Here is the place to discuss the experiences of our field trips!
3.Trip: Omicron and HILTY
The class discussion can continue! Which approach of the two companies makes more sense? What are the risks and benefits of a structered/a more flexible approach?
2. Trip: Stuttgart – IBM
Looking forward to get your thoughts on the IBM experience. Doris, thanks for the camera!
1. Trip: Munich – BMW and Hyve AG
Thanks to Doris for the fotos of our first trip to Munich.
Although it might not be worth extra points, I just want to comment that driving a Cayenne S must be “sheer driving pleasure”
^^ And exaclty that was missing in the BMW Welt. It was nice to look at all these cars and the building is really impressive too, but nothing really exciting. Most and even more of the information is available on the BMW homepage or published via their TV channel. A testride would have been more fun
The presentation from Dr. Jokisch was way better and really interesting. Nice insights and practical examples how a big company actually deals with their “active” consumers.
The highlight was definitely Hyve. Information and insights at first hand. Straight to the point with a lot of useful hints, ideas and usefull examples.
To me the “BMW Welt” is not much more than a big car dealership. To see the newest models i can simply go online or to my BMW dealership. According to me they were not able to truly create a brand world where the consumer is able to immerse and experience the brand promise.
They promise “sheer driving pleasure”, so why don’t they build a test track and let the visitors experience it? Believe me, its not sheer driving pleasure to try out the xDrive on that simulator
To me a brand world as the “BMW Welt” has to be fun, playful and visitors are supposed to experience (feel, hear, taste and not only see) what the brand promises. The goal is to create excitement and BMW can do better than that I believe…
- roland
I also have to admit that I expected slightly more out of the BMW-Welt experience. One of my dominant criticism concerns their attempt of explaining the company’s technological innovations in the showroom. Being female, and I know this is a common prejudice that might hold some truths, I don’t know much about the “inner life” of a car. Thus, various displays in the showroom didn’t affect me and had no meaning. I have received the same feedback from some other female students; consequently BMW could work on making its experience appealing to both, men and women. I did enjoy looking at the breathtaking cars though
I was very positively surprised by the afternoon visit at Hyve. Overall I learned how vital it is to listen to the customer/brand communities needs and wants, but how difficult and challenging it is to filter their desires and actually realize their ideas. Also, there are so many products already on the market, which do have defects and need major improvements. It’s good to know that companies, like Hyve, are trying to optimize these outcomes.
Great field trip! Thanks for the pizza! Looking forward to the next adventure!
I also expected more from the BMW experience. I am sure you are familiar with the model of Pine & Gilmore – “the four realms of an experience”. For me the BMW experience didn’t fulfill all the requirements (entertainment, educational, escapist, and esthetic).
(as I would).
Furthermore I have to agree on what Cosmopolitan already stated – we were discussing it on our way back home and for us women it wasn’t so exciting, especially all the technological aspects which were shown – although we had some time walking round the showroom it wasn’t interesting enough for me to stick to one station and read through the explanations or to watch a video.
The “kids area” also disappointed me – they want to attract children up to 13 years, my little brother who is 12 and really into physics and technology wouldn’t be challenged and excited at all. What do you think wouldn’t it be a possibility to ask 12 year-old kids who like cars what they want to experience there? I guess they also would prefer test-driving the cars
When we were watching this couple who just got their new BMW I also thought that they could organize or design the process of delivery much more emotionally and exciting. It would be cool as a buyer to wait in a lounge until your new “baby” gets presented and not seeing it already when you come down the stairs.
Despite everything I really liked the presentation!
Hyve AG: cool and interesting company! Fascinating presentation and very informative!
Also my expectation were not fullfiled in the BMW Welt. I expected something more exiting, extraordinary… as Roland said, it looked more like a big dealer ship. Also the exibition was no real experience. A part which I found better was the room with the motocycles. At least here the customers could have a closer look to the Motorcycles, sit on them and take some pictures (At least a small experience).
The presentation of the BMW communities and how they use communities and lead users to innovate was very interesting.
The best part of the field trip was the visit of the Hyve AG. I did not know what they did excactly before the trip. I found it very interesting to see on what they worked and how the create new products and designs. The presentation gave good insights into the business. I also think that the business model they have, to combine researchers, designer… was a great idea because it creates a innovative environment. It was interesting to see with what companies they work together.
I really enjoyed the trip and I’m looking for the next field trip
as mentioned before by everybody the visit of bmw world was almost nothing worth for me. my personal highlight was to see an original formula one and a touring championship car. but therefore you can go to the bmw museum.
there was nothing about experiencing the brand. i mean, you could inform yourself about some topics, what they are doing which where kind of interesting, but i was just watching except of the bikes.
a test drive would be perfect but is hard to realize, but for example it could help to sit in the car and do a driving simulation in the cars with a display instead of the windshield. that would be creative and let you experience at least a little bit of the feeling driving a bmw.
the guide itself talked sometimes about how exciting everything is in the bmw world, but the way he told it i couldn’t believe him. he didn’t transport any emotions to me.
the bmw presentation was really good and interesting. the presenter was really good and could transmit the information how bmw handles innovations really good to me.
i want to thank for the invitation for the lunch.
the visit to hyve ag was pretty interesting. they could really give us a small view what they do and how they. pretty good for the short time. micki (?) the designer was great. he could explain in clear and easy words how the processes of innovation works at hyve ag.
i liked johanns presentation, too and the insights about their program for surveys etc the other guy (sorry forgot his name) showed us.
in total a pretty successful trip to munich and i’m looking foward to the next field trips.
I have to agree to everything that was said above. I already was in the BMW Welt a few weeks before and again it was more or less disappointing for me. I really like the archtiecture of the building (from the outside) and it raises a lot of expectations but as soon as you are in the building these expectatations are not fullfilled. As already mentioned it doesn’t fullfill the brand promise although they try to present their innovations (xDrive, ConnectedDrive, CleanEnergy), e.g. what was this hydrogen game for; wouldn’t it be nicer to have this xDrive simulator in a car? Also observing the couple with their new 1 series disappointed my imagine of picking up a new car. The BMW girl talked for hours and she showed them first the insight from the passenger door, then the trunk, the engine and at least they were “allowed” to sit in the car (not forgetting the picture at the beginning). I would expect to sit in the car first to experience the feeling of possesing and enjoying the scent of the new car. The couple reacted really passive the whole time although I would have expected more excitement. Perhaps it wasn’t their first BMW. Who knows?
Nevertheless the presentation at BMW on consumer integration in the innovation process was very interesting and it gave us some insights how a car manufacturer handle this issue.
The highlight of the trip was of course Hyve AG. The insights on product development from micki was great. I could have listened to him and his explenations for hours. Two thumbs up
the presentation from Johann was also very helpful in understanding how to conduct online surveys and how to deal with online communities. It is always easier to understand the theory when you see real life examples.
Thx for the lunch from my side. really appreciated it.
looking forward to the next trip.
Alright, after having read all the comments, I feel a little bit bad for BMW. But I have to agree as well. BMW Welt presents itself with the stunning architecture inspired by a tornado (what a creative idea!). When you see the building you think you’ve never seen anything like it, but the experience inside does not live up to the expectations you get. BMW should definitely make it more interactive and just closer to the brand promise, identity. By letting people test drive their cars, they would spark emotions, help a person choose a model for him-/herself, fire a person’s desire to own this car and even create a bond with it. You can even do that at a dealership. So it surely is no fun at all, to just look at the cars, we are not in a museum!
BMW could also educate people about its innovative energy solutions, so instead of just showing a hydrogen car, explain how it works, why is it better etc. Actually, when I saw that hydrogen car I thought: how monstrous can an environmentally friendly vehicle be? It looked so huge, like a rich in emissions boat-car! We have narrow streets and limited parking as it is, they have to rethink their concept of contemporary vehicles.
I think within BMW Welt the company could create some spaces to represent its model development process: showing sketches and plans of a new car, a lab where it’s developed, a production centre – just to create an atmosphere, give people an insight, show the work behind a car. Also, maybe have an extraordinary space for inspirational designs: for example, showing how BMW sees an automobile of the future or some crazy, unexpected design of a contemporary car or bike…
As for the presentation about customer integration in innovation process, it seemed to me Dr. Jokisch was very cautious not to reveal too much to us. I don’t know maybe I expected too much, but I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know before
But this is all not to say I don’t appreciate BMW’s invitation. Thanks to them
At Hyve AG you could feel the opposite: they told you a lot, were much more personal and provided insights into their operational activities. Their business idea is great, this crossover of designers and technical people teamed with consultancy enables them to tackle diverse projects and be successful in hard times. I think their focus on online communities is really wise. Most companies still can’t make good use of them.
I didn’t have the guts to say it to their face, but I think many of us agreed on that and we are consumers after all too 
I don’t mean to be mean, but their ‘iPod killer’ didn’t look like anyone else’s killer, but its own
Well, overall Hyve AG was great and it’s a shame I missed Johann’s lectures at Online Branding.
Great idea with the trips! Thank you very much!
Excited about the next ones
Before our trip to the BMW Welt I informed myself about this attraction of Munich. I found the following quote: “Our dealers are like little churches, while BMW Welt is St. Peter’s Cathedral,” Michael Ganal, BMW director of marketing.
After reading this my expectations significantly increased but were not met in the end. BMW Welt promises to provide insight into up-to-date technology and recent and future innovations. In fact, I learned some very interesting things about engines, new models and technological highlights, e.g. x-Drive, but I also completely missed the real live BMW experience around the brand.
Considering that the big carmakers are building huge showrooms (e.g. Volkswagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg or the new Mercedes museum in Stuttgart), it seems to me that the increasingly intense competition between the carmakers around the globe, turns competition much more on intangibles like brand image than on horsepower only. Cars are becoming more and more homogeneous with regard to technology, so carmakers like BMW have to put their brand into new perspective. I think this pressure forced the company to build their BMW Welt. Aside from a trendy cafe and some hightech displays the place is nothing but a glamorized BMW dealership. In the end I think there is a lot of space for improvement.
The visit to HYVE AG was very interesting. My fellow colleagues already mentioned many positive things I totally agree to. It is always great to meet people who are into business and to have the possibility to learn from them and gain valuable insights.
- Christian
I agree that BMW Welt is still missing several experiences in order to convey the message they intend. Many possibilities of bringing the consumer into the BMW experience are missed out. What about experiencing a real ride (as some others have already mentioned)? What about encouraging the sense of community or boosting people’s willingness to co-create through such a powerful brand manifestation as the BMW Welt?
It’s true that they have more than ten million visitors a year. It is for sure an indicator of success, however not the only one, reason why it is not equal to success. What is the real purpose behind BMW Welt? Having as many visitors as possible or managing to create the intended brand meaning and attitudes with their visitors? In my opinion, the results of BMW Welt must be managed in broader terms than simply figures.
However, far from perfect, they are implementing highly innovative features that should be recognized. It’s the case of having a complete ceremony when delivering the car to the customer at BMW Welt instead of at a regular dealer. In my opinion it’s an unforgettable experience for someone who cares about her/his BMW. No doubt that it has the power of increasing the probability that the consumer will be more attached to the product and therefore to the brand.
Regarding Hyve, the relationship expectations-result was way more positive. We were much closer to the brand-core, demonstrating that a warm welcoming, an excellent explanation with a highly interesting content can easily beat a visit to a global brand as BMW.
Personally, I was impressed of the creative methods they use to operate. Also, it’s extremely encouraging or us to prove how to be successful it takes being creative rather than having money to invest.
daniel
As most of my thoughts about the field trip as already been mentioned I’ll just leave a short comment. In general I found the day informative and very interesting. I must agree with the others on there the opinion of the BMW Welt. That was not impressive and I was not capture by the BMW brand spirit or world of BMW. I have also had a similar tour at the Mercedes Werk in Sindelfingen and been to the VW Stadt in Wolfsbrug and I must say that the impression these two other brand experiences leave are much more intensive and deep. I missed a tour in the production hall – which also is a very impressive and most interesting experience. And of cause as mentioned more experiences in terms of really feeling the BMW brand promise – like a test drive: – would not hurt.
I, as well, found the presentation about how BMW uses innovative approaches to their marketing and the real life example of brand communities very interesting. BUT the highlight of the day was the visit at Hyve – this was interesting and very positive to see that all the theory we learn at university actually comes to use in real companies, marketing and management situations. Cause you sometime have the feeling you learn a lot of things and when you get out there in the big business world you can start learning everything from the beginning again… because the companies all have their own way. It was really good to hear and see how involved in innovation (in all aspects) the companies were…
weren’t we supposed to get some golden chocolate…?
it’s one thing to go through an experience with clear cut expectations, and it’s another thing to simply go through a process with a ‘blank’ mind. to say i went to BMW Welt with a blank mind would be an empty claim. but the truth is, i hadn’t laid out any expectations on a grid and there was no benchmarking. therefore, i wasn’t at all disappointed.
of course, i agree that it could have been different, if only BMW would give its visitors some ‘golden chocolate’. however, i thought the following titbits would be something to take home:
1. the delivery ceremony: what an innovative and exciting approach for connecting customers to BMW. i can just imagine someone standing there waiting for their car to appear, it’s the same feeling you get when you wait at the airport for your loved one, and you hear the message that the flight has just landed, and you know that any minute soon you will see him or her walk through and you will run to hug and kiss him/her. that moment lives for ever in your mind, it’s like that first time you won’t ever forget. nonetheless, i thought that BMW could boost the experience by sending drivers out to pick up customers for the delivery ceremony.
2. Junior camps: holy heavens, look at how they help to build children’s knowledge of the BMW brand! those kids -the potential customers of tomorrow- don’t they just need to start learning and loving BMW now! what a creative way for BMW brand managers to influence affect and cognition at such early stages. And by engaging those enthusiastic kids in mentally challenging projects, man, talk about corporate citizenship!
3. The lecture: Not only was the presenter proficient, but the content was valuable, especially the BMW Customer perception radar. I wish they had given us some water to drink to it, though ☺
Hyve
i guess the difference in reception that we got from both organizations was due to ownership: Johann and Michael were much more personal and emotionally attached to their baby, because they own it. and they throw all the shots! one of the most important thing i took home is, you can apply for an internship there (Hyve), because you know they will read your application at least ☺
Field Trip IBM
I really liked the trip to IBM. The employees there were very professional and I felt very welcome. I also liked the presentations, specially the presentation on the Web 3 and secondlife. It was interesting to see how IBM creates “personalized” innovations. I mean, they really offer solutions to companies and there specific needs and wants.
What i liked: food, food and the whole hospitality program!!!!! i guess IBM has some lessons there for BMW regarding how to interact with guests.
What i felt: IBM is like a very beautiful bride whose whole face is covered with a veil! Before the excursion, i didn’t know that they had so much to offer not only in terms of innovation but also the output of their brand DNA. IBM needs to get more exposed as a ‘brand’. It should talk, talk and make some ‘noise’ until its rich differentiating factors get the acknowledgement that they deserve. Shouldn’t be only innovation driven but also ‘branding’ driven, i guess. yet overall judgement:
It was splendid
From the second on we entered the IBM area everything was organized and professional. We had our own ID cards an two people guiding and helping whereever they can. When Mr. Jung later stated that they looked at us as customers, he ment it for real. At BMW we were just a student group stoping by and looking at their stuff, but to IBM we were potential customers and employees. We heard and read a lot about corporate culture, leadership styles, the potential of SL, etc. in our lectures. And there at IBM they are really living along these rules and we were able to experience this! In short: Once an IBMer always and IBMer
Our trip to IBM has been a really useful experience full of valuable insights both relevant for the course and for me personally. Generousness and hospitality stroke me that it will be hard to top by other companies we will visit. I particularly liked the openness of IBMers, their genuine dedication to the firm and the fact that they disclosed a lot of information to us. I absolutely agree with Tim on their successful implementation of all leadership, customer and employee relations theories – it’s inspiring to see someone actually doing it (quite a few companies seem only to preach it). All the presentations were really insightful and interesting. It’s amazing what path this company made and achieved along the way, how they always are on the lookout for new things and aren’t afraid to reinvent themselves. I especially liked and got somehow infected by the presentation given by Mr Kasemir: Internet is the future!
) and thus, won’t miss out on best talents.
And hey, they even have university relations department – they ‘don’t wait until the mountain comes to them, but go to the mountain themselves’ (not sure this saying exists in english
Baya
As the previous comments have highlighted, IBM was an excellent host. The entire day was planned and coordinated perfectly from the second we stepped into the building. It was very thoughtful of IBM to have not one but several people take care of us throughout our stay. This speaks for the professionalism and quality of the IBM brand. I also agree with “geht schon” that IBM needs to communicate its brand better, especially after selling its computer section since most people relate IBM to computers. The lectures were of great interest and very well presented. Concluding, I was highly impressed by the free pen we got – always love a freebie!
The field trip to IBM was organized perfectly and the whole program was very interesting and surprised me. I didn’t know that IBM is one of the largest service companies in the world – for me IBM was always “just” a company dealing with computer-related technologies and software.
At IBM I had the impression that the whole team really treated our group as customers and tried to structure and organize the afternoon as enjoyable as possible for us.
The introduction part of Mr. Jung was insightful because of the facts about IBM, but on the other hand he also talked about important components, which could be useful for other companies or anyone dealing with innovation. “Speed, change and innovation” that’s what IBM demonstrates and especially amazing is, that IBM innovates itself constantly.
So this really fits to IBM:
if anything is constant, it’s change!
As my fellow colleagues already mentioned it was a very exciting trip to IBM. The whole day was organized very well and our hosts treated us – as they admitted – as customers.
I really was impressed by the size of the company and the large portfolio they offer. It is always interesting to see how companies with more than 380,000 employees are managed. Especially when it comes to innovation. But actually IBM is doing a great job in connecting people and foster collaboration outside and inside the company. Most impressive of IBM is their knowledge management. To be innovative and to be the first it is important to have quick accesss to information and make it quickly available all over the company. One quote I recently read is: “The smartest organizations are not those with the smartest people, but those with the quickest access to their collective knowledge.”… and so is IBM.
I was very impressed by the visit to Omicron. The friendly atmosphere and the beautiful design of the building contributed to a welcoming, positive environment. In order to make employees have a good work-life balance, the building offered, for example, a rock climbing wall, a fitness studio, a volleyball field and a relaxation room. I find it of great importance to create a motivating work place for employees to foster creativity and innovation. Omicron seemed to have fulfilled this aim, since it received the “great place to work award” in 2008. I also found the visit to Hilti very informative and interesting. I did enjoy walking through the production processes to become more familiar with the drills and screws of Hilti
Both companies seemed to have successfully implemented the Stage Gate Process by Cooper. It was necessary thought, for each company, to slightly modify the process in order to fit within the company’s goals and values. Thank for another great field trip!
i assume:
Omicron’s culture is their differentiating factor and innovation driver!
Hilti is ambitious, one sees it in their efforts to emotionalize their heavily technical (industrial) brand.
overall rating (branding, innovation and interaction with external stakeholders):
HYVE AG +1
IBM 1,2
Omicron 1,2
Hilti 1,5
BMW 2
Again another great field trip. I never thought that such a small company from Vorarlberg could be the #1 in primary and secondary testing. A great example how culture and leadership style can make the difference and be the basis for daily motivation – and in the end success in the marketplace. Good to see that Mr. Cooper is continuously improving and customizing his approach, together with a company!
might have been more fun.
Hilti was a little bit more process focused, their well-known culture had just the secondary role. The teamplay of both presenters guaranteed a good balance of theory and first-hand information how it works under reallife conditions. Walking through the plant was interesting, but trying one of their tools like the TE 805 MK
great idea with the rating!!
omicron gets a 1,1
and hilti a 1,7
first, my missing comment on IBM:
I was also impressed by the university relation manager and his great english. nice speech. the tour was okay but it could have been better. the girl who showed us around had some problems to explain all the details to us. when she was talking in german to the group afterwards, she gave much more information. the 2nd presentation was very interesting in the beginning but it was a little bit too long. i was lost after 30min. the last presentation was again very good and I’m looking forward to the openSim project. hopefully better than 2nd life 
I really liked the trip to Stuttgart. as all the other already mentioned the hospitaly and the warm and friendly feeling there were great. The first thing I learned on that day was what the letters IBM (international business machines) stand for. thx for the insight
in total IBM gets 1,5.
Omicron:
nevertheless we could feel the open culture there and we could understand why this guy was so proud to work their. I also liked the idea to donate 7% of the profit to the crossing boarder project. There has to be more of such projects in our culture. regarding the stage gate process it was interesting to see that they use overlapping stages. I think this is only possible in such an open culture but I also think it will get harder to have this overlapping when the company is growing and growing. as we discussed, the bigger the company the harder it is to have an open culture and leadership style. I think they will still be very successful with their approach because of their comminucation policy.
nice place to work I think. but why has it to be in vorarlberg (sorry thomas)
total rating: 1,3
Hilti:
the presentation and discussion was very helpful to understand the differences between a big company like Hilti and a “small” like Omicron. as I mentioned above a company like Hilti has to keep its process very strict because when 40-50 people around the world are working on one project it would not be feasible to have overlapping stages. but still, Hilti and Omicron have something in common: time to money/market. Omicron uses their overlapping to arrive faster at the market whereas Hilti uses their big knowledge management to arrive there. I also liked the manufacturing tour and the brand world although it was quite short. interesting way to keep the customers interactive in the brand world. I think it is much better than the BMW world although it is much smaller.
canteen was not that good
but the highlight of the day was the boarder control: thx to the Austrian policeman for being such an a**.
total rating: 1,9
bmw: 2,8
hyve ag: 1,1 – congratulations to the winner
-georg
BMW 2,8…they are going to drawn in tears of sorrow -:)
Omicron – where work is fun! ????
Great and interesting field trip to Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein
. However doing an internship would be one option. I got the impression that Omicron not only wants to provide products but solutions, this is similar to Hilti. The building and all the offered incentives for employees are very impressive and symbolizes the culture of Omicron. I also had the feeling that we were welcome, the atmosphere within the company building was very pleasurable. I also liked the casual meeting with Mr. Aberer. Nice Guy!
Since I never heard about Omicron before, I was very surprised and my expectations were exceeded. Everything sounded great and I could imagine working there – but as Georg mentioned …it is in Klaus
Hilti. Outperform. Outlast.
At Hilti the customer comes first! Building a better future and creating enthusiastic customers are one of their main goals, as I know from Vienna
. My expectations at Hilti were not met because I really expected to get more information about Hilti’s culture and career opportunities. I think that the culture and thinking of Hilti is important and makes Hilti special – but they didn’t mention that much about it.
When Mr. Messner presented the New Product Development Process first I thought this is very complex and difficult to understand. But thinking of all the feasibility requirements, regulations, standards and patents which are involved in implementing a new tool, the complex structure becomes absolutely clear.
Thanks for this field trip, had a lot of fun
First my missing comments:
BMW was a good guest, but compared to Hyve (and to the following afterwards), only the second part was interesting. The BMW World, with all that cars, only let us see cars, maybe touch and feel if we were buyers, enjoy about how powerful are engines, but still, that was all. It was just a gigantic car dealer, theatricalized by some entertainment things, as if it seemed to pretend the contrary. If the aim is to experience the brand, as many others noted, at least the possibility to ride a car was missing, and I would say, the possibility to be a one-day mechanic. As a man who likes cars and engines, I would love to repair, or make my car better and my hands dirty.
So, we were welcomed very well, and our uest was very nice and took really care, as a professional. And even if we should go outside when the whether was very cold, this was a warmly manner to start the day. I enjoyed it, even if nothing was really innovative there or a full brand experience.
So, the second part, when we discovered the Customer Inovation Lab and m-power.com was far more interesting to my point of view. Not only we were authorized to discover how they did it , but also the presentation was good. Questions were asked, and, at least for me, well answered.
Still very professional.
Just one quetsion more : why all that grey and glass in the buildings ? that looked so sad ! For headquarters, and BMW Welt, come on !
After a good pizza in front of Hyve AG a good football match on TV, our second company of the day. Batteries filled, ready to learn.
Hyve AG, the innovation company, as they say. First, seeing that I said to myself: they really should be innovative with such a promise or I would be disappointed !
Not only they are creative, passionate and dedicated to their company, but also very innovative.
Hopefully, I was not !
What surprized be the most, after BMW, was to meet Dr Füller. After all that grey, he is bringing sun. And very cool clothes for a scholar who participated in half of the literature we whould read for that field trip !
The brochures in the hall had told us what they do : online interaction research (with virtual consumer integration), industrial design (how passionate and creative was Michael !), IdeaNet (integration of employes and/or customers in idea generation to application), MyBrand360°, Netnography (insights in online communities to discover needs and solutions). And we discovered that in the presentation.
After that I think I would apply for a job !
And we even had a coffee this time.
Finally, to grade them:
BMW: 2.3
Hyve: 1,2
And my second missing comment about IBM:
), Frau Lewandowski made us discover the IBM forum through a tour where we discover that IBM is part of many innovative processes (detection of car problems,cell processor…). This was fun too.
After a long trip through mountains and at least 5 or 6 tries to find the IBM HQ, we could enjoy a north pole weather (-15°C).
Our first lecturer, Hr Jung was really a professional in communication to universities. He succeeded in having our attention, even if we got up early. IBM presentation was very interesting, letting us have an insight into the history, success, and issues of the company. 3,125patents a year, that was impressive, even for a 380,000 employee-company.
Then, after a good lunch, (happy employees
After that, I was really waiting or the innovation/process/leading change part. And it appeared with Hr Nestele.
I learnt that IBM focused itself on the future. As Christensen, Raynor and Verbinden entitled an article of Harvard Business Review, ‘Skate to Where the Money Will Be’. In others words, in a strategic decision, companies should keep the activities that will create value and leave those that sooner have had created value. IBM learnt form its past (almost went bankrupt in early 1990s). Now, future is said to be :
-open
-collaborative and integrated
-multi-disciplinary
-global
And where I learnt that Innovation comes first from employees, customers and business partners, more than consulting firms. Maybe will I change my mind about my job orientation now
Then, with the really great presentation of Hr Kasemir, our local geek
, I first see an application of avatar-based innovation and applications. OpenSim seems really great, and I will keep an eye on it. A SL where we ca also do business, with secure elements. 3D>2D in online business relationships. That was a good introduction to our flow group project.
Eventually, the final grades:
IBM gets a 1,5, for a good mix of deep insight in their innovative way of thinking, knowledge, and a warm day and enthusiastic lecturers. Thank you IBM !
As I missed courses, i will comment also the lecture we had online with John Shibley from EmcArts:
First things first. Thanks to the paper he gave to us and the questions principle, we could have had the best lecture on SL. A very nice guest, clear who tried to understand our ideas/questions and so answer to them correctly. And he did it in a very accurate manner ! A wonderful online course.
First: To the question I raised about who should choose team members and are their personality important (incl. the one of the leader), our guest speaker remind us : What is the goal?
he pointed out the danger of “usual suspects”=persons thought good to be in (the one that are experts). Of course you will need in the process, but not necessarily in the innovation team. And how important it was to make things clear in the company: Core team > representation of each department.
So in those innovation teams, the equation is :
people with stategic point of view + people with organizational point of view = good mix
I also liked the way he saw the link between arts and innovation in business: arts can help, but businesses are much more complex.
And we should see public mistakes, not as sins, but far more than scenes (Argyris , if I remember well). Like it theater, first do it, then evaluate later how you made it and how you can make it better the next time. Which was linked with the example of Harley that let its motorcycle break to better analyse why.
This was very interesting, our lecturer was very professional, with a very soft voice.
Grade, if I may: 1,3
“our lecturer was very professional, with a very soft voice”
i agree completely -:)