Comments on: There is No Lack of Business Model Innovation Ideas

By: Alex Osterwalder

Alex Osterwalder — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Great comments from all of you. Of course coming up with new business models is a complex play between structure and people.

I usually refer to Gary Hamel’s “Future of Management” to illustrate that management innovation and new organizational structures are necessary to cope with innovation (and other issues of importance in today’s organizational word).

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:42:00 +0000

I certainly agree with this Alex.
One of the issue I find interesting is that organizations are starting to re-think their model with input not just from the excecutive and sr.management level, but from a collective of ideas from line workers line workers working backwards to R&D, development production etc (Diversity). In this case they are building backwards starting from the customer taking a holistic view.

Similar to the lean/6 sigma approach.

Innovation ideas should be the mainstay of any organization.

By: Miljenko

Miljenko — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:11:00 +0000

Hi,
I agree with Alex that "the biggest problem is that today's organizational and management structures don't allow good business model ideas to become visible.", as well as with Anders that "there is often no process or system to systematically collect, evaluate, manage, and execute the ideas.".
Proposed solution (to "put a multi-disciplinary business model innovation task force together) is first step in right direction. Point is to have "whole system in the room", ie. to recognize and include all key stakeholders.
But, as BM is dinamicaly, socially and generatively complex problem (see. Claus Otto Scharmer U THEORY and P. Senge et alt. PRESENCE) it will be necessary to use different process (i.e. "U process" to create new BM.). During this process participants (ie. managers/leaders) will change the 'place' from where they act, and create different organizational and management structure.
As A Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them".
So, in order to change way of thinking it will be necessary that members of this BM innovation task force learn some new skills:
* seeing larger systems
* cooperate
* create vision of desired futures.

By: Patrick Stähler

Patrick Stähler — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:00:00 +0000

The problem is not finding some business model innovation but the right one that can disrupt your industry, create a blue ocean and let you earn money.
And as you said diversity in the team helps. I have a very impressive example during a lecture I gave. The team with just one woman did not find a creative solution since they stuck to the traditional way of thinking in the same dimensions. The team with half women/ half men come up with the disruptive innovation. I wrote down the story at http://blog.business-model-innovation.com/2009/03/diversity-and-mental-models/

By: Anders Sundelin

Anders Sundelin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:09:00 +0000

I fully agree with you Alex. Interesting business model ideas can come from anywhere in the company but there is often no process or system to systematically collect, evaluate, manage, and execute the ideas.

We have been working for a while with multi-disciplinary task force groups to develop better IA and IP strategies and practices in companies. How should the R&D organization know what is really valuable in R&D projects without constant evaluation of developed assets from other perspectives than technical? How can the IP team design patents without knowing the business strategy to be applied? How can licensing decisions be made on technologies and IP, relating to core products on the market without extensive knowledge on the impact from different perspectives? How will partaking in a standard affect R&D, IP and the Sales organization?

Multi-disciplinary task forces are needed for IA/IP strategies and business model innovation, and marketing strategies, and…

…perhaps it’s not a dream team you are looking for, but a new way to organize companies.