When in Newport (IV). Strategic Innovation in the context of Industry 4.0
Good night!
Hope you are doing well and fine. It is the middle day of the week, and we can´t wait to finish this theme which is a fantastic opportunity for us to do some reflections about the meaning of doing strategic innovation in the context of Industry 4.0.
For those of you who are used to watch videos, today I will share with you a video of the origin of the term Strategic Innovation. This term was coined by Constantinos Markides, a Cypriot Professor at London Business School in the 90s. At that time Professor Markides was associate professor of strategic and international management at the London Business School. He taught me this model in person, and I never forgot it. Even my own evolved frameworks for strategic innovation are based on his teachings. I am not sure how many MBA and finance students have received his courses since then, but we are a lot. He explained this model to us in class, and I still remember it until today.
Let´s go directly to our strategic overview for today:
If you wish to download this set of slides in PDF, click here: Eliescalante Newport stopover Strategic Innovation for Industry 4.0.
Basically and without being redundant, what is important about Strategic Innovation for Industry 4.0 is to begin to answer more questions when applying any of the strategic innovation frameworks designed for it. After reading the slides, we will see that each of the consulting firms on the planet have their own methodology. Including my own company, which is an integral strategic innovation model. But the origin of any methodology goes to Markides simplicity paper from Spring 1997 “Strategic Innovation”. Let´s see a video of him explaining it directly:
Moreover, this new context of Industry 4.0 will require from us to re-imagine what-who-how to do our businesses (products, services, etc) or in one phrase, to do “Strategic Innovation in the context of Open Innovation 2.0 for Industry 4.0”. According to Curley & Salmelin, team leaders at the OISPG group at the Strategy Digital Single Market Priority @ European Commission, the innovation landscape has evolved over the years from closed to open. For Curley and Salmelin the destination is Open Innovation 2.0. These experts have written an interesting book called “Open Innovation 2.0, The New Mode of Digital Innovation for Prosperity and Sustainability” which is really new (January 2018). My idea to show you what the European Commission is doing in relation to prepare the government, industry, academic and civil participants for the future is interesting. Very interesting.
Let me leave you with a reflection about this topic. Strategic Innovation frameworks have evolved over the years. An Industry 4.0 is coming. Can we start to ask ourselves more questions when doing strategic innovation? For example, based on Markides original contribution by teaching us to ask Who? What? and How?; we can confirm, after 20 years of Markides paper release, there are many evolved frameworks or ramifications used by big consulting firms and advisors in relation to this topic. In addition, Professor Markides has evolved too, and “he has increasingly turned his attention to social issues and studies how management ideas can be used to address social problems such as drug-related crime, poverty, and malnutrition”.
What other questions should we start to add to our strategic innovation?
Why of our business?
What is the ethical purpose of my business?
Are we improving the quality of life of the society with it?
Are we leaving a better world with our business model, product, or service?
Are we helping to alleviate poverty with our businesses?
Are we becoming a force for good with our business?
Another good question to ask ourselves is: Are we going to hurt others (our kids, and the children of my kids, and great-grandchildren) by doing this business?. If yes, it is better to continue the cycle of innovation until we can find the right one.
This is all for today. Thank you very much for reading me. 
San Salvador – 17:57 pm (CST).
Source references:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/strategic-innovation/
https://www.doblin.com/ten-types/
https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty/profiles/m/markides-c
https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/impact-of-industry-conditions-on-innovation/197470
Disclaimer: All the presentation slides shown on this blog are prepared by Eleonora Escalante MBA-MEng. Nevertheless, all the pictures or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
Eleonora Escalante Strategy 