Aussie Rules

You are standing there, watching the sea of black suitcases go around the baggage carousel. Then suddenly you spot it.

Tied in a multitude of knots, around the handle, is the yellow ribbon, signifying “my suitcase”. You instantly pick it up, knowing that you have the right bag.

Often it is just the way it is tied or located. It could be the type of ribbon or, in my case, one of my husband’s neckties, ceremoniously cut up. It is amazing how one little point of difference can stand out and instantly help you claim your luggage.

Alternatively, to stand out in an ocean of black suitcases, you could always buy a hot pink or bright orange suitcase — take yourself out of the black ocean completely!

You can apply the same strategy to help your business stand out.

Kim and Mauborgne, in their book Blue Ocean Strategy, recommend that you get out of the red ocean (the known market space, where cutthroat competition turns the ocean blood red) and enter the blue ocean of deeper, clearer water — where demand is created rather than fought over.

The key is value innovation — something that creates simultaneous value for you and the company.

Take 30 seconds to ponder “What point of difference can I apply in my life/business?”

“Where can I use the old ‘ribbon on the suitcase’ trick?”

(10min 59) Your business needs to downsize. You’re going to have to lose some staff but you want to hang on to your best people and ensure the survivors remain motivated.

Today on BTalk Australia Mandy Thatcher from Melcrum tells Phil Dobbie how to manage internal communications during a corporate restructure.

Have you got further advice to add? Tell us what you think in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(8 min 49) Have you ever considered the huge pool of available labour that resides in the lounge room, surrounded by nappies and screaming kids?

On today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Leigh Kostiainen about her new website, hiremymum.com.au, which matches stay-at-home parents with companies looking to outsource task-based work.

Is Leigh onto something here? Tell us what you think in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

One unfortunate little memory that lingers from my years as an employee was when I spent a big chunk of time researching and developing an idea that totally bombed.

In normal circumstances I would have been upset. But in truth I considered my boss to be a total jerk and so reveled privately in the project’s demise.

Clearly I’m a much nicer person these days, but can’t speak for him.

The truth is, no amount of effort or positive thinking is going to transform a lousy idea. The question is though, how do you determine when to keep shoveling in the resources, versus when to call it a day and drag the idea into the trash?

The answer is, I feel, at the very core of small business and helps explain why it’s such a damn fine way of working. It has to do with how we are uniquely placed to be fully in touch with our intuition, or gut feeling, and in a position to respond to it fully.

In a larger organisation, an individual’s intuitive feeling invariably becomes suppressed (or at the very least diluted), because speaking up can result in criticisms of being wrong; not getting it; not being up to speed and so on.

Not so the life of an independent. Our intuition tells us if an idea stinks and we can act on this feeling without fear of redress. It may not tell us immediately and it may not tell us directly, but tell us it most certainly does.

If something doesn’t feel quite right, it probably isn’t.

I like to think of my intuition as a ‘caution indicator’ more than a decision-maker. I may not biff a new idea completely, it’s more likely I’ll quarantine it for a while and go back to it later.

Do some seemingly bad ideas make it to market? Of course they do, but the chances are intuition has stalled the idea long enough for it (or the world) to evolve favourably.

What are your experiences, do you listen to your intuition? Post a comment and let’s hear it.

(9min 09) Are you being overcharged by your telecommunications company? The answer is probably yes!

In today’s podcast Paul Morris from Consulcom tells Phil Dobbie how most large Australian businesses are being billed at least 10% more than they should for their telecommunications.

If your business has a sizeable phone bill this is an episode of BTalk Australia you can’t afford to miss.

Tell us your phone bill stories in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(9min 29) Does your job mean you’ve got to front the media?

In today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Andrew Kirk from Hill and Knowlton about preparing yourself for engagements with journalists.

Have you any further tips? Add your thoughts in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

Don’t miss Phil with Dr Jessica Revill “On The Couch” on BNet Video.

Think that we in Australia are not doing enough of our own innovation? Well, a review of the Australian National Innovation System has just been released.

“This report stands for the proposition that we [Australia] should arrest the slide in our performance and seize the opportunity that our recent prosperity gives us to begin building a more innovative productive world in which our children will live, to which they will contribute and which they will pass on in their turn.”

Some might find the 224-page report, “Venturous Australia — building strength in innovation”, a quick cure for insomia (the above sentence has 53 words in it!), but it does make for some interesting reading.

Apart from the predictable recommendations to support research in universities and establishment of various committees, the report recommends that the R&D Tax concession be changed from a tax deduction to a 40 percent tax credit for large firms and 50 percent credit for companies with an annual turnover of less than $50 million.

Interestingly, it also recommends that the government create an advisory committee of web 2.0 practitioners to propose directions as they experiment with web 2.0 technologies and ideas.

You can download the full report or just the recommendations and individual chapters here.

(9min 40) Two new smart phones have grabbed the media spotlight this year. Which is best for the business user?

On today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie tries to get Gadget Guy Peter Blasina to stop sitting on the fence and choose one over the other.

Are you an iPhone nut or a Blackberry tragic? Tell us what you think in the Talkback section at the bottom of this this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

Don’t miss Phil with Dr Jessica Revill “On The Couch” on BNet Video.

It’s interesting how people have a tendency to take their own privileges away if they feel they’re under-performing. I’ve certainly been guilty of this myself.

In the past if I have had an unproductive few hours — time where I’ve allowed myself to get distracted and effectively, mess about — I’ve ended up feeling less than happy with my performance. No surprises there.

In such circumstances it was not unusual for me to respond by doing something dumb like forgoing a lunch break. As if this petty self-punishment would have any effect. Well actually it did, it made matters worse.

It’s inevitable we lose our focus from time to time, but punishing ourselves by removing privileges is not the answer. What we need to do is get to the bottom of why we’re doing what we’re doing and plan a new course.

In most cases, taking our eye off the ball and falling foul of distraction is the direct consequence of a fear of something that confronts us.

It could be a change we need to make, a large project that needs starting (or finishing), or a difficult conversation we’re avoiding.

In other words, we busy ourselves with less important things as a way to put something off — it’s an unconscious form of procrastination.

The best way I know to snap out of such situations, without removing privileges, is to take yourself out of solitary confinement and talk it over with someone.

Book a session with a coach; talk to a business buddy; collar a friend who’ll listen.

Chances are you’ll be able to identify a specific issue blocking your progress.

What say you? Post a comment and let’s hear it.

Are you struggling to get your innovative project approved? Been chopped off at the knees halfway through a project with all funds withdrawn? It may be that you are missing a core piece in the puzzle.

The top 8 capabilities critical to innovation success are:

1. Developing a deep understanding of customers and their preferences
2. Partnering effectively with suppliers and others for new ideas
3. Ensuring executive-level sponsorship of projects
4. Enforcing timelines and milestones
5. Earmarking sufficient funds for projects
6. Moving quickly from idea generation to initial market entry
7. Balancing risks, time frames and returns across an entire portfolio of projects
8. Fostering a corporate culture that promotes innovation

Interestingly, from senior executives’ perspective, speed and discipline are the most commonly identified weaknesses, where deep customer understanding and executive support are the most commonly identified strengths (of course they would say that).

From my experience working with innovation change agents around the world, the feeling is that the biggest weaknesses are (1) lack of executive support and (2) insufficient funding.

This creates a huge gulf and can undermine the success and support of innovation projects and perceived Return on Innovation.

Take time out to think these through and address these issues as part of your planning and/or next project review — you will be surprised at how a shift in perception can make or break a project.

Source: BCG 2008 Senior Executive Innovation Survey