Innovation that's music to our ears - commercial innovation in reality

Innovation that’s music to our ears – commercial innovation in reality

One industry that isn’t a stranger to commercial innovation is the music industry.  Taking recording formats as an example, since the late 19th century there have been several waves of advancement, including: –  Phonograph cylinder (1888-1920’s) –  Vinyl (1920’s – early 1990s ) –  Cassettes (Late 1970’s – early 2000’s) –  CD’s (1982 – )…

The Importance of Beta Feedback

The Importance of Beta Feedback

Increasingly we live in a society where we expect everything to be available instantly, 24/7/365.  Yet often we take for granted the time and effort that it has taken to achieve this for each individual product or service. On another axis the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and therefore more complex.  How many of us…

Can you play from the baseline if you don't know where it is?

Can you play from the baseline if you don’t know where it is?

In so many areas of life, being successful is about continually improving versus your previous best.  The baseline is key.  Outsourcing is no different, without a robust baseline it’s difficult to measure performance and apportion risk and reward in a sustainable and balanced way. The competition to take over the procurement of defence equipment for…

"they put the pieces together in a different way that succeeded"

“they put the pieces together in a different way that succeeded” – Bill Gates

In an interview for CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ program, Bill Gates talked about his relationship with Steve Jobs.  In it he talks about tablets, “We did tablets – lots of tablet – well before Apple did” he states, before conceding “they put the pieces together in a different way that succeeded.”  In the world of tablets,…