The Innovation Super: Highway. Harnessing Intellectual Capital for Sustainable Collaborative Advantage

375 Pages·2003·3.171 MB·English

by  Debra M. Amidon (Auth.)

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AbouttheCover
Theworldisnowourmanageablelandscape.ConnectionsaremadeEasttoWestandNorthto
Southwithmanynodesinbetween.ButTheInnovationSuperhighwayisnotonlyaphysical
infrastructure,albeitatechnicalandelectronicone.Itishuman—afunctionofinsight,interac-
tion,andimaginationresidentintheminds,hearts,andhandsofpeoplearoundtheglobe.
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Dedication
Dr.GeorgeKozmetsky
andhiswife,Ronya
Inappreciationofyour
inspirationtovalue
intellect,
innovation,and
internationalcollaboration.
Throughyourdemonstratedleadership,
guidinghandsandopenhearts,
youhavebothtouchedme
inwaystoonumeroustomention;
andIhavegrown,
bothpersonallyandprofessionally.
Thereisnosubstituteforgenuinecare,
supportingtheroadlesstraveled;
andithasmadeallthedifference.
Foreword
W
e are now embarking upon the Knowledge Economy; in fact, we
haveallplayedaroleinitsevolution.Theopportunitiesarenumerous
andthemanagerialchallengesmultifold.TheFutureisjustbeyondthe
bend;andhowareweequippedtotakeadvantageoftheopportunities?
Doyouseeit…andhaveyouenvisionedyourownroleinit?DebraM.
Amidon has outlined the ‘future as an asset’, which goes well beyond
the traditional, Tayloristic forms of management.
In previous publications as a pioneer of innovation, Debra has
definedthecoreprinciplesandoutlinedamethodologyforinnovating
enterprises. In this new publication—The Innovation SuperHighway,
she defines the critical steps in envisioning our future. In essence, will
weseethefutureasanassetoraliability?Amidonoutlinesaconstruc-
tive path forward.
The newpapers of the present are full of stories of financial crises,
failuresandfraud.Itisalsosometimesreferredtoasthetimeofinstitu-
tional failures, as phrased by the founder of VISA Mr. Dee W. Hock.
We evidently have to step back like the impressionists and Claude
Monet—what Amidon defined in her first book—and try to see and
reshape the larger pattern. This is also what Amidon is offering in
many ways in her work with Entovation—enterprise innovation—a
network comprised of theorists and practitioners from around the
world. She understands the global Gestalt and where it is going; with
her words and collective wisdom, she illuminates our direction.
xvii
xviii The Innovation Superhighway
She is also accompanied by a group of thought leaders called the
Entovation (E 100), among who Dr. Thomas F. Malone is saying:
“We are at a historical choice point—a defining moment—in deter-
mining the kind of world our children will inherit. If we make these
choices based only on the models of our industrial age past, we will
almostcertainlymissthetrueopportunitiesbeforeus.”Wemustlearn
to convert the future into an asset, not a liability, by addressing the
opportunity cost of not innovating and continuously renewing.
Debra’s assumptions are based upon a new Knowledge Value
Proposition beyond cost, quality and time. There are many facets of
theemergingfuturetobesystematizedandleveraged.Knowledgeeco-
nomicsisoneofthemajorpatterns,contrastedbythepresentstoriesof
the financial economics of failing institutions, where the economies
seem to be shadowed by the lack of perspectives and insights behind
the new intangible economics and intellectual capital. If we miss the
perspectives, we might be the victims of impoverishing ourselves by
forgetting the heritage. Our future always begins with an investment
into what we now call the ‘hidden value’ of the firm. The core of the
knowledge economics is knowledge innovation, or the capacity to
shape future opportunities. It is think-oriented instead of thing-
oriented.Itisamomentumofnaturalevolution.Itcanalsobereferred
to as a process of knowledge navigation, i.e. a quest for the enlarged
and knowledge explorative learnings of the not knowing. Today or-
ganizationsarelabeledascomplexitysystems,chaordicsystemsandbio
economics. Transaction values are replaced by interaction values.
Similarly, the new proposition is a function of the behavior of the
organization—best exemplified by the emergent communities of
knowledge within which new leadership lies. Now, we are dependent
upon a trust-led leadership based upon values of openness, knowl-
edge-sharing and respect for the competencies of one another. Inter-
dependence takes on new meaning between functions, sectors,
industries and even nations. Value is created in the interconnections
and fostered through the quality of conversations virtually and face-
to-face. No longer are we limited by the hierarchical, control policies
Foreword xix
of the past. Our future depends upon our capacity to share leader-
ship, listen to the inquiries of others, be courageous in our ability
to take responsible risk, and create cultures of knowledge-sharing.
Dare we build institutions that seek collaborative—not competitive—
advantage?
TheInnovationSuperHighwayisbydefinitionglobal.Theemergent
technology removes all geographical boundaries. The full potential of
these global networks for innovation largely remains untouched and
unexplored. Debra maps it all out for us, a bit like explorers started to
produce maps of the New World. The new innovation highway is
comprised of a series of cross disciplinary forums where the quality of
theconversationenabledbythetechnologyandtheforeverexpanding
bandwidth is providing an unprecedented platform for innovation.
Organizations that miss getting on the train will be irremediably left
behind.
TheInformationSuperHighwaywasperceivedasavehicleofinfor-
mation,computersandtechnology.Withinfewyears,itisobviousthat
thehighwayisactuallyoneofsocialnetworksinadditiontothetechni-
cal infrastructures. Only through the motivations of people can the
‘network’ come alive; and only with the technology can the cultures of
nations—industrialized and developing—realize their full potential.
Amidon is right—the innovation process is what brings knowledge
aliveandputsittowork.Further,shehasillustratedhowthetechnol-
ogyisonlyasusefulashowitisused…andoursustainabilityasaworld
isonlyaseffectiveasisourweakestnation.Wenowknowthatinnova-
tion is not a function of the technology and that knowledge is what
drives the enterprise forward. Debra has placed innovation the central
topic of enterprises. More important, she realizes the value of decen-
tralized (and yet) networked organizations—something many big
organizations are forgetting as they attempt to control the innovation
process.
Once again, Amidon has moved the finish line—and appropriately
so—tostretchourimaginationsofhowwemightarchitectourfuture.
She has been the guardian of the knowledge movement and with this
xx The Innovation Superhighway
publication steers our efforts toward profitability and prosperity. This
can be viewed as a time element—the longitude dimensions of an
organization. In other words, a lateral networked collaborative brain
expands the frontiers for new knowing by knowledge insourcing
through new alliances. We’ve more to gain with learning from, rather
than defeating one another. Amidon’s original concept of Ken—
having the knowledge AND a range of vision to apply the knowl-
edge—shape our current concepts of Intellectual Capital—something
she was publishing in the mid 1980’s.
But do not take it from Amidon alone. This book is rich with the
insights and observations of professionals from around the world that
alsobelievethatanewworldisemergingandweallhavearoletoplay.
This might be called intelligent enterprising, as well as innovative
societies.TheInnovationSuperhighway providesatangiblehighwayto
serveasthemultiplierofintangiblevalue—thenetworkedcompetence
for shared prosperity. It offers to leverage the local human capital—
primarily the component of the brain such as intellect, insight and
imagination—multiplied by the global technology tools often called
structural capital, into a growth spiral of innovative value and wealth
creation. This will result in emerging intellectual capital, on the indi-
vidual level, an enterprise level as well as a society level.
Innovation is what gives purpose to the exchange of knowledge.
Innovation is the outcome of a knowledge-based interaction. Innova-
tionisaboutshapingandarchitectingadesiredfuture.TheInnovation
Superhighway tells us how this future will unfold and shows you how
you can be part of it. As someone who lives and works in global net-
works, Debra is uniquely positioned to be our guide.
The Entovation superhighway is the bridging process of organiza-
tional capital on a global scale—a springboard opportunity to be
grasped.Thelongitudevalueofanorganization,enterpriseorsocietyis
tobefoundinitscapacitytoreachout,connectandleveragethecollec-
tive competence to take advantage of the future. How will the
intelligence flow through the logistics of The Innovation SuperHigh-
Foreword xxi
way? According to Amidon, the opportunity is ours. Are we ready to
accept the challenge?
One step toward ‘innovating your future’…
August2002
LeifEdvinsson,
formerSeniorVicePresidentforIntellectualCapital,
SkandiaAFSandco-authorofIntellectualCapitaland
authorofCorporateLongitude(Sweden).
HubertSaint-Onge,
formerSeniorVicePresidentofClaricaand
co-authorofLeveragingCommunitiesofPractice(Canada).
JoachimDoering,
SeniorVicePresident,InformationCommunicationsNetworks(ICN),
Siemens,AG(Germany).
Preface
Ishallberetellingthiswithasigh
Somewhereagesandageshence:
Tworoadsdivergedinawood,andI—
Itooktheonelesstraveledby,
Andthathasmadeallthedifference.
—RobertFrost
T
he knowledge movement has literally taken flight—and in only fif-
teenshortyears!The“ken”—gainingknowledgeandhavingarangeof
vision to put the knowledge into action—has been awakened world-
wide;nowitisamatterofharnessingthatcollectiveintellectualtalent
to build a sustainable future that does not exist today. Hundreds of
thousandsoftheoristsandpractitionersworldwidearetravelinganew
path—one destined to lead us to prosperous innovation.
In 1996, I documented the knowledge evolution in the book, Inno-
vationStrategyfortheKnowledgeEconomy:TheKenAwakening, with a
conclusion that was—at the time—an immense stretch of a vision. I
argued that such foresight should be bold enough that, when docu-
mented into a plan, it was not something that was outdated before
actions were operationalized. A strategic vision must be simple,
visceral, and magnetic enough to pull the competencies of the public
forward.
xxiii
xxiv The Innovation Superhighway
Readerswereinvitedtostepintothenextmillennium,inwhichthe
“World Trade of Ideas” was described—“worldwide recognition that
intellectual capital is the most valuable resource we have to manage
enterprises, nations, and society as a whole.” A challenge was asserted
thatthe“flowofknowledgewillenhancethestandardoflivinginevery
countryaroundtheglobe”andthata“globalinnovationinfrastructure
(GII) serves as the underpinning of the international network for the
creation and application of new ideas.”
Further,Idescribed,“hundredsoftheoristsandpractitionersinthe
new‘communityofknowledgepractice’whowouldconvene…(where)
the economic, behavioral, and technological issues are reconciled and
opportunities abound for all who participate. Diversity of heritage is
respected, and similarities in mission are discovered. A common lan-
guage evolves that brings together the foundations of knowledge and
theprocessofinnovationthatwereneverconsideredbefore.”Speaking
oftherepresentatives,“Theyaredistinguishedintheirfields,butcon-
vene together to collaborate with one another on how best to preserve
and leverage the best innovation practices for the benefit of human-
kind.”
Now in 2002, what has happened? Results have been so far beyond
expectationsthatitseemsimpossibletoprojectwhereallthismightbe
headed; but we will give a try. The language has emerged. Respect for
the value of an innovation culture is now obvious. Leaders in the
knowledge community and innovation communities—heretofore
separate professional directions—are beginning to converge. Innova-
tion is no longer creativity…nor is it R&D. An appreciation of the
‘innovation value-system’ (vs. value-chain), customer success (not sat-
isfaction)andestablishingcollaborative(notcompetitive)advantageis
appreciatedinallaspectsofmanagement—publicandprivate.Noneof
this was the case in 1996; today, it is common knowledge.
Ireferthoseofyouseekingthe“how”oftheknowledgeeconomyto
InnovationStrategyfortheKnowledgeEconomy.There,youwillfindthe
rationale,thebusinessproposition,andmodernmanagementpractices
embeddedinaninnovationmethodology.Itisdesignedforthosewho
Preface xxv
have practiced the best of quality, incremental reengineering method-
ologies and are ready to transform their organizations with systematic
notions of knowledge creation and application.
Ourintentwiththispublication,TheInnovationSuperhighway,isto
buildontheframeand“movethefinishline.”Inadditiontostrength-
ening the “advanced how,” this book provides the “where next.” Now
that a shared vision has emerged, and it has; how do we harness the
intellectual capital of the world for sustained prosperity? This book is
intended for those who have explored the principles of knowledge
exchange, knowledge sharing, and knowledge management and are
nowreadyforfarmoredynamicmethodsrootedinthebasicsofenter-
prisestrategy,measurementofintangiblevalue,andthesymbiosisthat
can come only from international leadership.
Part 1 defines the new innovation frontier illustrating the global
imperative in terms of the new knowledge value proposition resolving
the productivity paradox that has plagued enterprise performance for
decades. It positions innovation strategy—as opposed to strategic
planning—as core to the sustainability of an enterprise, sector, or
nation. Part 2 expands the architectural foundation linking measures,
structures, people, process, and technology in terms conducive for the
knowledgeeconomy.Part3usestheevolutionofourvirtualcompeten-
ciesasanexampleoftheglobeasanetwork.Part4illustrateshowthese
concepts—purely theoretical only a decade ago—have become funda-
mental modern management modus operandi. These are examples of
innovationleadershipinpractice—theindividualsandinitiativesthatare
shapingthefuture.ThebookcloseswithPart5,TheMillenniumVision,
which provides a blueprint for how individuals and organizations can
make a contribution to the future realization of building collaborative
advantage—a practice that could be a platform for world peace.
If you are ready to act on your accumulated learning, this book will
be your compass to use in riding the crest of the knowledge wave as
it moves toward unchartered territories. Let it be a beginning, an
unleashing of your own aspirations—what you know intuitively is
managerially obvious. We live in a kaleidoscopic economy, and the