Contents of the Current Issue

Best Practices in Scanning
By Lisa Bodell

Identifying opportunities for the future takes foresight, focus, and perspective. Today's leading corporations understand the importance of continually scanning outside their everyday surroundings as well as getting a variety of input in their quest for what's next. In fact, today's more strategic, innovative organizations regard these efforts as not just interesting, but essential to their success.

Some methods for how others learn about possible futures for their companies include:

• Leadership exchanges and advisory boards. This involves creating an exclusive community of partners with whom to share best practices. For example, Bank of America was intent on improving the retail experience, so it formed a board with companies like Disney, Ritz-Carlton, and McDonald's. And British Petroleum holds what it calls "Blue Chalk" events--two-day seminars for executives featuring outside experts who paint a visionary landscape of what could happen tomorrow. The events have addressed issues as diverse as RFID sensor technology and the future of office design. Executives are encouraged to translate how the larger innovation landscape can apply to their business. The events help spark ideas for new products and services and help shift the frame of thinking toward the future.
• Front-line feedback. Tapping into employees is an invaluable way to gain insight into the opportunities they see to better serve customers. For example, Commerce Bank's "Kill a Stupid Rule" program rewards employees for submitting ideas on how to change an existing convention in the banking world in order to better meet customer needs.
• Involve outsiders. Engaging customers to come up with new ideas and innovations can identify new frontiers to explore. BMW's Virtual Innovation Agency (www.bmwgroup.com/via) is an Internet-based submission system for the public to use when submitting their thoughts and ideas to BMW. It's not a feedback system for customers to rant about or applaud existing products and services, but rather a place for the excited, informed, innovative consumer to make a suggestion about what they would like to see from BMW.

About the Author
Lisa Bodell is the founder and CEO of futurethink. She may be contacted at lbodell@getfuturethink.com. Web site www.getfuturethink.com/innovation/.

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