LinKS blog

Thanks all Olympic Athletes for raising the bar on strategic Board Governance with us on October 3, 2008, in MindLab - Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs.

It was a tremendous pleasure pushing the ambitious agenda for Strategic Board work with you. We do look forward to seeing how you will bring it forward within the next coupple of months. 

We send out the LinKS Learning Report last week indcluding the survey results and learning points from the Olympic Disciplines: Global Outlook, Crisis Governance, Board Work in Politically Governed Organizations, Board Dynamics and Personal Capacity. Please let me know if you did not receive it.

Thanks Kim Rahbek, Sticks’n'Sushi, for the energizing lunch, christian Bason, MindLab, for housing, Kai Holm, former IOC, for sharing your insights and perspectives in truly global board work. And thanks Annette Juhler Kjær for your sharp interference and enlightening video documentary.  

See you all for LinKS Global Reunion in May, 2009

On May 27, 2008, General Director Kenneth Plummer invited LinKS to visit DR - the Danish Broadcasting Corporation for LinKS Prelude. With the world’s number ONE guru in corporate strategy - Professor C.K. Prahalad - as our special guest, 90 LinKS Alumni and top executive guests gathered under the title The New Age of Strategy and Innovation - Global Networks to Unlock Co-Created Value. DR News Director Ulrik Haagerup conducted a classic LinKS Fireside Interview with Prof. Prahalad about Prahalad´s new book and insights on the new age of strategy and innovation.

The New Age of Strategy and Innovation
The new age of innovation implies a shift from products to experience platforms. We are moving to a world in which the customer is actively participating in the creation of value. Value is determined by one co-created experience at the time: N=1.

Prahalad argued that it is vital to realize that the global context is changing. Resources are global, R=G, and the real challenge is how globalization can benefit all. Co-creation is THE CORE VALUE in the new age of innovation. Co-creation 1) reduces risk, 2) reduces time, and 3) reduces investment. Who can wish for more? The challenge is to create open architecture based on co-creation.

Prahalad on Leadership
Understanding opportunities requires that performance and opportunity management are always done simultaneously.

A lot of what we do is administration. Management is about “re-configuring” the present. About squeezing the juice out of people. Leadership is about the future: innovation and hope!

“Any industry is relevant for change - no industry is better suited for innovative thinking than others…” Prof. C.K. Prahalad at LinKS Prelude on May 27, 2008

Did you miss the evening news with Prahalad on May 27, 2008?

Please follow these LinKS:

Prahalad in the evening news: TVA at 21:00 on May 27, 2008

Prahalad in the late news: Deadline at 22:30 on May 27, 2008

Prof. C.K. Prahalad is known as the world’s leading guru in corporate strategy and mr. Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.

“The New Age of Innovation - Driving Co-Created Value through Global Networks” is the title of the professors’ new book which has just been released.

We strongly recommend the book which is at the heart of this year’s theme at LinKS of orchestrating networks and driving value through open alliances.

Mette Laursen met prof. Prahalad for the first time at an SEI Conference at the Wharton School in 2007, hosted by SEI and Prof. Yoram (Jerry) Wind. It is a special honor for us to welcome him for LinKS Prelude at The Danish Broadcasting Collaboration (DR-Byen) on May 27. LinKS Prelude is the top executive kick off for the OECD Seminar on Innovation Strategy and Entrepreneurship, designed by FORA at the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs in collaboration with LinKS.

C.K. Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Purchase Prof. Prahalad’s book at Amazon.

Once upon a time in Philadelphia - late autumn of 2006 - a group of Danish executives were lounging in broad sofas – sipping cocktails and chatting. ”Why don’t we have anything like a genuine business club in Copenhagen?“ one of them said. That question was the starting point of Copenhagen LinKS Club.

On January 17th, 2008, we are prototyping the Club Concept for the second time. In company of 70 specially invited executives, entrepreneurs, expats, politicians and societal opinion makers, we will experience an afternoon at the club to be. The prototype participants reflect the future member segment of club.

The concept is the outcome of one year of fantastic co-creation in the Ideation Team and outstanding inputs from the first prototype in October 2007, where 40 executives assembled discussing tendencies, value proposition and strategic goals.

Concept

The club is to be “the third Place for Business”, enriching global business life. The club will create a window towards the global market, reflecting Copenhagen as a metro pole, offering topicality, innovation, sustainability and eventful networking as mainstay. This is reflected in the daily life of the Club.

Simultaneously , the club will offer a confidential, relaxed environment for high performance people who need to loosen the tie for a while and be themselves in the company of equals.

The Copenhagen LinKS Club will provide state of the art service and facilities. All members of the club will be selected and approved. And this gives a special atmosphere. At the club no one is a stranger, and everybody is a potential for interesting conversation. You think networking in terms of ”how might I be able to help this person?” not in terms of ”what can I get from this person?”.

Members are Owners

The Copenhagen LinKS Club will be a fund - not a business. Members are owners and the Club concept evolves in open collaboration with the board.

Ideation Team:

• Anne Qvist, Arkitema
• Hans Kristian Højsgaard, Timex
• Heidi Rottbøll Andersen, Living Institute
• Lars Bernhard Jørgensen, Wonderful Copenhagen
• Mette Laursen, LinKS
• Mads Kjær, MyC4
• Malene Smidt Hertz, Program Director
• Rasmus Ibfelt, e-Types
• Sten Donner, Copenhagen Capacity
• Stine Have, LinKS, Program Coordinator
• Søren Overgaard, e-Types

Welcome to LinKS Global Reunion - a global arena where we meet with a purpose. This time we explore business opportunities and challenges 7000 Miles and a Heartbeat Away.

What does that mean? It means that the global business and personal opportunities are just a link a click or a heartbeat away. You can choose to think 7000 Miles is a very long way or you can think: It’s just a heartbeat away. Your mental model decides that rather than the actual miles. LinKS has invited 3 global guests  so you have the world at your  fingertips. Now its up to you to link your company’s vision to the global opportunities our guests will present. Where in your strategic reflections is there an opening for global influence that you must be clear of. The themes that we will inspire and challenge you with are:

(See interviews from the LinKS Global Reunion at Momentum in September).

1) Global Politics and tectonic Powershifts by Robyn Meredith, FORBES, Hong Kong .
Robyn’s book: ‘The Elephant and the Dragon’ is just publishd and has become a bestseller. The book is a true holistic insight in mental models, economics and politics of the world, seen from Asia.

2) Global Leadership by Dr. Shaikha Al Maskari, TRICON Group, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Dr. Al Maskari. Dr. Shaikha holds a Ph.d. in GeoPhysics and chairperson of TRICON Group, a family conglomorate into energy, construction, health care, technology, television, catering, etc. Dr. Shaikha is member of the Wharton board.

3) Global Workforce and Tehnology Quantuum Leaps by Michael O’Rourke, VERIZON, Tampa, US
Michael is Director at Verizon Business, a Wharton Fellow and member of the Wharton Fellows Advisory Board.

In LinKS sometimes you may be in the students seat and sometimes directing. The participation mixes with the orchestration. Therefore you will meet LinKS@Wharton alumni as interviewers: 1) Mads Kjær, Founder C4-world, 2) Margrethe Vestager, leader of the Social-liberal Party and 3) Tim Frank Andersen, serial entrepreneur.

The VALUE of the FUTURE lies in the LINKS rather than within the single individual. That is to be proven as we will work with our collaborative intelligence. Innovating your strategy takes new ways of leadership, new ways of preparation and new speeds of action and linking to the world. Let’s dive into some strategic business developments on a global scale. Be prepared that the true unique insights always come from a peripheral angle, hard to see through the ordinary glasses we all wear in our daily life.

I visited Ducati in Bologna to hear about their LEAN production methods at the factory in Bologna and the TRIBE of Ducati.

Coming into Bologna you have to realize that Bologna IS Ducati. You will see test bikes roaring the terrain and sometime going through the streets of Bologna. A great sight!

Admitted, I don’t know how to ride a bike - unless on the back seat counts. I knew where to turn to for my preparation though: The Grey Oil in Copenhagen. A motorcycle Club for “grey” (I think this refers to the hair colour) executives. Among the members are Søren B Henriksen, Dansk Erhverv and Sven Blomberg, BRF Kredit. I ended up with an invitation for the Grey Oil to visit Ducati - say when?

I was prepared to the teeth with challenging questions about brand positioning, choice of drivers and competitive bikes to beat! Well, nothing beats the sound and the special valves of a Ducati as well as their unbeatable website community and the real CEO blogging. Well done!

Program director for ISTUD Business School top execetive development and full professor at Polytechnico Milano, Antonio Roversi was leading the meeting and he knows his stuff in this area. Spending his life with some of the best Italian companies on supply chain and strategy, Antonio is also one of the true global thinkers of Italy and the key inventor of the impressive MENU for global Leadership development. www.istud.it

Ducati was simply impressive. Think about being an OPEN, inclusive TRIBE instead of closed. That is not easy, but that is what Ducati has done, branding wise and contentwise.

An interesting business development is happening for Ducati as happened to Ferrari and other great Italian brands. They are now into strategic consulting, meaning that Ducati consultants work for companies in shaping their business according to the Lean principles and other focused areas of their experience.

Somehow we where only 2 women at this visit but that was no problem - being surrounded by Italian gentlemen executives and incredible Italian bikes is really fine for me!

Dear all

We wish you a happy new year with great experiences and prosperous change!

Mette Laursen and Lars Kolind

I attended W2 in 2003, and just like all of you, my nice binder proudly fills the bookcase together with all the other nice binders from different events I have attended over time. I have instituted a new habit: Every 12 months (just about), I spend one hour reviewing the binder, what I learned and how I have used it in my work. If I can’t find one single thing in the binder that I want to implement during the next 12 months, I throw the binder out.

Reviewing the W2 binder, this time I decided that I wanted to use concretely the concept of innovation by modifying the function of the system in larger systems rather than breaking the system into components and trying to improve each component.

What are you doing to your binders on the wall?

Recently, I have talked to quite a few managers about the use of modern IT tools to enhance knowledge sharing and innovative problem solving in their organizations. It has struck me that so few managers have heard about blogging, Wiki’s and other “collective intelligence” tools.

I have chosen to devote my monthly column in Danish business newspaper Berlingske, this coming Tuesday, to the subject of “Collective Intelligence”. The conclusion is that if a manager is not keen to learn about tools to enhance collective intelligence, he should retire.

Agree?