NO.357/ MARCH. 2021
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異國觀點Why having connected thinkers in your team will allow your company to stay relevant for longer and find more opportunitiesThink, Connect & Prosper

企業顛覆時代的關鍵要素─創新,往往來自於意想不到的「聯結」,而「聯結」的養成又可從成長思維(Growth mindset)、閱讀習慣等特質著手,進而超越思想框架、翻轉危機為新商機,造就現代企業創新力量。
◎撰文/Nick Vasiljevic 圖片提供/Shutterstock
In the world of business where the only thing certain is uncertainty, being able to connect things is important.

In this article I would like to introduce why connected thinking is not just important but actually essential for any business. Connected thinking may provide companies with new and useful perspectives that may allow long term survival and may facilitate how companies navigate through uncertain times. It also allows companies to find opportunities where others see challenges.

Some interesting examples of connected thinking

I would like to start this article by introducing an industry whose products everybody knows, has seen and used. However, that industry does not get as much attention by the media as other industries do. That industry is the candle industry.

Approximately 30 to 40 years ago, in the 1980s, executives of the largest candle manufacturing companies gathered in their meeting rooms and worried about the future of their industry. What happened?

Candles enjoyed a steady and stable success story for hundreds of years, but in the 1980s many candle manufactures had to face the dire reality: candles, made for the purpose to illuminate a space, seemingly appeared to have outlived their purpose. In most areas around the globe electricity became stable enough to continuously power electric light without any or significant interruption. Most households no longer required candles to illuminate space and most households no longer saw a need to keep candles for the ‘what if the electricity goes out’ scenario. To those working in the candle industry it seemed clear that selling products that no longer have a purpose will not be an easy task.

Yet, the candle industry is worth more today than ever before, and various forecasts predict that in the years to come the entire industry is set to continue to grow. What happened: in the 1980s the candle industry reinvented itself. From a 2021 perspective it may sound intuitive, but it was not clear to those who were part of the candle industry in the 1980s. To any industry insider in the 1980s the writing was visible on the wall - the candle industry lost its reason to exist and it appeared as if the industry hit rock bottom. The candle industry had to change its purpose because if it did not, it would quickly lose market relevance.

Candles turned into a lifestyle product to enhance the well being of people. Candles became decorative items and mood-setters. When the industry used connected thinking and started to connect the dots, the industry shifted from providing what they thought was an essential and needed item, to items that enhance the lifestyle of people. That required a different approach to sales and marketing of candles. It also created opportunities for many newcomers to join the industry.

In the early 1970s, Seiko of Japan introduced accurate and well-priced watches powered by the then innovative Quartz Battery. The established Swiss watch industry relied on mechanical watch movements which dated back to technology from the 1700s or earlier. By the 1970s every industry expert and industry analysis was sure that the Swiss Watch industry faced the end of times. Afterall, how can an industry compete with a product that is, by all accounts, cheaper to manufacture, easier to maintain, and technically more advanced?

As a last desperate attempt to save the industry, 3 consultants who -and this is an important detail- had no watch industry experiences, were recruited. These industry dilettantes tasked to save the Swiss watch industry were Nicolas Hayek (a management consultant), Ernst Thomke (a chemist), and Pierre Arnold (a retailer).

What these 3 consultants understood was that although Seiko Quartz watches were accurate and dependable time keeping instruments, Seiko was unable to emotionally connect with their customers. The consultants connected the dots and turned watches into fashion items, thus creating a strong bond between customer and manufacturer. When the Swiss Made SWATCH wristwatch was introduced in 1983, it revitalized the Swiss watch industry and inserted much need capital into the industry. This momentum allowed Swiss watch companies to change the perception of their mechanical watches and turn them into luxury items, allowing the industry to ask for high product prices with handsome profit margins.

At the time of writing this article, Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.), is the most valuable car company on the planet. Elon Musk was not a scion of a well-established car empire when he founded Tesla Motors in 2003.

At the time of writing this article, Tesla, Inc.is the most valuable car company on the planet.

Although Electric Vehicles (EV) have been around for as long as internal combustion engines vehicles, they were not allowed (I carefully picked this term) to be successful for the first 100 or so years.

By 2003 General Motors (GM) collected rather positive user feedback from their EV1, the first mass-produced and purpose designed EV of the modern era. However, GM’s insisted the company does not traditionally manufacture EVs, and the car manufacturer dropped the EV1.

In hindsight we can see that what the user feedback of the GM EV1 showed was that the world was ready for EVs. It seemed that one just had to connect the dots. Yet, when Tesla Motors launched in 2003 almost everybody in the car industry and beyond laughed at them as not many in the industry believed Tesla Motors would succeed.

One of the most fascinating stories on connected thinking was told by the late Steve Jobs during the 2005 Stanford University commencement address. Steve Jobs mentioned that he dropped out of college in the 1970s. After he dropped out, he continued to attend classes he found interesting. One of those classes he enjoyed was a class on calligraphy – a visual art related to writing. Steve Jobs profoundly enjoyed learning about all the things related to visual arts, even though he had no idea how he would ever use what he learned, let alone make money with that skill.

Many years later during a meeting at Apple, he remembered what he learned about the visual art of writing and he used that knowledge to make the Macintosh Computer the first computer with beautiful typography. Steve Jobs used connected thinking to connect two seemly unrelated things and profoundly enhance an industry.

What is outside the proverbial box?

Sometimes I get asked what allows a person to become a connected thinker, in fact, there is no magic to this as connected thinking encourages thinking outside of the proverbial box. In the world of business where the only thing certain is uncertainty, being able to connect things is profoundly important.

This, however, can only be possible when it is understood that there is something else, perhaps a hidden opportunity, outside the proverbial box. If a person has been boxed in or simply does not want to get out of their comfort zone, thinking outside of the box will not be possible.

Growth mindset and how to train connected thinking

As the example of Steve Job’s taking a class in calligraphy showed, any type of knowledge can be of use. Even though progress – innovationmay introduce new things that may replace old(er) things, it does not necessarily mean that an industry that is confronted with more advanced technologies will eventually be pushed out of business. It is up to the connected thinker to connect the dots and find opportunities where most see an empty space or only challenges.

These connected thinkers can be developed inside the company. What is needed is a person that displays a ‘growth mindset’. If a person shows such a mindset, a mindset that drives the person to learn new things, a culture of connected thinking can be developed.

In Marvin Bower’s McKinsey & Company it was a requirement that every consultant reads at least 15 books a year. According to Inc.com the average American CEO reads 4 to 5 books each month. Many of these books are not related to the business these CEO's represent, yet they are exactly what is needed to develop connected thinking.

According to Inc.com the average American CEO reads 4 to 5 books each month.

The rationale behind this is not magical but rather clear and is represented in the true meaning of the verb ‘to read’. The etymology of the verb ‘to read’ comes from the German verb ‘raten’. The word ‘raten’ means ‘to guess’, so reading is in fact nothing more than rapid ‘guessing’. It also means that rapid and rather correct guessing can be developed and trained.

A Steve Jobs or an Elon Musk without imagination and the ability to simplify difficult concepts and make them understandable to everybody would be a rather boring and daunting person. The audio-visual stimulation that are provided to us via the many devices that have become a part of our lives, make many of us lose or reduce the ability to connect things and imagine things.

We all know that when the oceans are calm everybody is a wonderful captain and can easily navigate through all waters. I hope what the previously mentioned examples showed that for those with a growth mindset connected thinking is an essential and trainable skill to develop.

  • 本文作者_Nick Vasiljevic/Assistant Professor at Shih Chien University實踐大學國企英語學程助理教授、國貿學苑專任講師,長年往返歐美市場,協助企業創新發展。