Service Sector Innovation

We live in a service economy yet our innovation tools don’t reflect this reality.

Dear Ed,

The Idea Factory has long believed that innovation practitioners are far too focused on the lessons from innovation in the manufacturing world instead of redefining and reconceptualizing new ideas specific to the service sectors.

After all, does it really matter how 3M came up with the idea for Post It Notes™ if you work in an association, the public service or for a professional services organization? I don’t think so.

It is as simple as this: the focus on most innovation efforts in manufacturing is the “product” while the focus in the service organization must be on “processes” that are used to get innovative results.

Read more about Innovation and the solution for Canada…

In This Issue

Service Sector Productivity and innovation
In pursuit of mediocrity

Service Sector Productivity and innovation What does productivity mean if you are a service?

Chances are, if you run a business in any OCED country
you are in the service sector and finding ways to enhance productivity is a challenge.

In manufacturing, machinery or technology often improves efficiency and effectiveness. In fact, many countries anticipate productivity gains by the total investment in new machinery. But the service sector is more complex. Investing in technology is no guarantee of results.

A recent Canadian study showed the failing of many service companies that invest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology and customer satisfaction research is that they “are not inventive and creative enough in the use of their investment” to make meaningful improvements in service.

In a previous issue of BRIGHT, Rick Wells, Managing Director of Formway said, “…the secret to increasing productivity is, quite simply, people. Productivity is driven by the decisions people make.” Here lies a paradox and an opportunity.

Too many managers think the solution takes hard investments (anything from machinery to software) when the results are likely found in the changing the processes people use. But how do you invest in the soft issues to improve decision making?

Read the roadmap for change…

In pursuit of mediocrity
When I studied for my MBA I wondered why we were studying Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto. I then saw that studying Marxism teaches you a lot about capitalism. By studying the ‘opposite’ you can gain insights into what you need to accomplish.

It is in this context that I think it is useful to pursue mediocrity to learn more about innovation. I mention in the opening article the mediocrity I feel when I do a PUMP class at my GoodLife gyms. Here is my dilemma: unless you experience the highly innovative original you may not see the mediocrity of the service you get.

Coffee offers another great example…

Needed: A large organization to prototype a new yearly
“innovation” planner
Does your staff manage their time and ideas innovatively?

The Idea Factory has another idea that changes the concept of weekly time management to greater focus on:

1. Managing their time more effectively during the year using the planner.
2. Managing their ideas more innovatively to solve their challenges for greater results.

It is looking for a company or public sector which gives staff a yearly planner. To make this viable, it will take about 750 or more staff.

More about the guide…

Does your organization need an "idea factory"?
Everyone knows that most manufacturers have ‘R&D’ people whose job is to find new ideas that lead to long term value and profits. If you are in a law firm, government department or association, where do you get your ideas for long term value and profits? What is the equivalent of ‘R&D’ for the service world? The Idea Factory says it is a capacity for ID&E: Insights, Design and Execution.

• Start by harnessing the insights for a specific challenge.
• These insights need to be designed into powerful ideas.
• The implementation process for these ideas must be as innovative as the original idea.

The Idea Factory help you focus on developing a capacity to innovate by providing this unique framework. Each step has a series of commonsense tools that staff can use to solve many challenges.

It sounds so obvious but the reality is about two-thirds of every conference audience admit that they make notes and never look at them again. Is your conference different? I find the same result whether the event involves CEOs, nurses, hospice workers, HR managers or financial planners. This insight prompted the Idea Factory to create an opening key note address to prompt people to be more innovative in their thinking at the conference.

How to help your conference participants become “better participants”…

Boosting performance at your sales conference
Conference Navigator Guides have changed the way many people participate in conferences. The Idea Factory is now creating a Navigator Guides for use at sales conferences. It will be ready for use in November. If you learning objective include:

1. Help sales people focus on setting targets for the year.
2. Promote new ways of thinking to get greater results.
3. Make the conference more effective and useful to sales people.

Don’t invest in gimmicky incentives. Invest in something that will help sales people be more successful. That’s a great investment. There will be two versions of the Sales Navigator Guide starting about $15 per person (less with higher volumes). For more information on how the Sales Navigator Guide can make your event more effective contact the Idea Factory.

The Idea Factory
For information on an introductory one-day workshop Wow! That's a Great Idea! contact Ed Bernacki
613 263 0046 or email
info@wowgreatidea.com