I recently was interviewed by top tech journalist and blogger – Gordon Kelly - about the future of printing (you can follow Gordon on Twitter here).  Here’s what I had to say: -

I met the Deputy CEO of Innovation Manchester for a natter today, to talk about Innovation and how big companies have approached Innovation during the recession.  It was a really interesting chat, below is a quick bullet pointed summary of what my views were (in no particular order).

• Innovation paradoxically suffers during recessions.  At a time when it’s needed most, it’s done least.
• Many companies prefer to stick to their knitting during recessions.  Not wanting to rock the boat or try things new.
• If a company is in the depth of a financial crisis, innovation may be an unnecessary distraction, particularly if you are close to the brink.
• Innovation is more than a flipchart and post-it notes, that’s the creative part.  Innovation is when you implement those ideas.
• Unless driven from the top, Innovation can be difficult culturally.
• Innovation in many businesses is driven by a specific business problem, rather than done as a matter of routine.

They are broadly some of the opinions that I shared (amongst others).  The point is, it isn’t that easy.  It comes naturally to some businesses and harder to others.  Culture dictates a lot of it.  If ideas are squashed or ridiculed, people simply won’t contribute them and deselect from the process.

One thing I learned today which I thought was simply fantastic today was about this, it’s called the FAB LAB.   An inventors workshop, where prototypes can be built.  It’s kitted out with all the latest stuff for you to turn up and build something and it’s free to use.  Whether an individual, a school or a collective, you can get into this place and build your prototype at very low cost.  I think that is a very simple, yet highly effective service and a great example of how innovation can be turned from a bright idea, into a product.   Come on Manchester inventors, get using it!

Convenience.  Time.  Accessibility. Things I talk about when I speak to groups about some of the trends of today.  Seeing this Timpson shoe shop spring up outside my local Tesco reminded me of this.  They’ve struck a deal with Tesco to erect this mini-shop right outside the store entrance.  What could be simpler?   Drop your shoes in, do your shopping, collect your shoes or drop off your dry cleaning.  What’s clever about this is it takes the issue of pricing right away from the focus of the customer, because of the convenience aspect.  Making the decision easy for the customer, something they don’t need to think twice about.

It’s a fine example of disruptive thinking, something I’m a big supporter of.  Finding ways to break conventions and do things differently.  Timpsons is run very entrepreneurially as a business, if you get a chance, read John Timpsons book called “Dear James“.  In it, John Timpson explains his passion for understanding customers, devolving decisions down to the shops and keeping the staff motivated.  It’s not rocket science, but so many companies still get it wrong.

What would Ryanair CEO do with your business if he got hold of it? Trash the company car policy?  Double the prices at the drinks machine?  Charge you for the toilet?

Similarly, if Richard Branson decided to buy you, how would your marketing change? Would it be simpler?  More cool?  What silly stunt would you pull?

Seeing your business through another persons eyes is a great way of being creative and stimulating you to think unconventionally.  Human behaviour naturally leads us to conform to type, to do the things we’ve always done.  When new business models are created, generally, they disrupt industry conventions.  The bigger you get, the harder it becomes as you can get taken over by global processes.  If you’re in charge of your destiny, then free thinking like this is a brilliant way to think of something new, stay one step ahead and create differentiation.

If the Ryanair business model was sledgehammered in to your business, you’d probably be the lowest cost operator in your field.  You’d be stripping out the luxuries (think BA), you’d be passionate above saving costs and ruthless about operational efficiency.  I’m not saying it’s right, it certainly wouldn’t be if you were a seller of luxury goods however if you were in a transactional market, focussing on volume and market pricing, it would be perfect.

I dare you.  Grab a piece of paper and then write down how Ryanair would do it.  Pause, prioritise and then see what’s possible, might open up your eyes.

The Worlds biggest secret is finally out. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the “i-Pad.” Launched today by Apple CEO – Steve Jobs – the i-Pad has created a huge buzz of anticipation, primarily as Apple have been keeping details of the product under such tight security.

So tight, that the army of bloggers, Twitterers and journalists have not been able to break any major news of the product pre-launch, debate was still hot this morning about the products name and Paddy Power were even accepting bets about it. Now that is very difficult to do. Think about the world as it stands today, hardly anything remains a secret. Someone is always ready to break news, take a photo or take their two minutes of fame if offered. Which makes what Apple have achieved even more impressive.

A business psychologist whom I’ve worked with, describes trust as “for all time”, that is, if I tell you a secret, it remains between the two of us, until either party expliciity say otherwise. Steve Jobs has clearly got a trusting bunch of people at Apple, as they have been watertight on this project and have not breached ranks. That is quite something and worthy of appreciation. How they’ve done it, I don’t know. By doing it, they’ve seen a massive buzz build about the product on and off-line, that is worth millions of marketing dollars on their own. Something that many other brands will be looking at with some jealousy.

Here’s one tablet that may not go down so well for book publishers. The Apple i-Slate, i-Pad, i-Tablet (official name yet to be revealed) is making its worldwide debut on Wednesday and with it comes the promise to potentially disrupt the paper based book model.

2010 has been an interesting year so far with Google launching its Nexus One phone and now Apple taking on the Amazon Kindle in the e-book market (amongst lots of other things). So, is this the nail in the coffin for the traditional book market? Depending on where you sit on the fence, yes and no.

The traditional book market is going to undergo some big changes for three key reasons.

1. Technology and the convenience it brings.
2. Carbon footprinting.
3. The business model of publishers.

Technology. Access is the new Oxygen. Amazon Kindle sales have rocketed from £3M PA in 2007 to a whopping £610M by the end of 2010. They have proved that the switch to digital is merely a matter of pricing, choice and ease of purchase. Generation Y are leading the charge, however, Generation X are well and truly in the market too, particularly people that travel a lot. It’s estimated that 50% of all book sales will be e-books by 2020 (Source Sunday Times 24/1/2010).

Carbon Footprint. However attached we are to books, they do have an environmental footprint. Every piece of paper used has an embedded carbon footprint through production and distribution processes. Digital downloads are not zero carbon, however they cut a significant amount of journey carbon. As we become more focussed on Carbon, everything will matter.

Distruption of Business Model. Here’s one of the key drivers that really interests me. You may now know, but the average author earns 8-10% royalties on their books via publishers. E-books can earn them up to 25% royalty, so a real financial incentive to prioritise electronic distribution. As a result, you’ll see more and more authors do their launches on-line before shops because they can earn considerably more. Now think about this. Apple and Amazon have the platforms to take e-books direct to market through their e-commerce sites. Two of the most visited sites on the planet. As a result, they can afford to pay up to 70% royalty to any author that publishes directly with them and cuts out the traditional business model of publisher in between. If I were a book publisher I’d be worried as there is a sudden real motivation for authors to go down the e-book route and cut them out of the chain. You can suddenly now see why the predictions are so huge as authors will no doubt want to cash in on the huge rewards.
Personally, I love books.

I like to read in bed, holding an electronic device just won’t feel right. However, on the move, it’s a different story. When I’m travelling, on a plane or in a hotel, I don’t want to lug books around with me, having thousands of books on instant recall is a big plus and will give me a large variety of things to read, to suit my mood.

So, back to the “core” issue (ahem). The Apple table product is much more than an e-reader of course, it will web browse, play music, host clever apps and all the other cool things that Apple will load it up with to justify its $1000 price tag. In time, the price will come down as Apple realise the real money in the content business, however you do have to admire their ability to keep their prices high through their design and functionality. The combination of cool tech, accessibility and a disruptive business model for authors, guarantees that the launch towards a more digitally focussed book market will be taking a giant leap forward and Apple look determined to take a big bite of it. Paper based books aren’t going to become extinct, however the mix of paper vs. electronic will undergo huge change over the coming decade, that’s for sure.

Website for start ups and growing businesses Smarta have just launched a great e-book called “The Smartest Brains in Business: 2010 and beyond.” You can download it here. It features short and snappy insights from 30 people about how they see the immediate future. What I like about this is how quick it is to read and how interesting it is to see the contrasting views and perspectives from a diverse group of people (you might recognise the guy on page eight). It’s a fanastic example of how much quality information is available on the web nowadays and not everything has to be a massive thought leadership paper to cut through. I really enjoyed reading (and contributing to) it.