This talk is the warmup act for the clever people on the Innovation Panel. Think “Have I got news for you”, scheduled before “Question Time”. Challenging; hopefully thought provoking; but not taking itself too seriously.
It is meant to refocus us all on the compelling need to transform our businesses and industries and to provide some ideas, shared experience, and reflection on how to drive innovation and change in your own businesses. Innovation is too important to be left to chance or the hope that someone has “a good idea”. We have to plan for innovation as a key step in transformation, and in this session I hope to provide some inspiration and practical ideas on how to do this.
The UK metals industry is not short of challenges. Take your pick – costs, UK government industrial policy (or lack thereof), old technology, lack of investment, shifts in customer behaviour, and the environment. Our rate of innovation and change is too slow, and we risk being left behind. The good news is that every one of our companies has the opportunity to transform in the face of these challenges if we recognise and prioritise the need to do so. This will not happen by chance or organically. We all need to have an obsession to innovate and to put in place a practical plan to do so.
In this short talk I hope to remind us of the need to transform and to provide some guidance, support and ideas on how to do so!