CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
£5K TO £10K
'We wanted someone with a unique point of view, a wealth of practical experience and an ability to connect with the audience. Mike delivered all three brilliantly.'
Morgan Cross
TOPICS
Customer Service & CRM, IT & Online Business, Creative Thinking
SPEECH TITLES
Creating an organisational competence in innovation
Technology driven change
BIOGRAPHY
The founder of Egg, First Direct and Garlik, Mike Harris works with the Difference Engine inc. a business consultancy that helps entrepreneurs in all sizes of organisations to achieve breakthrough results. He also headed an RBS innovation unit which provided internal teams with funding and fast track development. In each area of activity, he specialised in identifying technology-driven opportunities.
Mike believes there is no end game; the only hope for any business is to stay one or two steps ahead of the competition. His own approach is to create business models which fundamentally challenge and transform the industries in which they operate.
He has a systematic approach to implementing value-adding innovation: stop being satisfied with the way things are, challenge accepted limitations, disarm cultural and other barriers and focus on improving the overall customer experience.
Presentations include a wealth of practical tips, real-life examples and hands-on techniques which can be applied directly to personal and professional development. Mike always seeks to be both provocative and inspirational.
Mike Harris has published a number of books. How Not To Fail At The Big Stuff looks at classic business errors and how we might learn from other people's mistakes. That'll Never Work! explores why many attempts at innovation fail - whilst others succeed against all the odds.
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Q&A
jJLA: Which sectors / models are most likely to provide the engine for growth?
MH: VCs are a good guide. They're looking for opportunities in e-commerce, clean energy and healthcare - anything that reduces the costs of treatment.
JLA: How can companies rebuild confidence and re-kindle ambition?
MH: In a world of social networks where actions and motivations are laid bare, only those that have a customer-focused mission and mean it will succeed.
JLA: What of social networking?
MH: More than anything it will lead to a different way of engaging with customers - of segmenting, researching and identifying them and determining a risk profile. We're just stumbling along the first steps of the journey, often resented by those who don't want you to intrude into their personal domain.
JLA: Isn't social networking only for large companies?
MH: No, they're a great leveler. Social networks are a great opportunity for small entrepreneurial companies, whilst they're sometimes a pain in the neck for the establishment when they become a focus for complaints.
JLA: How can you catch or stay ahead of competition in a flat market?
MH: You need a total product and service proposition that is different and better than the competition, to communicate the difference with clarity - then deliver it.
JLA: Can the public sector learn from the private?
MH: Both sides can learn from each other, but the environments and drivers are so different that the uncritical adoption of private sector wisdom in the public sector can do more harm than good.
JLA: How can you stay ahead of the competition
in a downturn?
MH: It's becoming easier - because most people
stop thinking! Maintain customer insight and cut
costs, but ensure you protect employee loyalty.
JLA: Should the focus be on core competences
or innovation?
MH: Both. Few companies have the luxury of big
bets, but look for quick win innovations and new
ways of meeting unmet customer needs.
JLA: Which leadership qualities now come
to the fore?
MH: Clarity, credibility, commitment and
consistency. Stay true to the brand promise, and
be honest when things become compromised.
JLA: How do you deal with scepticism, cynicism
and defeatism?
MH: Keep communicating what you will do next,
without spin, then do it. Fire up the sceptics, fire
the cynics and gently mock the defeatists.
10 principles for succeeding with apparently impossible ideas...
Infect others with your own enthusiasm. Create a hot team, one which will burn up the turf to get things done.
Use state-of-the-art insight techniques to confirm a real customer need.
Create a bold goal, beyond what seems possible today, but which instinct tells you can be achieved in the future and for which you are prepared to be accountable.
Establish a new, empowering culture. Innovating within large organisations often involves a major effort to prevent the old culture killing everything.
Don't be derailed by a "that will never work" reaction to new ideas. Instead use expert criticism to help you see what's needed to make the idea work.
Create a brand which establishes in everyone's mind a promise of what they can expect if they do business with you or work for you - and keep to it.
Produce a business plan and pitch designed to appeal to anyone with the power to fund your idea.
Use action plans to keep you on track towards the target, whilst allowing you to invent the means of getting there as you go along.
Balance on the edge of reason, maintaining an apparently irrational belief that you will ultimately prevail whilst not ignoring the most brutal facts.
Take only smart risks.