Intro
This is the beginning of a very cool adventure: the creation of a community-produced “blook” – an interactive blog that will be transformed into a published book . . . with your help. We will be regularly soliciting your ideas, should you choose to share them, and grow a powerful and collaborative center of the future that, we intend to make a reality very soon. How we’re going about positioning this effort in time is itself a little innovative. Rather than write it from the present forward, we are collectively writing it from the future backwards — looking back in time to describe how we got there. We call this process “managing from the future” and it will have us (with lots of ideas from you) writing about what the center does, what it will look, sound and feel like, how it came into being – and by doing so, we intend to drive this process so it will take on a transformative quality, enabling you and us to test drive a novel way of innovating.
You will read about how we came up with the idea of a 21st century Innovation Center; how the Center will be entirely different from incubators and tech parks; how it will not be a competitor to other innovation initiatives or organizations, but, rather, a facilitator of innovation activities and events – a connection point for Chicago’s innovators to link among themselves as well as other innovators around the country and the world. We intend to be inclusive, connective and collaborative in our work.
So, imagine you’re now on Michigan Avenue – in the heart of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, and it’s October 10, 2010. You’re inside a retail environment unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before . . . . Led by a team of passionate, highly collaborative innovation professionals and 10 corporate sponsors who are also an integral part of the new center, kiosks and other electronic stations redefine retail establishments where high tech coaching and facilitation services replace retail inventory that sometimes would languish in stores, without strong turnover, for months. In this 21st century retail space, the inventory is mostly online. Espresso bars, pontification platforms, tele-presence suites, virtual reality pods and intelligent, interactive work surfaces strategically positioned at various locations throughout the three floors of the Center serve as innovation acceleration facilities and create natural gathering points for individuals with shared areas of interest.
Now imagine further that you are free to walk into the store and innovate new ideas, products and services for your own organization! Imagine connecting with other supportive professionals who help you or co-create with you. Imagine that this former purely retail location is now redefined as a site that combines a vibrant high-touch innovation experience with the best leading-edge high-tech tools available and connects to online resources and other innovation centers around the world. Imagine also that you can interact with thirty of the most innovative companies in Chicago and the U.S. that are regularly sponsoring contests to find the best new products and services for their customers through the strategic use of open innovation. Imagine that these companies then showcase the winners of these contests and their ideas at the center — helping others gain insight as to what it takes to innovate more effectively – and on demand.
Join us, Peter Balbus and myself, Melissa Giovagnoli, as we journey together to define and evolve a new concept in retail . . . The Networlding Center for Innovation and Collaboration . . . redefining retail for the 21st century, first in Chicago and then as a template in key cities around the world.
So what ten top innovation companies today do you see in the center when it open on 10/10/2010? Weigh in and let’s have the ones voted as the choices by the majority help us decide how we begin. Will it be:
- Apple
- Toyota Motor
- Microsoft
- Nintendo
- IBM
- Hewlett-Packard
- Research In Motion
- Nokia
- Wal-Mart Stores *
*Business Week’s 2009 Most Innovative Companies List- Note: for more help visit Business Week’s list offer one or more on your personal radar screen!
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Melissa, I would like to be one of your 10 people. We have a program in innovation it is one of my 7 killers of business if not done right. Also we will open 400 offices around the world and we buy your book for everyone of my franchises. I believe you have met Chris Brown and you might know Steve Fretzin. Steve has left my group but he was one of my students for several years. Both of them are in Chicago. Also another partner that was with me and I coached for over 3 years was Dan Kreutzer who is in Chicago. I believe in colaboration and sharing check me out on linkedin.
Keith. Thanks so much. I know Steve but don't think I know Dan. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact me with your ideas, Whereas the top 10 organizations we are looking to are global and at the Fortune 500 level, there is room to work with organizations that really understand collaboration as an integral part of large-scale implementation. Just reach out to me at melissa@networlding.com.
Melissa,
I like the concept and think the BusinessWeek Top 50 list is a great start for sponsoring companies. A challenge with that list is that it tends to identify similar businesses, large and technology driven. For comparison, the Inc 500 fastest growing companies would reveal some fresh thinkers and gain perspectives from small to mid sized businesses.
A creative way to use top 50 list alone might be to assure that there are at least 2 representatives from each of the measured innovation methods (Product, Process, Customer Experience, Business Model) top get the first 8 then fill in the last 2 from markets that are under-represented by that group. This could make the list
Product: Apple, Nintendo
Process: Toyota, Microsoft
Customer Experience: Google, Amazon
Business Model: Reliance Industries, Telefonica
Options: Wal-Mart (Retail), Tata (International/Private)
Terry
Great ideas Terry. We’ll definitely incorporate your ideas.
Interesting concept.
A few thoughts: wouldn't looking at some of the smaller start-ups make sense as well, since they are forging new ground in some case (eg, Hulu). Also social media should probably be included-Twitter.
Great point. We will definitely look at those organizations also.
I would look at the health care industry. The “under-the-radar” changes occurring in health care products are amazing. And with the current debate on improving health care delivery, watch for someone or someones to emerge with a new and radical model to provide health care services. And perhaps, it could come from a company outside the U.S. borders that sees the huge opportunity to turn health care services on its proverbial ear.