Who is responsible for drafting the Product Innovation Charter (PIC)? Is a question that innovative companies have. Well, the answer is that you must have a person at the CxO level who is the individual charged with developing the PIC. Here are some examples in say a manufacturing context:
Category Archives: Environment/Sustainability
Sustainable Innovations : the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) approach of OECD
It's hard to wrap your mind around the concept of sustainable innovation and the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) of the OECD is a nice way to think about it. So what is sustainability? Well, it is how you use the earth's resources and what you will leave your grand and great grandchildren! Sounds simple and rhetorical butContinue reading “Sustainable Innovations : the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) approach of OECD”
Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas
When Billa Supermarkets in Austria decided to unpeel bananas and shrink wrap them there was enough consumer outrage against the German owned Billa supermarket to withdraw the unsustainable food packaging innovation. It also turns out the Billa Supermarkets call themselves environmentally conscious and the unpeeled bananas became a matter for Facebook protest right on theContinue reading “Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas”
Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day
According to the EPA in 2010 each person in the US put out Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)- popularly known as garbage/trash equal to 4.43 lb or over 2 kilos per day. If you look at the number of garbage cans on the weekly trash collection days- you know that the number has not decreased andContinue reading “Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day”
What jobs are not outsourceable in the US? Going global in Agriculture,Manufacturing and Services
What jobs are not outsourceable in the US will be a question on top of mind as the Presidential election campaigns gather steam.This as globalization and technology moves forward at an ever faster pace. A useful way to think about the challenge for young and mid-career Americans is as follows: Agriculture: Only a tiny 0.7%Continue reading “What jobs are not outsourceable in the US? Going global in Agriculture,Manufacturing and Services”
Innovation : top management need to get involved in the first three stages
It’s sort of amazing when top management in a variety of industries from high tech aerospace to comparatively low tech outer packaging seem to be disengaged and “hands off” in the first three stages of of innovation (see previous post on the 5 stages). Top leaders start taking interest when the product is in serious development(Stage 4) and many top managers become alert and awake as the product is getting launched(Stage 5). At this time things are too far ahead to change except at high cost. These include airfreight when sea freight might have worked on the supply chain side, customer apathy in the market because concept testing was not done well and there was no time to do product and market testing because top management was so un-involved that the budgets were not approved when the New Product team had put them up.
Innovation is always in context of customers,stakeholders and society
If we think of innovation, invariably we think of radical innovations like the iPhone or Facebook. By doing so, individuals succeed in just beating up themselves and their organizations – and for no reason. Consider that after the iPhone or Facebook started taking off entire industries (eg. smartphone for iPhone) and social media (eg. LinkedInContinue reading “Innovation is always in context of customers,stakeholders and society”
Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain
The Nike child labor controversy surfaced in a 1996 Life magazine story and consumer outrage prompted big changes in the way Nike manages its global supply chain and all this took some time. In contrast, the New York Times story on labor practices at the Chinese supplier factories of Apple of just two weeks agoContinue reading “Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain”
WEF Davos : Capitalism and Democracy try to find balance through CSR
This year (2012) there seems to be a marked and discernible change in this gathering’s tone and tenor. Leaders of both Governments and Businesses seem to realize that becoming richer and richer is probably not enough. This realization as capitalism,democracy and affluence rises worldwide , 1 billion more global middle class by 2020 according to Muhtar Kent of Coca Cola ( see accompanying video). Here is some interesting stuff to think about from happenings at Davos in 2012:
Starbucks:raises prices promotes “Create jobs for USA”
What is the price of a small (called tall for that upbeat feel) Starbucks regular coffee ? Well, the Pike Place Roast does does come under $1.60 but it doesn't matter as most people order something much grander and spent over $6 on average per visit in 2008. Starbucks re-organized under founder Howard Schultz andContinue reading “Starbucks:raises prices promotes “Create jobs for USA””