The power of the crowd - insight and collaboration through crowdsourcing

The power of the crowd – insight and collaboration through crowdsourcing

Whether you like it or not we are all contributors and users of crowdsourced data on a daily basis.  Examples are all around us, whether it’s: voting on TV talent shows; product ratings on Amazon; or traffic on Google Maps; or mobile phone coverage maps collated by RootMetrics from user supplied data.  Whilst the first…

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,…

Can you prototype a contract? - do we have the right contracting skills?

Can you prototype a contract? – do we have the right contracting skills?

In one of my sessions at the recent IACCM EMEA conference which looked at contracting skills I posed the question that whilst we would rarely let a product get to market without some form of testing or prototyping, how many commercial or contract management professionals consider testing their contracting structures or agreements? If we look…

Travel Curation - the Future of the High Street Travel Agents?

Travel Curation – the Future Business Model of the High Street Travel Agent?

In a business world where companies are adjusting their business model to outsource all but the business critical and core activities, in the consumer world we seem to be increasingly insourcing more and more to meet our value for money aspirations.  A good example of this is the way in which many of us plan…