Cris Beswick

MARCH 3, 2023

In one of our recent articles, ‘Can Audi avoid its Kodak moment?’ , we discussed the implications for Hildegard Wortmann’s view that there is only a 50% chance that Audi will still exist in 10 years. We proposed that her view as an Audi AG member of the board of management responsible for Sales & Marketing was likely rooted in the fact that Audi can’t adapt quickly enough to changing customer preferences.

Culture 52

Culture Leadership System Culture of Innovation 52

Cris Beswick

JANUARY 31, 2023

Recently Hildegard Wortmann, Audi AGs member of the board of management responsible for Sales & Marketing, said that there is only a 50% chance that Audi will still exist in 10 years. As alarming as this might sound, her perspective is probably rooted in acknowledging that the company cannot adapt quickly to changing customer preferences. In other words, the speed of change in the market is higher than the speed at which the company can meet those changes, making it challenging to remain rel

Technical Review 59

Technical Review Leadership System Culture 59

Cris Beswick

DECEMBER 21, 2022

For more than a decade now, the fundamental challenge around driving real growth and value from innovation is tied to many companies low focus on organisational design and culture. The design of an organisation and more importantly, how its people contribute, places HR at the centre of the challenge. Sometimes historically referred to as the ‘people police’, only providing value when people need to be hired, fired disciplined or appraised, HR is no longer the purely administrative function it ha

Culture 59

Culture Culture of Innovation Leadership Design 59

Cris Beswick

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Who sits at your innovation table? OK, I acknowledge that the answer may vary according to your business sector and size. Hopefully, at least some of the executive team are there, helping to set strategy and vision and sponsor innovation-led transformation. I’m sure you will have one or more innovation leaders or champions sitting in, acting as a conduit between the executive team and the business, building robust plans to ensure that the vision translates into action.

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Innovation Report Resources Strategy 52

Cris Beswick

OCTOBER 10, 2022

This is a piece about and for managers. They could be line managers, middle managers, or team leaders; in a way, the title is immaterial. But in any organisation, these individuals sit at its heart, interpreting the vision, delivering the strategy, and ensuring that the engine runs smoothly, and the business stays on track. You might think that’s the job of the executives.

Management 52

Management Underperforming Technical Team Innovation Culture of Innovation 52

Cris Beswick

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Innovation has the potential to thrive in every organisation, no matter how large or small. So why are 55% of businesses not seen as active in innovation? The answer may lie with your middle managers, says Cris Beswick, author and co-founder of OUTCOME. Here’s how you can create the right conditions to enable your people to lead and contribute to innovation-led transformation.

Culture 52

Culture Innovation Survey Resources 52

Cris Beswick

JANUARY 20, 2021

If innovation was human, how would it feel? Would it be frustrated and angry at seeing its potential wasted? Would it be full of hope and joy at the positive changes it could deliver to people’s lives and livelihoods? Or would it be like the rest of us; working through a mix of emotions as … Continued. The post If innovation was human… appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Innovation 52

Innovation Change Culture Leadership 52

Cris Beswick

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Don’t panic! From Corporal Jones’ immortal catchphrase in Dad’s Army to being written on the front of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it’s funny how often that instruction ‘Don’t panic’ reoccurs in books and films. A simple phrase, yet one which is almost as meaningless as it is helpful. The same potential for panic … Continued.

Leadership 52

Leadership Innovation 52

Cris Beswick

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Leadership development is broken! How does that statement make you feel? Do you see it as a personal attack and demand proof, or do you nod sadly and agree? And who do you blame; the system, leadership schools, your predecessors, your employer; or perhaps you accept some of the criticism yourself? Now whilst psychologists may … Continued. The post Leadership development is broken – so, how do we fix it?

Leadership 52

Leadership System 52

Cris Beswick

DECEMBER 1, 2020

Let me make you a promise; nowhere in this article am I going to ask you where you see your leadership style sitting on a scale of 1-10. Nor am I going to set out to tell you that what you are doing is wrong. After all, every organisation is different, and every organisation may … Continued. The post Leading FOR Innovation; It’s a numbers game!

Leadership 52

Leadership Innovation 52

Cris Beswick

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

An innovation ecosystem’s many elements must work in sync for growth to happen, write Cris Beswick, Dan Toma and Ricardo Vargas In 1878 Leo Tolstoy released what would become one of his most acclaimed works, the novel ‘Anna Karenina‘. The book started with a quote that over the centuries has transcended disciplines: ‘Happy families are … Continued.

Innovation 52

Innovation Culture 52

Cris Beswick

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Does culture still eat strategy for breakfast? That’s the question which I posted in a webinar which I was invited to present by ‘We are lean and agile’, a company whose vision statement is ‘making improvement easier for you.’ Through a mix of coaching and the deployment of Engage Process software they help organisations to … Continued. The post If you want innovation, start with the right breakfast!

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LEAN Agile Software Culture 52

Cris Beswick

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

What is the number one innovation blocker in your organisation? That’s the question which the team at Solverboard, the all-in-one innovation platform, recently set out to answer. Building on the success of their 2019 report which looked at five key innovation challenges including measuring innovation and employee buy-in, the 2020 report [1] identified five areas … Continued.

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Report Innovation Culture Strategy 52

Cris Beswick

OCTOBER 13, 2020

When the going gets tough, where are you to be found? Or is that an unfair question? You might even see it as a knee-jerk reaction to current circumstances, born out of the twin challenges of COVID and the ever-looming end of the Brexit transition period. Indeed, we can all acknowledge that over the past … Continued. The post Owning the Innovation Agenda appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Innovation 52

Innovation Strategy Strategy Leadership 52

Cris Beswick

AUGUST 12, 2020

Playing Lean Expert Webinar – Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast? And other musings with Cris Beswick. Cris Beswick is a serial entrepreneur turned strategic advisor, bestselling author & keynote speaker. Recognised globally as a thought leader on innovation strategy, leadership and culture, he’s helped some of the world’s most ambitious CEOs, companies and … Continued.

LEAN 84

LEAN Culture Strategy Strategy 84

Cris Beswick

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Hot summers, flash floods, intense storms; it’s hard to escape some of the more immediate impacts of climate change. But there are other impacts too, some of which scientists are yet to understand fully. Take the effects of climate change on permafrost, for example. Acting as a quasi-protective layer between the atmosphere and locked-in carbon … Continued.

Change 52

Change Innovation Examples Culture 52

Cris Beswick

AUGUST 18, 2020

Innovation doesn’t work; our investment in innovation hasn’t delivered. When I hear comments from senior leaders like these, I come back time and time again to the apocryphal story of the person lost in the countryside who asks someone leaning on a gate for directions, to which the person replies; “well if it were me, … Continued.

LEAN 59

LEAN Innovation Leadership 59

Cris Beswick

AUGUST 3, 2020

No one is an island, so the saying goes, and the same is true of business concepts and delivery. Leadership theory, sustainability, lean project management, or indeed any other business practice cannot be taken in isolation. And if you try then the inevitable outcome is a clash between existing and new methodologies alongside confusion and … Continued.

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LEAN Leadership Innovation Project 66

Cris Beswick

JULY 14, 2020

Numerous research studies consistently show companies that double-down on innovation during downturns, using the time as an inflexion point to reframe for an innovation-led recovery, outperform those that don’t over the long term. But, reframing in such a way requires the core pillars for innovation capability to be firmly in place and despite two-thirds of … Continued.

Innovation 52

Innovation Study Company Culture 52

Cris Beswick

JULY 7, 2020

Check out my interview with Bruce Walker where I share an insight into my background as an entrepreneur, how design not only became the foundation for the advisory work I do now but how it fuelled my passion for human-centred approaches to leadership and innovation. With insightful questions, Bruce cleverly helps me unpack my thoughts … Continued.

Culture of Innovation 52

Culture of Innovation Leadership Culture Strategy 52

Cris Beswick

JUNE 30, 2020

With entrepreneurial successes such as Airbnb, Warby Parker or SpaceX taking over industries, the desire and ability to disrupt a sector via technological design is on the rise. Digitally advanced startups, entrepreneurs and innovators are disrupting the norm, in an otherwise controlled corporate industry, taking the lion’s share of markets and delivering far superior services … Continued.

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Disruption Industry Design Technology 64

Cris Beswick

JUNE 23, 2020

With an abundance of global reports and surveys outlining the continued challenges faced by organisations in their quest to innovate, the single biggest issue we still see leaders make is not creating absolute clarity on strategy. And if you subscribe to the notion of “tomorrow’s prosperity is dictated by today’s leadership decisions” then innovation has … Continued.

Strategy 52

Strategy Strategy Survey Report 52

Cris Beswick

JUNE 2, 2020

In the middle of any crisis, the leadership dilemma is always how to continue shaping the future while balancing the short-term need to navigate the current storm. The crash of 2008 was the last catalyst for step-change. Although it can’t be compared in the same light, we think the current COVID-19 pandemic will be the … Continued. The post Why smart leaders are building innovation maturity NOW!

Leadership 59

Leadership Innovation Change How To 59

Cris Beswick

MAY 12, 2020

Before the COVID-19 lockdown, less than 1% of health consultations took place over a video link. Now video/internet and phone consultations are seen as the primary method of contact in the first instance between doctors and patients. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen public buildings repurposed as field hospitals, and factories retooling to produce … Continued.

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Change Management Video Leadership 78

Cris Beswick

MAY 5, 2020

Are you ready to lead an innovation-centric organisation? Now don’t tell me that you are in a position of leadership so you must be! That’s a bit like saying you got a certificate for twenty-five meters doggy paddle in school and are therefore ready to swim the channel. Leading for innovation isn’t merely a question … Continued. The post Are you Aiming for Innovation Leadership?

Leadership 52

Leadership Innovation 52

Cris Beswick

APRIL 28, 2020

“Creativity without measurement is akin to chaos” [1] Please don’t take our word for it; this is a time when statistics can reveal far more than we perhaps want to admit. So let’s open by examining a few key facts, starting with a look at how innovation creativity, or the lack of it, impacts organisations … Continued. The post Innovation Maturity; Stop Guessing, Start Measuring!

Innovation 52

Innovation Creativity Culture 52

Cris Beswick

APRIL 21, 2020

How do you see your leadership role? Are you a numbers person or a detail devil, a blue-sky thinker, an enabler or a controller? Depending on your answer, we may need to have a quick leadership refresh. In the meantime, let’s have a quick chat about the sort of leader you need to be if … Continued. The post Unleashing Leadership Curiosity appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Leadership 52

Leadership Strategy Strategy 52

Cris Beswick

APRIL 14, 2020

“Not all innovations are created equal.” That comment from Jacquelyn Pless headlined an article outlining the MIT Sloan approach to innovation strategy. [1] As it describes three foundations for delivering an effective strategy, the report makes it clear that innovation is a process that requires management and measurement to be successful. The idea of successful … Continued.

Strategy 52

Strategy Strategy Report Management 52

Cris Beswick

APRIL 7, 2020

In times of great challenge human ingenuity comes to the fore. As an example, we traditionally seen wars as accelerators of technology. But they also act as incubators of real innovation, with nations as a whole looking to do more from less or find new ways of coping. COVID-19 is a new kind of enemy, … Continued. The post Why we need to AIM for innovation-led solutions appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Innovation 52

Innovation Examples Technology 52

Cris Beswick

MARCH 31, 2020

How would you describe your current organisational culture? Are you one of the 75% of leaders who claimed in a 2018 survey [1] that their culture was already one of innovation, experimentation and risk-taking? And if so, what did you mean by that? It’s a fair bet that if you talked about experimentation and risk-taking, … Continued. The post The Yin & Yang of Innovation Culture appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Culture 52

Culture Survey Innovation Leadership 52

Cris Beswick

MARCH 24, 2020

In my earlier article’ Understanding Why’ I talked about why having goals and aspirations is not enough unless underpinned by understanding. This article takes the process to the next stage, exploring why we need to be more intelligent and then why more collaborative and then why more adaptable to become an exponential organisation. Let’s start … Continued.

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Innovation Collaboration 40

Cris Beswick

MARCH 17, 2020

“Which way you ought to go depends on where you want to get to…” That advice from the Cheshire Cat to Alice in Wonderland might almost have been a blueprint for business development: first, define your end goal and then work out what you need to do to achieve it. I say almost because one … Continued. The post To drive innovation, you first need to understand why appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Innovation 52

Innovation Change 52

Cris Beswick

MARCH 10, 2020

If I were to ask you to pick a leader, either current or from history that you most admire, whom would you choose? If I then went on to ask you why that leader most resonated with you, what would you say? Not wanting to second guess your answers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if … Continued. The post Leading with an Innovation Mindset appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Innovation 52

Innovation Leadership 52

Cris Beswick

MARCH 3, 2020

With 1 being don’t do anything until it is checked, checked again, discussed in multiple committees and then left in a drawer for a year, and 10 being don’t worry about scoping let’s do it; where do you sit on the risk scale? More importantly, what does your answer say about how you lead and … Continued. The post Averse to or accommodating risk appeared first on Cris Beswick.

Leadership 59

Leadership Innovation 59

Cris Beswick

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

So, you think you’ve got a dynamic organisation which is actively delivering change? Congratulations, that means you sit firmly with the other 84.9% of executives who recognise that innovation is very important in delivering strong outcomes [1] and you’re certainly not one of the 72% of executives who admit that they are not out innovating … Continued.

Innovation 61

Innovation Change Culture Strategy 61

Cris Beswick

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Fifty years ago, whilst the Americans were demonstrating how innovation and insight allied to a drive for success could take mankind on the first step towards the stars, the Monty Python team were settling down to write the opening lines of a show which not only revitalised the comedy scene but is also credited as … Continued. The post Sentiment – Is it the one giant leap innovation needs?

Innovation 69

Innovation Culture 69

Cris Beswick

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Those of you who are regular readers of my thought pieces will know that I regularly reinforce the fact that ‘failure’ is a key mindset and component of the innovation equation. So, why do so many corporate innovation transformation programmes fail? Failure is supposed to be part of the formula not the end result, right? … Continued. The post Why Innovation Transformation Programmes Fail appeared first on Cris Beswick.

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