Each year, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spends hundreds of millions of dollars delivering its merchandise across the United States. The 6,000 trucks in the retailer's fleet are a common sight on highways, as are those of the many other companies that rely on long-haul trucking to transport their goods from coast to coast. But what if that fleet could be cut by one-third"”and be made up of trucks pulled by slimmed-down tractors less than half their current size, with a computer at the helm?
By now, the functional model has become the conceptual core of nearly all organizational structures, public and private. It is so ingrained in the daily activities of most companies that it is rarely questioned. But it is obsolete.
It used to be that the only way for multinational corporations (MNCs) to enter China was through a joint venture with a local Chinese partner"”typically a government-appointed, hopelessly backward state-owned enterprise. Foreign ownership was capped at 50 percent, and MNCs faced numerous hurdles, such as local supplier requirements and mandatory technology transfer agreements.
According to a growing number of media and analyst reports, China's days as the world's largest manufacturing nation are already numbered - only two years after ending the United States' 110-year reign. This conclusion has left Chinese business leaders understandably concerned.
For their global innovation strategies, many companies have long relied on their ability to assemble people with key capabilities and critical knowledge. They typically do this through co-location: bringing together designers, engineers, technologists, and other creative thinkers in a few innovation centers at home and in lead markets. The new products and services they create are then disseminated to markets across the world. But as the range of knowledge needed for global innovation becomes wider and more varied, co-location is no longer sufficient.
A resilient mind-set can transform scarcity into opportunity by combining limited resources with inventiveness and a never-say-die attitude. This approach "” whether it is aimed at creating a product, service or business model "” is called jugaad innovation. Jugaad is a colloquial Hindi word that roughly translates as "an innovative fix for your business; an improvised solution born from ingenuity and cleverness."
Many companies are investing in strengthening their social media presence and related capabilities. In the summer and fall of 2011, Booz + Company and Buddy Media, a social enterprise software provider, conducted a quantitative survey of 117 leading companies and a series of in-depth interviews with senior marketing and media executives. The results revealed that strengthening social media is on the CEO's agenda at 40 percent of responding companies and is a top marketing priority for about 60 percent. Seventy-eight percent believe that social media efforts enhance their marketing effectiveness; 95 percent expect to invest more in social media.
Automobiles are selling again, and executives are confident. The U.S. auto industry is positioned for a global economic recovery - if car manufacturers can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
A new type of industrial company is emerging primarily in China. We call them mid-market innovators, after the burgeoning middle market of Chinese urban and rural businesses and government offices, which were their original core customers.
