Archive for October, 2008

Oct 27, 2008

Book Chunk Project – prototype

Alexander Osterwalder

Yves Pigneur’s and my book on the topic of “Crafting Innovative Business Models” (working title) is only due in May 2009 (approx.). That is way too long to wait. Many people asked us for early access. Hence, I thought it could be a good idea to distribute the book content in separate chunks before.

The slides below outline the draft of this idea of giving interested people early access to our writing for 24.- $US (or maybe a little more). By subscribing to this so-called “book chunk project” you will get several things (suggest more…):

  • first & exclusive access to raw book content
  • influence authors
  • x installments of book chunks (in a non-linear order – as we write them)
  • 50% discount off the final book (approx.)
  • participate in exclusive book chunk webinars
  • access to templates
  • being part of the business model innovation community

I would be interested in your comments on this and if you would be willing to buy such an early and exclusive access. Do you think the pricing is too low? Any suggestion is welcome. In the meantime have a look at the slides that outline this idea that I would launch very soon if I feel an interest from your side:

Book Chunk Project – prototype
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: book project)

Posted in alex osterwalder, alexander osterwalder, book, book project, business model, business model design, business model innovation, strategy, yves pigneur | 38 Comments »

Oct 16, 2008

Business (Strategy) Books Lack Creativity…

Alexander Osterwalder

Today I did some research for my upcoming book with Prof Yves Pigneur: I went to a Border’s bookstore in New York and browsed the business (strategy) literature for their visuals and design. Basic conclusion: except for the cover there are no to little visuals, even for the most innovative book contents.

The most visual strategy illustration I found was in Kim & Mauborgne’s blue ocean strategy book. It is part of their concept to allow for a visual comparison of the differentiation strategy of a company. Though I do like their book, I believe it lacks the same visual creativity than all other strategy books.

As to their form & usability my conclusion is that the large majority of business (strategy) books are totally un-inspirational. So I moved on to architecture books, where I expected some great visual presentations. Of course architecture is more tangible than business (strategy). Yet, I don’t accept that excuse…


My nicest surprise during this little research was the discovery of a domain that makes great use of visuals: personal style. Look at the following photo & text. Wouldn’t that be a nice illustration when talking about customer strategies and “personas”?


The most notable exception in the field of business books was the one I bought. It’s called The Art of Engagement – Bridging the Gap between People and Possibilities. The author, Jim Haudan, uses illustrations extensively in his book and uses them as a tool for engagement… not surprising.

Though this lack of using visuals in business (strategy) books seems like a detail, I think it is essential when we are talking about strategy today. Strategies have to be communicated clearly. In today’s complex world this is only possible through visuals that simplify the complex and make it clear.

Visualization is also a technique that uses one of our most important senses – the ability to see. While it was difficult to include images in the early days of books, this is now different. Why are strategy gurus still not making use of today’s technology?

I hope I can change all this and bring in a fresh breeze… However, I’m still looking for the right designer, who can help us with our book ;-)

Posted in blue ocean strategy, books, business model book, business model innovation, strategy books | 20 Comments »

Oct 15, 2008

Are we all Creatives?

Alexander Osterwalder

If you want to be successful at innovation in companies today you have to involve everybody!

That is one of the strongest quotes that I take away from Sir Ken Robinson’s keynote that I attended in Toronto today. Michael Dila of Torch Partnership invited me to this event and I’m glad I accepted.

Sir Ken is an authority in the field of creativity and innovation. In his talks he shows how we are taught to become uncreative throughout our educational systems. We have practically lost our ability to be creative by the time we arrive as so-called “knowledge workers” in companies … In essence, this means that we don’t have a creativity crisis in companies, but a structural crisis. Our educational system and our companies lack the structures it takes to make creativity flourish throughout our organizations.

“saying that not all people can be creative is like saying that not all people can be literate”

I could not agree more. That is also one of the reasons I think we have such difficulties to achieve business model innovation. We believe only the “creatives” can come up with new and maybe disruptive ideas. However, inventing innovative business models requires co-creation and diverse teams from all hierarchical levels, divisions, age and gender groups. Everybody’s creativity within an organization should contribute to strengthening and renewing the business model!

Taste a sample of Sir Ken’s amazing ability to entertain while addressing a highly important issue:

Sorry if this post does not seem fully cooked and ready to serve. I have several hours of travel behind me, but absolutely wanted to write about this inspiring event I attended…

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Oct 13, 2008

The Business Model Innovation Platform

Alexander Osterwalder

This blogpost is a question to you: would you like to see a business model innovation platform emerge for a community of practitioners around the topic? A place to share experience, tools, examples and insights…

Context: I’m just done with a series of 3 workshops in a row at Toronto’s Rotman school, the MaRS “incubator” and an event in New York. It was GREAT! The topic is hot, people are hungry to innovate business models and my business model canvas is spreading. Multiple groups and companies are applying the canvas in their own setting and extending its use (e.g. IBM is experimenting with software-supported business model design). One person in Toronto has even told me that the canvas has opened up a whole new career for him. Yet, there is no one place to go to share experience around the topic…

This all led me back to an idea I had a while ago: the creation of a Business Model Innovation Platform. It would be a place where people could share their ideas around the topic, share their experience with business model innovation and show how they applied the business model canvas. A vibrant community of practitioners where all the necessary tools are available for download (some would have to be paid, though). Tools could be templates, training videos, industry specific business model reports, etc. The MySpace of business model innovation…

A couple of questions to you:

  • Are you interested? Is this a worthwhile idea?
  • What functionalists would you want from such a platform for a community of business model innovation practitioners?
  • What business model innovation tools would be useful?
  • What name do you recommend for this platform

Another series of questions to the “techies” on my blog:

  • Are there open source platforms out there that could be easily used for such a platform (non-branded, so the platform could have its own brand…)?
  • Where can I get my platform developed through crowd-sourcing?
  • Where can I get a good and cheap design crowd-sourced?

I’m hopeful you can spare a moment to share on this topic because such a platfrom could have a nice impact on how we do business. We could create more value through new business models, we could have more fun doing strategy and business models through design thinking and we could find new and innovative ways to make money…

By the way, there is one particular reason why I am so supercharged: 4 years ago I used to sit at the Wawee Coffee Shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand. That is where I relaunched my blog on business model innovation. Since then I have never looked back. Many people know my blog and use my canvas. I am now invited for keynotes and workshops around the world.

4 years later I am sitting in a coffee shop in Brooklyn, New York, surrounded by entrepreneurs and students working on their Mac. I feel like this is the next stage for my work after those days in Chiang Mai. It’s the launch of another stage: Together with Professor Yves Pigneur we want to lauch a new type of business book in 2009 on business model innovation. In addition to that I would love to connect the business model innovation community on a platform. There is just so much exciting innovation around business models going on at the moment… We need to bring that experience together!

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments »