FORTUNE Innovation Forum Blog Announces Thought Leader Interview Series on Management Innovation

FORTUNE Innovation Forum blog launches interview series with world-renowned strategist Gary Hamal's insights on management innovation.

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 8, 2006 — In the weeks leading up to the third annual FORTUNE Innovation Forum (http://www.timeinc.net/fortune/conferences/innovation2006/innovation_home.html) in New York City on November 29-30, the Business Innovation Insider blog (http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com/) will be presenting a regular series of thought pieces with innovative thinkers in business and academia. The series was launched this week with insights from world-renowned strategy guru Gary Hamel.

In his first Business Innovation Insider exclusive, Mr. Hamel outlines why management (http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com/2006/11/gary_hamel_the_importance_of_c.php) innovation is the kind of innovation that matters most:

"Innovation is Topic A in companies around the world. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, innovation is the only way to create wealth over the medium-term. In the short-run, companies can cut costs through off-shoring and outsourcing, they can capture the efficiency gains from industry consolidation and plump up the share price via stock buy backs. But in the longer-term, there are no substitutes to innovation."

Hamel goes on to say, "Importantly, though, some forms of innovation deliver more in the way of competitive advantage than others. My research, and that of my colleagues at the London Business School, suggests that management research—fundamental advances in the way companies allocate capital, motivate employees, organize activities, create strategies, and set priorities—has the most potential to create long-lasting competitive advantage. Indeed, if one looks back over the last 100 years of industrial competition, it is management innovation, more than any other sort, that has produced big and enduring shifts in industry leadership."

Hamel notes several examples:

-- Managing science. In the early 1900s, General Electric perfected Thomas Edison's most notable invention, the industrial research laboratory.

-- Allocating capital. DuPont played a pioneering role in the development of capital-budgeting techniques when it initiated the use of return on investment calculations in 1903.

-- Managing intangible assets. Procter & Gamble's preeminence in the packaged goods industry has its roots in the early 1930s, when the company began to formalize its approach to brand management.

-- Capturing the wisdom of every employee. As the world's most profitable car-maker, much of Toyota's success rests on its unmatched ability to enroll employees in the relentless pursuit of efficiency and quality.

-- Enabling a network of volunteers. Linux, the ubiquitous computer operating system, is the best known example of a radically new approach to organizing human effort: open source development.

To read Mr. Hamel's thoughts in their entirety and for more information on the FORTUNE Innovation Forum visit: http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com

About Business Innovation Insider

The blog was launched in 2005 in conjunction with FORTUNE's Innovation Forum held each November in New York City. It showcases interesting interviews, case studies and commentary on the theme of business innovation. The focus is on the factors that impact innovation - competition, customer experience, intellectual property, and design. The tagline for the FORTUNE Innovation Forum is: "Creating Sustainable Innovation." The blog is for anyone who is passionate about innovation.

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