if true it's the kind of story that needs to be told. Here is a quick excerpt from this weekends NY Times.

"The study was done on land owned by Iowa State University called the Marsden Farm. On 22 acres of it, beginning in 2003, researchers set up three plots: one replicated the typical Midwestern cycle of planting corn one year and then soybeans the next, along with its routine mix of chemicals. On another, they planted a three-year cycle that included oats; the third plot added a four-year cycle and alfalfa. The longer rotations also integrated the raising of livestock, whose manure was used as fertilizer.

The results were stunning: The longer rotations produced better yields of both corn and soy, reduced the need for nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides by up to 88 percent, reduced the amounts of toxins in groundwater 200-fold and didn’t reduce profits by a single cent."

Click here for the whole story.

Branson's Five Tips on Starting a business

Richard Branson has started over 300 business over the past 30+ years and I like his take on five (5) keys to remember when starting your business. Interesting to note the lack of emphasis on planning, budgeting and market research. Good stuff
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1. Listen more than you talk

We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

2. Keep it simple

You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse.

3. Take pride in your work

Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

4. Have fun, success will follow

If you aren’t having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the morning to work on your business is a chore, then it's time to try something else. If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will fluorish. A smile and a joke can go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

5. Rip it up and start again

If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn’t a success, welcome to the club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up and start again.