Every year I say I am not going to get hooked on the BBC’s hit show ‘The Apprentice’, and then it draws me in and I am there to the bitter end! But at least, this year’s record viewing figures for the show prove that I was not the only one!
What struck me with this year’s change of circumstances – with the candidates vying to become business partners with Lord Sugar – was that, as well as the ‘nice guy’ coming first; this was a triumph for innovation too.
The winner, Tom Pellereau is not the average back-stabbing, hard-nosed business apprentice that Sugar usually looks for. In fact he is, by his own admission, not great at selling and could be more organised. But there is one thing that Tom is very capable of doing – having ideas.
In fact it was when Tom outlined he had invented a new type of Nail File, and had managed to sell this into Walmart and Boots in the UK and US, that Lord Sugar realised this innovator was a worthy asset to his business empire.
We all recognise that it is the modern organisation’s ability to continually innovate, change and adapt to its environment that makes it successful. Tom says he “sees designs for new products in his head”, which is great for him, but leaves the rest of us with a skills gap; how can we all get ‘on-demand innovation’ tools for great ideas?
Dr Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking tools are a great start for both individuals and teams. So if you would like a copy of our Implementing Innovation webinar held recently, drop me an email to RobertF@indigobusiness.co.uk , and I would be happy to share our innovation road map with you.
