Sales Conflict for soultion business WHY?

As we begin our journey in Europe to capture the solutions business market, why are we facing such tribal actions from product category mangers? At PSNUK we have just started our first Solution project working with a local SI company, it has been a great learning experience for us. 

Sadly the issues we faced was in the purchasing of Panasonic products from our product category managers. It was like a 'Clash of the Titians'!

Eventually we purchased TVs from Amazon just to be able to satisfy the customer. The impression I got was that it's because the Product category manager in the product group won't get bonus on the sale so therefore is not forthcoming.

Other organisations have had to move from box moving to solutions like IBM. Some our direct competitors, like Sony or Hitachi, CISCO. Panasonic has to be innovative and HR have to lead the way to ensure that all internal processes are a kin to the future business needs and quickly to give solutions business an opportunity to grow in line with President Otsubo's new direction.

This is a huge challenge because this is a cultural and most definitely mind set change.   

'Innovation Models'' & Journals to Help or Hinder?

During my current research I have come across a number of interesting journals regarding innovation in the workplace.

I have attached a links to one journal that maybe of interest

Leadership Development: The key to unlocking individual creativity in organizations - Jeffrey D Houghton and Trudy C Diliello (Sept 2009)

Additionally there are some very intersting models one in particular that seems to suit our organisation is the eight Groups of factors identified by Amabile and collegues (1996) below.
 

WIFI & TV Fixed Aerials

Currently in UK modern houses a standard TV aerial, (placed on the roof or inside the attic) will have connections inside the house, normally found in the living room and maybe the master bedroom. In most family households as well as the master bedroom and living room, you will find a TV in the kitchen and the children's bedroom. Currently we cannot connect those to the TV aerial without structural change to the rooms.

My satellite dish has an ugly cable running from the top of my garage down the length of the garden into a hole drilled into the side of my house to connect the sky dish to the box to the TV.

Why in to days age where we have wireless laptops, printers, speakers, surround systems, can I not have a wireless master arieal that I can connect as many TVs in the house to that I want. This way you achieve a constant quality picture and have the same range of channels. I am sure that Panasonic could utilise this technology and build it into their TVs even, sell with them a wireless / WIFI arieal to replace the fixed ones currently used

Breakthough opportunity for food coding

I would love to be able to bring a number of existing technologies together in the kitchen to make life as a busy Professional, Mum , Daughter and Wife, a little easier.

It would be great if Panasonic took the technologies of bar coding, printing, scanning and network this to my freezer, fridge and food cupboards.

I could then scan my products as I put them away then when I use the products I scan them off. So I get access to a data base that knows what I do and don't have in the house. I can ask;

PANASONIC NR-B53V1

1) What ingredients do I have? What can I make in a set time to a set level of calories? Then I can print off suggested menu options.
Or
2) I type in, or better still voice control,  what I want to make  and it tells me what ingredients I don't have so that I can call into the shops on the way home from work, so that I don't have to go back out.

How Many Panasonic sites in Europe have Innovation models / frameworks that are successful and part of the Organisations DNA.

Tom Peters has a passionate view point on many topics and innovation is no different. His films  'Educate for a Creative Society' and 'Innovation is Actually Easy' look at the way in which companies are structured to nurture and foster their employees to be Innovative.

Ricardo Semler, is the Chairman of Brazilian Company Semco, a democratic workplace that is as far removed from the working practices of Panasonic as you can get.

Google have a very clear process, they only recruit the best and their frame work for creativity is very simple. they work on 70 - 20 - 10 rule.
10% of their working time is for wacky ideas for thinking, researching and creating, 20% is for roaming free formulating a business case as to why their idea should be pursued and 70% of their time is about putting those ideas into practice and servicing the ones already in existence. Very often if your idea is accepted you then lead that project wherever it takes you in the world. Read their story, how they continue to search for creative disruption.

Google is a very different industry to Panasonic, does that mean we cannot achieve our own frame work? Should a Panasonic framework be unique to each Company, Region or Universal throughout the world?