BiF-4 Insights – John Wolpert – Best Buy
Impact of BBC Connections television program on his life (hosted by James Burke).
We have to share, but what do we share?
- Do we know what we need to share?
- It is one thing to share inventions, it is another thing to share intentions
An innovation changes how people organize, how they do business, and/or how people live their lives.
IBM Alphaworks:
- Average lifespan of an innovation program is three years, maybe five years at the outside, but Alphaworks is now thirteen years old
- Reason is the crossing of the membrane of the firm and connecting to external companies
- This makes it more valuable and difficult to dislodge
Personal Journey
- Alphaworks -> Extreme Blue -> Innovation XChange Network -> YCombinator
Extreme Blue is a ten year old talent program:
- Reported to heads of HR, Technology, and Business Strategy
Innovation XChange Network in Australia
- Hiring trusted intermediaries and implanting people into companies that could share with other implanted intermediaries but not with companies
- We brought together a healthcare company and technology company looking for overlap
- People started sharing nouns (their technology) and then crickets chirping
- People wouldn’t share their verbs (their intentions)
- We should have brought the interns (experienced people have a hesitancy to share)
There are always that 1-3% chomping at the bit to start something new.
The talent program I’ve built for Best Buy involves some of the same keys as the Extreme Blue program I worked on for IBM:
- 10 weeks
- Live and work together
- A small investment
- Give people more money and they’ll spend it
- Restricting the investment and basing additional funding on meeting certain milestones is better
For more information on the talk, go here.
NEVER MISS ANOTHER NEWSLETTER!
LATEST BLOGS
Five CV skills of a business-minded individual
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash The skills listed on a CV help employers quickly understand your suitability for a…
Read MoreFour ways you can ensure employees take accountability for their work
One of the most important driving factors for any successful business is a high-performing team. Having people working for you…
Read More