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Arne Stjernholm 

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Part 1: The Nature and Principles of Strategic Innovation
“Strategic Innovation is innovation in the context of an Age of Emotion and Meaning”

Slides:
The roots: Two older disciplines: Creativity and Strategy
The field: The four levels of innovation
The context: The market transition from Industrialism to “Age of Meaning”
The process: From technological driven to end user driven
Knowledge building: Combining the analytical way with intuition and imagination
Knowledge focus: From conscious knowledge to also the fields of “no-knowledge”

Summary:
Strategic Innovation as a discipline has its roots in two older disciplines: The study of creativity and strategic planning.
It integrates the two disciplines by applying the principles and methods of creativity into the field of strategy.
The context of the new discipline is a market transition from a business logic based on tangible values (Industrialism) to intangible values (Age of Meaning or Knowledge Society).
In this context the objective of innovation is redefined from products to messages; the overall end is creation of meaning for the customer and to the society. So it is a new scope for innovation, a so-called “semiotic game”.
The corresponding innovation process is “backwards”: Where industrial innovation is driven by technology, strategic innovation is end user driven, putting the question of meaning before anything else.
The methods of strategic innovation include intuition and imagination in the knowledge building process, and the field of “no-knowledge” is seen as just as important as knowledge.

Part 2: The Need for Courage and Subjectivity
“Strategic Innovation is challenging the paradigm of Science in Business culture”

Slides:
The contradiction: We need creativity in strategy, but we meet resistance
The background: The scientific paradigm in Business culture
The background: The industrial paradigm of efficiency (“Rabbit-ism”)
The background: The scientific faith in written codes in stead of subjectivity

Summary:
Most managers will agree that we need creativity in strategy, but according to my personal experiences, you meet resistance when you walk the talk.
The main reason is that Business culture has inherited the paradigms of Science, which means demands for objectiveness, documentation, certainty, measurable results, expertise and so on.
Combined with the industrial demand for efficiency this leaves only very little room for creativity and subjectivity.

Part 3: A case story from Ericsson Denmark
“Creation of a holistic concept within Internet related information and communication”

Slides:
The people: Our Business Development team at Ericsson Denmark
The methods: Focus group interviews – first hand understanding
The understanding: The entire value chain must be developed
The methods: A photo as an imagination trigger
The methods: A concept family – based on intuition
The result: A holistic concept of information & communication services
A problem: Organizations are NOT holistic!
Communication: Demo solution and presentation at the CeBIT Fair 1999
The methods: A logbook

Summary:
In the fall of 1997 a new Business Development department began its work at Ericsson Denmark. The scope was end user understanding and future orientation.
Our methods were qualitative, i.e. intuitive and subjective:
· First hand impression of the end user values by focus groups
· Identification of a gap between Internet technologies and pragmatic end users
· Imagination of a concept family
Our result was a holistic concept addressing the mass market of pragmatic end users with Internet related information and communication services.
The concept was presented at the CeBIT Fair in Hanover, March 1999, and this presentation opened doors internally and towards customers. Now we are heading for the real business.
Our innovation journey is recorded in a logbook.

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