Grand old telecom lady, Telia gave us a rush the other day. At their yearly business event two fantastic entrepreneurs showed their faces and showed off their stories. And what stories they told: Christian Koenigsegg’s fairytale about producing a world class sports car starting with nothing, zip, zero. And Peter Vesterbacka’s Finnish saga about the most played game ever, Angry Birds. Two different stories, but with similar lessons learned when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship. Let us try to summarize it for you. But first, let’s start with the numbers – they speak for themselves:
Koenigsegg: 0-300 km/h in 14.53 seconds and down to zero again in 6.66 seconds.
Rovio: 600 million downloads of Angry Birds (January 2012) in two years.

Successful entrepreneurs do often have some kind of self-evident aura around them. They have made it. They have fulfilled their dream. They have nothing more to prove. So they’re just there. Relaxed. But still eager to move on. Peter Vesterbacka from the Finnish app-company Rovio has that aura. As well as the Swede Christian Koenigsegg who is the man who has created Koenigsegg: “the most exciting sports car in the world” according to Top Gear and also voted as one of the hundred most important luxury brands on the planet. Innovation is in their blood. The true nature of creativity that incorporates all humans runs through their veins in an extra hot, dark red form. And among other things they told us this:

“Never accept gravity as a fact”
Christian Koenigsegg said those words based upon a conviction he had as a child, when he was told that gravity is the only force in the universe that goes only one way: he did not want to believe it. And since the age of 19 when he started his car company with no university studies, no money, no partners he has been trying to prove gravity wrong by building sports cars that keep setting world records in all kind of categories. As Kepler and Galileo, Koenigsegg would not give into a given fact. He wanted more truth, the real truth and nothing but the coolest sports car truth anyone had ever seen. Peter Vesterbacka told a similar story. As an app and game producer he had for years been told by big telecom operators and game distributors what the world looked like. And often it all came down to the same answer, based on the same facts, based on the same reports. This is what works. This is what we want you to do. And a little pat on the head. But when App Store came about, Rovio had the chance to do what they wanted and what they believed in, which wasn’t always in line with the industry truth of the day. They had always liked birds, but no one believed in their birdy-nam-nam ideas of a game. But they did. And so Angry Birds were finally born. The most played game ever.

The 52^nd version is the shit!
Vesterbacka said that Angry Birds was not a their first baby playing on their own. It was their 52^nd baby. They studied the market. They studied what hit games had in them. They made all kinds of prototypes. They put out all kinds of games. And finally they got their number 1 hit, that has been number 1 in the App Store in over 90 countries and have been number 1 in the US for 300 days in a row (the nearest app having been number 1 has been there a maximum of 30 days). They understood that they had something going when one of the developer’s moms could not stop playing the game for the whole Christmas 2009, and she did not even like playing games! Koenigsegg tells the same story of endurance. It took years and years and a lot of catastrophes both money-wise and, production-wise (the factory burning down…) before he could release his first car. But since a child he had always had the feeling that someday the world would come to an end. So he had to keep building. If not now, then when?

The Dream is Everything – even though the dream may change…
And they are both talking about the dream. The importance of having a dream and vision of doing something big, fantastic and with an attitude. Koenigsegg was asked about the difference between a hallucination and a vision and said: “There is none. I had the fever the other day and was kind of in a feverish innovation state, when I got some ideas for our engine that I think today, being healthy, will work. There is no difference between hallucination and vision. But the dream might change. I have another dream now than I had when I started making cars, but I still have a dream.” Vesterbacka talked about how the cockiness of Rovio saying that they always aimed higher than being a contractor, was sometimes seen with “Jante-eyes”. But they always aimed for being world class and being the best. That part of the dream is now true; their next one is 1 billion fans!

People like this change the world. One shy of the press and with a bold head. One with a hoody and the marketing talent of an American. Very different on the outside. But very similar on the inside.
 Why couldn’t this be you? Or me?

S seems to be the new black in innovation. Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore – there you have the nations at top three in both of the two recent rankings from World Economic Forum and Insead concerning innovation and competitiveness.  Three countries that are all starting with an S, but that’s about all they have in common, or? Three countries that differ a lot when it comes to their political system, geographic placement, and industry structure. At least after a quick glance. We decided to take a deeper look into the reports to understand how these countries happen to really stand out in the innovation year of 2011.

They pop up several times a year – different nation rankings considering innovation. And usually they tell somewhat the same story, but seldom the rankings are so clearly picking out three top candidates like it did this year in the two studies from WEF (World Economic Forum) and Insead, the French world class business school. Three different countries that look like three quite different cases, and maybe three quite different ways of creating innovation excellence. Maybe there’s not only one recipe for success? Or do they have more in common than you would think? Let’s take a look at what differences and similarities the apply to their recipes cooking…

The Innovation Recipe – similarities
Ok, so what do these countries have in common:

• One thing that is evident is that these three countries are fairly small population wise ranging from around 5-10 million people. As in the business world it seems like it helps to be small to middle size when it comes to innovation. Maybe the reforms can be made quicker, the decision makers are closer to the action, and rapid change in the global world that be addressed faster?
• Another thing that is evident is that these three countries are all doing good overall. When it comes to innovation these countries almost ranks top 10 in all the factors mentioned in the surveys, which seems to promote the strategy to promote innovation in an overall, broad perspective. Not just focusing on being especially great in specific niches, but very good overall. More a safe betting strategy, if you will, then putting all eggs in one basket.
• University-industry collaboration in R&D is also a stronghold that all these S-countries are very strong in. The divide between academia and business seems to be narrow, the doors open and the dialogue flowing. At least more than in many other countries where researchers and business people look upon each other as curious beings that have nothing to do with or learn from the other.

The Innovation Recipe – differences
Similar yes, but still they do differ:

• When it comes to creative output Sweden and Singapore is at the top, but Singapore ranks way lower. In the creative intangible section Singapore ranks on place 45 – is that a reaction to very stiff, semi-totalitarian political system? If you cannot free your mind, the rest will not follow and new ideas will not pop up. We have seen Singapore coming to Sweden to understand and adopt the principles that made Sweden rank as the most creative country in the world, but we are not sure that the Singapore leaders liked the answers given to them. To make creativity flow, the leaders have to let go. At least of some basic values that has do with personal freedom and expression.
• But the Singapore government stands out positively in another perspective. They are world class when it comes to procurement of advanced tech products. They make the public scene a test bed for new innovations and are willing to put in money in new systems that have not been tried elsewhere. They have a strong belief in new technology, a strategy that strives for excellence and courage to be a pioneer. Sweden and Switzerland only does OK in this area.
• And finally Sweden stands out when it comes to its workforce. The availability when it comes to scientists and engineers are very much higher than the other S-countries. The workforce in Sweden has a history of being world class in for example technology and medicine both in the university sector as well as the business sector.

To sum it up; Switzerland has a top position as a result of its continuing strong performance across the board. The country’s most notable strengths are related to innovation, technological readiness, and labor market efficiency, where it tops the Insead’ rankings. Singapore is leading among the Asian economies mostly because the country’s institutions continue to be assessed as the best in the world, both for their lack of corruption and government efficiency. And Sweden is world class foremost because of its significant emphasis on creating the conditions for creativity and innovation-led growth. The quality of its public institutions is also first-rate, with a very high degree of efficiency, trust, and transparency. And so the international beauty contest of innovation continues…

A top-notch conference has many components that have to be planned and executed with lots of attention to the details: Venue and setup, Speaker lineup, Non speaker sessions, food and drink logistics and hopefully and interesting group of participants. But this is just the very basics, in order to deliver a fresh conference experience to a seasoned and critical crowd you need tons of creativity in the planning phase and an innovative attitude throughout the process. We have seen this approach in some conferences we have worked on lately. Namely: Generator, Next Generation Meetings and now the Conference (yes that is it’s name).

The event in question is produced by Media Evolution and is marketed as the annual media industry meet-up in southern Sweden with the tag line. “The Conference puts you right in the flow of the present media evolution and points an inspiring finger into the future”. Naturally all conferences draw their own special crowd. In this case around 600 participants with a mix of media professionals (lots and lots of these guys), twitter maniacs, media buyers and entrepreneurs. The tree themes running through the two conference days where: Who´s next?, Man & Machine and Creation. All in all the setup and lineup looked good going in.

The first day opened with Paola Antonelli, senior curator at Museum of Modern Art in New York, she shared some success stories on their latest exhibitions. Followed by how China consumed media by Kevin Lee from China Youthology. Before lunch we also managed to squeez in a session on the current media development in Africa. With millisecond news and twitter feeds, ted.com and other great sources it’s hard to find something totally “new” in a conferences session. But going to lunch four hours into the event our heads head where buzzing with new input.

Kevin Lee´s talk on Chinese media consumption

The afternoon was equally interesting with a great keynote on Cyborgs from Amber Case from geoloqi.com. Then quickly onwards to another session on future digital experiences followed by one on Augmented Reality. Running in parallel with all the sessions was an app competition with five programing teams from different organizations competing for a preload on the RIM Playbook. So far we have not mentioned the breaks and all the quick meet and greet moment that occurred there. Good crowd with participants from mainly Swedish companies but also people from MIT and the New York Times.

Day two started with the day’s first keynote speaker, Bill Drummond, shining shoes for free at the entrance, quirky stunt and the big conversation topic during morning coffee. Best sessions of the day was, New business opportunities with disruptive thinking by Luke Williams (Innovation professor, not the boring kind) and Naveen Selvadurai (co-founder of Foursquare). Funding creativity with the crowd, by Simon Close (Pirate Bay Documentary) among others. And finally the big number of the day was the closing keynote given by Riyaad Minty, head of Al Jazeeras social media department. He gave an emotional and personal performance  sharing his recipe on how news organizations can leverage social media.

Riyaad Mintys talk on Al Jazeeras social media strategy

So, is it ok to be that guy that thinks conferences are just a waste of time? We don’t think so, be smart instead, critical and picky (really picky) when choosing what conference to attend, or not attend. It might just be your best time investment this year.

The Serious Innovation Newsletter #38

The best kind of creativity and innovation creates mind-blowing experiences where the price becomes irrelevant and the sensory effect is just “WOW” and “AHA” and “GOT TO HAVE”. We just had one of those moments. It came in the area of food. Or maybe you should describe it as being in the area of experimental, sensual and artistic experiences. The restaurant NOMA in Copenhagen was just lately named the best restaurant in the world (ahead of legendary restaurants like El Bulli and The Fat Duck), and it certainly is worth mentioning as a superstar also in the field of innovation.

Let us walk you through our menu and tell you why…

NOMA is placed very discretely in an old salt storage facility in the up-and-coming harbor district in Copenhagen. When you enter the door there is at least five friendly waiters standing there to help you out, and seat you at a table. The very relaxed Norwegian (yes, NOMA is in Denmark, but the staff is VERY mixed – we probably had waiters from five-six different countries attending us) that is our host, seats us and delivers the first part of the menu, which is also the first part of the innovative power of NOMA:

Element of Surprise (…surprise!)
The menu you buy says that is it a seven course meal, but it is really 18-19 different taste experiences delivered in all kinds of formats. The first one sets the tone:
-“ Take a close look at the flower setting on your table”, says our taste guide. “The branches you see are also your first dish. It may look like just a branch of fir tree, but it is a piece of hard bread made of just fir tree. Please take some from the vase and dip it in the yoghurt on the table. Enjoy!” From the first moment of this experience we understand that this is going to be a dinner like no one else we have ever experienced before. Take something existing everywhere (a flower setting) and make it into something completely different (bread). Ask yourself: what in my industry is just always there in the middle of the table and never discussed, never acknowledged and never put through the innovation grinder? Then we are presented to dish number two:

Back to the roots (…and back again!) We are presented with a terracotta tray filled with moss and lichen. It’s like a perfect photo of Nordic forest soil. If you think about the Nordic countries and food, the best known dishes in the world is probably the cinnamon bun, the smorgasbord and maybe the salmon. But traditionally the Scandinavian countries have not been at the center of attraction when it comes to the culinary. But NOMA really goes back to the roots:
-“This is your second dish. The lichen has been marinated in KarlJohan-mushrooms and have then been fried” says our Norwegian friend in a quiet, whispering and almost sacred tone. Innovation learning number two. Do not only look at all the glossy, glamorous examples of brands and products out there coming from all over the world. Look down at your own feet, your own roots, and see what you can find and make that special and outstanding. Then…

Continuous Experimentation (…never ending!)
… from one kind of roots to another. In front of us on the table is being put an old tin box, the flower painted, cozy looking one like the one your Grandma used to have her homemade cookies in. And in there were indeed small cookies that mixed flavors ranging from wood to strawberries. It was their latest try from the kitchen, in a menu that is constantly changing from day-to-day, week-to-week.
In a kitchen that must look like a mix between a chemistry lab, an art studio and prototyping workshop the chef Rene Redzepi is creating forward motion and change every day. Of course he is portrayed as both a tyrant and a person with some kind of disorder, but sometimes this people that in our schools today are often given some kind of diagnosis, are the ones that can create true genius. And never give up. Never, never give up.
And this was only the beginning of this odyssey of the world of sensory experiences. We could have described the whole menu but we will not spoil the surprise of the last fifteen courses on the menu. We would recommend everyone to attend NOMA and enter it into the books as either education or pure R&D-work. This kind of experience gives you more energy and ideas than most conferences.
And in case we forgot to tell you – it was very, very delicious!

The 25th of January President Barack Obama held his state-of-the-union address and his answer to America’s great budget and debt problems spells out: INNOVATION.

Obama claimed that America needs to “out-innovate, out-educate and outbuild the rest of the world” and wants to re-create the Sputnik-era in American history, when the US was falling behind the Soviet Union in the space race and mobilized a great scientific and innovative initiative. That is for example the moment when a lot of the research about creativity and innovation, that we still use today, started with the works of Joy P Guilford.

Read more in The Economist…

-          Feel a little bit stressed about the whole christmas thing in general and the christmas shopping thing specifically? Then Marks and Spencer has designed the perfect application for you: ”Your Christmas Helper”. This is an internet guide that help you with everything from ideas to stocking fillers, to secret santa surprises as well as helping out in finding your relatives sizes (we all know it it is too embarrasing to ask!?) with the ”Size detective”. And of course they will send you all the presents nicely packaged to your home. Feel less stressed now?

-          The Cadbury Cocoa House in Great Britain has just launched their christmas menu with innovative specials like ”Chestnut hot chocolate” and ”Sausage buttys” – sounds good, right!? How many of us are offering our customers a special christmas menu when it comes to products and services? An christmas innovation extravaganza leadership course, anybody?

-          The Australian Direct Group has not only launched one, but TWO christmas innovation catalogues! If you want a music box (whatever that is!) that displays both 3D and fibre optic Christmas scenes as it plays 8 seasonal songs, this is the place for you!

-          And of course The Christmas Tree Company in Liverpool has designed a new line of artificial christmas trees this year. You can buy the Brampton Slim, the Foxadle Fir och why not the Snowy Coney, that makes it possible to have a snowy tree inside: ” Convenient, affordable, and endlessly beautiful. The Christmas Tree Company use modern innovation to deliver timeless charm”. It stays fresh forever – and you can even choose different smells!

So happy christmas season to all of you, and remember to buy at least one truly innovative christmas gift this year, so those hard working innovators out there can get some fiscal revenue and mental ratification!

Merrinovative Christmas Everybody!

The Serious Innovation Newsletter #37

Forget the “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu (the most read Asian management book ever), the new strategy to learn from the Chinese is the “wolf culture”. This strategy is created by the telecom Huawei’s president Ren Zhengfei and is now promoted widely among Chinese companies. The wolf spirit is aiming to replace the innovation leaders of the West through three qualities: extreme resilience in face of failure, a strong willingness to self-sacrifice, and sharp predatory instincts. Beware you innovation kings of the West; if business is a jungle where the lion is king, a hungry pack of wolves are looking to take the throne.

Innovation is often driven by change of perspective. And our perspective is often a Western perspective. So, while travelling to the Shanghai Expo I tried to read as much about of innovation as I could, from the Chinese perspective. And I stumbled upon especially one interesting opinion written by Zhang Zhengfu in the Shanghai Daily. While China has become the world’s workshop, its innovation capacity is still not on par with it being the second largest economy in the world. But one company seems to stand out from the rest and has become the new darling of the Chinese business scene, the telecom company Huawei. In a country where failure has been punished and making your own rules might lead to prison, the innovation culture has been harsh. But the media-shy founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has made his own adaption of Western innovation strategies to fit into the Chinese model by promoting the wolf strategy:

“In the battle with lions, wolves has terrifying abilities. With a strong desire to win and no fear of losing, they stick to the goal firmly, making the lions exhausted in every possible way”, Ren is reported to tell his staff. The lions of course being Western companies like Ericsson, NSN and Alcatel Lucent, and the wolves being Huawei themselves. Originally a low-cost manufacturer of components designed by others, Huawei in the 1990s determined to shed its copycat image – which the whole of China is of course faced with – and move up the value chain when competition increased in the low-cost segment. The height of their innovation venture, so far, being the launch of 4G (LTE) for Tele2 in Sweden and Telenor in Norway at the same time – or ahead of, as Huawei wants to portray it – as global leader Ericsson launched its 4G network for Telia in Sweden.

In a China which likes to point out its innovative history with inventions like gunpowder, printing and the compass (remember the opening show of the Beijing Olympics?), it now seems to exist a new role model for innovation in the 21^st century. Starting with 20000 Yuan (USD 3000) in 1988, Ren now has a company ranked 397 on the Fortune 500 global list with 17 research institutes around the world and joint innovation centers with global operating giants like Vodafone. It also claims that 46% of its 95000 workers are in R&D-functions and spending in innovation keeps increasing. And just the innovation of the many seems also to be another of Huawei’s additions to Chinese innovation management. In a culture that has a very hierarchical structure, Ren has promoted the work of the team in innovation activities:

“We can only succeed through teamwork, just as lone wolf can never beat a lion”.

So watch out you lions of the West, because the wolves have been scoring some inspirational successes against the lions lately. And the wolves are many. And they are still hungry.

We felt like it was time for us to make a change and get a refreshing start after the summer. So we decided to give our website a rebirth. And here it is, more picture- and blog-based and with more social media content of all forms and formats. This is the first version – we are working with fast prototyping here and will develop the site as we move along.

We hope you will enjoy it – please give us feedback if you have some!

“Innovation: This is his thing”, that is a quotation from the newspaper Sydsvenskan that describes Jonas Michanek from Idélaboratoriet doing his thing together with the Swedish TV-cooking queen Tina Nordstrom during the open innovation event Minc On… . Please click at the picture to read the article. If you are curious please take a look at the live feeds from either the breakfast event or the pitching session at lunch time.