Current thinking and comment

Blog by Dr Cathy Garner, CEO, M:KC

I was delighted to be asked to make the closing remarks at Manchester Airport’s inaugural Innovation Summit on Wednesday 16 July. The summit provided a rich source of inspiration and wisdom about innovation and how it can be vital for growth in companies and in places such as Greater Manchester.

The airport has always been a strong supporter in Manchester’s modern innovation journey and in many ways is Greater Manchester’s secret technology incubator. This was clearly illustrated through the 30 exhibitors present, who demonstrated the scope and range of modern technologies MAG uses to support their customers on their journey through the airport and beyond.

Innovation is not only vital for businesses and hence economic growth but also for the delivery of quality customer service in an efficient and effective way – from this model public service deliverers can take lessons from MAG.

Innovation now involves co-development; testing and trialling with customers to adjust the product and to work with them to get acceptance; adoption and diffusion. We saw this illustrated at the airport summit – from their now famous whole body-scanner to their use of GIS mapping. Even the Concorde – under which we were gathering – was developed in conjunction with customer consultation and engagement. The airlines who were the purchasers quite firmly told the developers that their idea for a short-haul plane “would never fly” (sorry for pun)!

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Four key areas kept coming through to my mind following some of the excellent presentations from the day:

1. What is your USP?
The need to identify your USP (Sir Richard Needham’s Diamonds). Work out what product/service/competence makes your organisation distinctive and stand out from the crowd. These are the valuable assets that can potentially produce disruptive innovation. Sir Richard told us the story of Dyson but also the story of the Avon Rubber Company – and the need to ensure that the focus is TOTAL in your organisation – across all aspects of business. Sir Richard also – pointed out that MAG provides us with a unique model for economic development.

2. What business are you in?
Just because Dyson made vacuum cleaners – that didn’t mean it was in the cleaning business – taking its USP – it discovered it was in the “small efficient motors” business – and therefore can use that technology for other products – hand driers for example.

Other companies likewise have done the same – Trumeter in Manchester was actually in the “measuring business” and now makes all sorts of measuring devices.
www.trumeter.com/

Cyber Coach which won the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Innovation Award – had a USP in touch screen technology and has used that to develop its latest product that is now in hundreds of schools – using touch screen technology to make it easy to guide fitness classes for schools.
www.cyber-coach.co.uk/

3. Getting your head into your customer’s space to understand the market.
Not always easy – but can be revolutionary and disruptive:

How many terrific ideas – just will not fly – that’s why business is now so keen to work together with potential customers in the product development stage. The old maxim – better; faster; cheaper is necessary – but not always sufficient

Travellers have been carrying their luggage around for years in suitcases. – we have had wheels since the dawn of time – but how long did it take someone to put the two together and fathom out that travellers’ lives could be transformed by combining the two – to give us wheeled cases? It seems so obvious now!

4. People and Culture:
It was apparent from speakers and panellists’ comments during the Summit that it is the attitudes and behaviour of people and culture that are critical to innovation success.

• Innovation is a social process – requiring collaboration; relationship building and networks;
• Attitude is vital to the adoption of new ideas – and their success:
• Closed minds and Jane Jacob’s “squelchers” are “death” to innovation;
• Fear of failure and risk aversion are similarly fatal;
• Confidence is critical – sometimes one has to believe in something – to just “wing it”!
• Building these characteristics into teams for innovation seems vital.

I’d like to leave you with Three Challenges from the Summit:

• How are we promoting the MAG model and how can we leverage its power for the success in innovation across GM?
• How do we promote more and better collaboration across small and large companies; between private and public; across sectors?
• Why can’t Manchester do what its forefathers did?
  – Join our movement in Innovation Manchester
  – Don’t let anyone say we didn’t – as it will only be our own fault
  – Let’s tell Sir Richard Needham and the world – that Manchester can – and will!