The list of basic cultural IBBs prompted a phone call from a reader asking for more information on the dual career ladder. When we were done, he suggested that I put that information on the blog this week. Who am I to argue with a reader?
I’m not an historian, but I think that the need for the ladder was seen first in the technical world at least 40 years ago and although they may not have been the first, IBM and the original Bell Labs were two of the highest profile early adopters.
People work to improve their situation, but companies …read more

I took last week off, but today I want to wrap up the final chapter in IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy)
Chapter Five is called Genuine, Not Just Generous and refers to “an emerging generation of socially minded customers, workers, partners, activists and investors” who are demanding—through their wallets and their feet—a new commitment and level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from companies.
It’s not an accident that three of the nine drivers that continually moved higher over the last three surveys are all part of CSR—socioeconomic …read more

Continuing the focus on disruptive innovation as discussed in chapter four  from IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy) begs the question as to what is being disrupted? What are companies really doing to drive financial performance?
The most common approach is “revenue model innovations, nine out of ten are reconfiguring the product, service and value mix. Half are working on new pricing structures.”
Changes include offering more services; moving to recurring charges (as opposed to one-time payments); bundling or unbundling depending on products and industry.
The major change in …read more

Post from Leadership Turn  Image credit: nookiez  CC license
Chapter four from IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy) is about extreme innovation, AKA, serious disruption.
Innovative products and services aren’t enough any more.
“As one U.S. CEO explained, “We’re starting to think about things we couldn’t do before.” With the Internet, businesses can now find niche markets for rare, surplus or highly specialized goods — a virtual “garage sale,” as it’s often called. Business processes, as well as some products and services, are becoming more virtual. New delivery channels …read more

From IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy).
The second of the five critical traits is innovative beyond customer imagination, which translates to giving customers what they truly want before they ask and even before they think of it.
It’s not about selling them what they don’t need; it’s about anticipating needs and innovating even when the results disrupt your current product line.
But to whom are you actually selling?
“In rapidly developing economies worldwide, the middle class is growing (sadly, that isn’t true in the US) and becoming progressively more …read more

Post from Leadership Turn  Image credit: nookiez  CC license
IBM has surveyed 1,130 CEOs who are collectively responsible for 2.224 trillion dollars of revenue.
The 2008 study uses their “collective insights and wisdom” to formulate what IBM calls “The Enterprise of the Future”—an enterprise that encompasses these traits

hungry for change;
innovative beyond customer imagination;
globally integrated;
disruptive by nature;
genuine, not just generous.

“This Global CEO Study report presents findings related to each of the attributes of the Enterprise of the Future. It draws on the rich insights from our CEO s through statistical and financial analyses as well as the voices of the CEO s themselves. …read more