Breaking down barriers

A new research project at Aalborg University in Denmark wants to find out, if bringing together expertise from different sectors and industries can result in new business models and new ways of developing products. It’s kind of taking some of the thoughts and ideas from “Blue Ocean Strategy” and add an element of crayons and kindergarten to it.

I like the idea. In fact I love it. But alas I also fear that it won’t succeed on a broader scale. For the sheer reason that all the business systems, we have put in place today simply don’t accommodate such ways of thinking.

If you think about it most business systems are built for keeping things in order in pre-defined structures. Many systems are built for measurement, and when it comes to performance, a lot of companies benchmark towards internal goals for efficiency and towards how their competitors are doing.

Looking at it from this perspective, it should come as no surprise that incremental innovation in both product and business models suffer. Because we’re so entrenched in our silos and structures that we are at a disadvantage when trying to break down the barriers. It becomes inauthentic, unreal, hard, forced - and the odds to get anything remotely great from that are slim.

One of the things that can actually be done to remidy some of this is to embrace and engage in a lot of the social tools, which exist and which, with a little innovation effort, can be brought around to supporting this breaking down of barriers.

But that is also hard. And this is where I think a lot of the people advocating these tools have a job at hand: They simply need to get better at understanding the situation these businesses and industries are in and to put themselves in their position.

A lot of companies have yet to discover the benefits of social tools in their organization and their structure. But here is a potential newsflash: I am quite sure it has nothing to do with everlasting resistence towards it - I just think noone has yet been able to dig in, put himself in the position of the prospective client and really explain the benefits seen from a framework that is known to the decsionmaker(s).

Why is this important? Because if you’re struggling to get cross-function, perhaps cross-industry, initiatives going, it’s no wonder that you come to a full stop, when you’re greated with very passionate people advocating their own thing without showing much care or deep thought about what you’re doing.

Don’t get me wrong. Passion is great. But sometimes we who advocate these things need to step out of our role, break down the barriers and meet these people on their home turf. A place where they are safe, and where we can have a quality discussion based on the merits.

Vad NU! is a consultancy company owned by Mads Kristensen and specialized in helping clients take advantage of the business opportunities created by new media. Click to learn how I can help you and your company.