business model innovation design we're on a road to nowhere // on a quest to analyze and explore the design of business model innovations, i.e. 'hideous and hidden things' like organizational structures and capabilities, corporate strategies and all things related // on a yellow brick road with a girl, a lion and a straw-man wasting our time // …

Well, I said “not on a regular basis“, thus I may put out big posts from time to time. Here’s one of them, a collection of podcasts that somehow catched my eye:

Starting off with Episode 082 of the Project Management Podcast, called Monkey Management for Project Teams:

Wait… what’s that on your back? Could that be a Monkey? In the course of our working days all of us acquire duties, chores and tasks. Some of them are important and they need to be addressed so that we can finish our deliverables. Others must be considered as “Monkeys” – tasks that we got stuck with and now don’t seem to be able to get rid of even though we might not be the right person to take care of them. And we all wonder – how did I get stuck with this? Mike Graupner, PMP describes to us today the techniques he uses to address the Monkeys in his life. We talk about Monkey Management in general and we also look at how this translates into managing the Monkeys on your projects.

There’s an accompanying presentation here, and an mp3.

In the FT’s digital business podcast of November 28, 2007 Nicholas Carr says that companies need to harness ‘informal’ information systems – well, right that’s the idea behind emergent free-form collaboration software like wikis. There’s more inside (RFID, the self-service customer, …). Get the mp3.

When I said “put out tons of content” I also had this next thing in mind: The Intersections Conference podcasts that are now made available offer lots of good stuff for anyone interested in the future of design and design-thinking …

breaking down traditional barriers and contributing meaningful solutions to real problems … Design is transforming as it adapts to a world in transition. The InterSections conference explored what designers need to know in order to stay competitive and adapt to the new landscape. Top-name speakers from a wide range of disciplines discuss the skills required for future world-class practice in a series of presentations and panel discussions.

Speakers included Tim Brown of IDEO (“The challenge of design thinking”), mp3 here and Frans Johansson (“Innovation at the Intersection of disciplines and cultures”), mp3 here

Tim Brown, CEO of Ideo, is a design industry leader and key promoter of the concept of ‘design thinking’, a term given to the introduction of design methods and culture into fields beyond traditional design, such as business innovation. Though Tim sees design thinking as a catalyst for Ideo’s work he questions whether it can help us be more optimistic about the future of design.

and

What’s the connection between termites and architecture, candy and computers, between sneakers and Hummer and techno music and Martin Luther King? The answer, according to Frans Johansson, lies in the Medici Effect – the breakthroughs that happen when new connections are made at the intersections between ideas, concepts and cultures.

Then I spotted this interesting mp3 with Denise Caruso and Clay Shirky (“Provocations: Challenging Assumptions About Technology”) from the last Supernova conference:

The internet has opened up previously unimagined space for innovation, but unintended consequences befuddle our ability to assess risks on the technological frontier. Denise Caruso and Clay Shirky launch Supernova with a lively rethinking of risk, serendipity, and the power of love in a socially networked world.

Get the mp3.

Closing out some german language podcasts, beginning with “Linux oder Microsoft”:

Das 44. Zukunftsgespräch: Welche Software braucht die Informationsgesellschaft (und Berlin)? Aufzeichnung einer öffentlichen Diskussion in Zusammenarbeit mit Projekt Zukunft bei der Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Technologie und Frauen des Landes Berlin vom 13.11.2007

mp3

And here’s another track with Günter Voß, called “Der arbeitende Kunde”:

Wie wir als Verbraucher immer mehr zu Dienstleistern der Unternehmen werden. SWR2 Leben vom 03.12.2007. Wir bauen unsere Möbel selbst zusammen, erledigen Bankgeschäfte online, buchen Zugfahrkarten und Flugtickets. Die Grenze zwischen Kunde und Mitarbeiter verwischt. Immer mehr Geschäftsmodelle orientieren sich an dieser – für die Unternehmen lukrativen – neuen Arbeitsteilung. Nach amerikanischem Vorbild entsteht ein Dienstleistungs-Proletariat, während “Max Mustermann” gleichzeitig immer häufiger mit anpackt, unentgeltlich. Wir können uns dieser Entwicklung schon nicht mehr entziehen, und wer nicht mit Computer und Handy umzugehen weiß und technisch immer auf dem neusten Stand bleibt, wird künftig Schwierigkeiten bekommen.

mp3