Back once again like the renegade master… five doses of Friday inspiration from the worlds of #Innovation, #Futurism, #Finance and #Utilities — plus one company that is #bringingtheawesome.
- Challenging business models and stubborn conventions.
- Anti-modish cynicism on the toe-curling rise of the ‘Creative’.
- Are you a ‘depersonalised bureaucratic entity’?
- We need more trust (and trust = clarity, relevance and intention).
- Screens are for losers?
- And Monza get the innovation ball rolling with IFTTT. 👊
Friday 15 June, 2018
#1 Innovate Like You Mean It
The range of methods companies use to ramp up innovation is mesmerising, but very few have any real impact.
Idea Management software and corporate design contests can elicit isolated examples of flashy products — which then get smashed against the rocks of a conflicting incumbent strategy.
At Hppn we know that innovation is about much more than an isolated idea. Understanding the reasoning behind that idea is vital:
The best way to achieve mutual understanding is for a select group of key influencers to be part of lightning quick innovation sprints — seeing an idea through, all the way from from start to finish.
The fact that business models and stubborn conventions are challenged during ideation, builds valuable momentum and cultural buy-in; remember that overused yet wise business adage about “culture eating strategy for breakfast”…
Steve Blank has done this stuff for years and this article describes how to build a clear mandate for innovation. “Essential reading” doesn’t do this article justice:
The Innovation Stack: How to make innovation programs deliver more than coffee cups 📄 2,050 words
#2 Did you Just Say You Were a “Creative”!? 🧠
Is anyone else slightly annoyed by the army of self-titled “Creatives”?!
Where does that leave the rest of us? Mere footsoldiers? A trendy vocabulary or a job in design does not a creative make.
Fact is, true creativity is the ability to think big, make connections and transcend the idea itself.
A bit of refreshing anti-modish cynicism on the toe-curling rise of the “Creative”.
Forget the ‘creatives’ — management makes the world go round 📄 752 words
#3 Depressed by Policy Renewals? That’s the Point
Which bits of household admin do you find daunting: Mortgages, Pensions, Utilities, Banking, or as this article makes clear… Insurance!
Why? Because you’re a “policyholder”, a “claimant”, a depersonalised bureaucratic entity on the end of a yearly renewal.
This is changing with the rise of a new breed of digital challengers, offering insurance which is easy to decipher, contextually relevant and sympathetic to circumstances.
Will traditional insurers rise to the challenge or are we seeing the death of the old order — accepting their destiny as the “Last ice man”, they may just choose to peddle their products to a diminishing customer base, in a steady descent to oblivion.
This is a big sector for us and we’ll be exhibiting some of our latest ideas on the future of insurance in the coming weeks, but for now, have a read:
Forget InsurTech. The Insurance Industry’s Real Opportunity Is Digital Transformation. 📄 1,375 words
#4 Trust = Clarity, Relevance and Intention
And on that note, let’s get on to one of our favourite old yarns, TRUST.
As article #3 describes, many aspects of finance are geared towards apathetic rather than engaged customers.
In contrast, take a look at the websites of the new breed of challengers: Tandem Money with its clear rates and charges, all on one page; or Igloo Energy with its single tariffs and complete price transparency.
But the new trust paradigm is moving beyond mere messaging and branding. We’re set to form much deeper relationships with our service providers as those we entrust with our data.
In return our service providers need to treat our data with discretion and respect, providing the information we want, at the times we want it.
This is a fascinating article on what makes a good data custodian (a fine term). Essential reading for those in banking:
Don’t personalise design. Make it situationally relevant. 📄 1,800 words
#5 The Future is Screenless
AI and machine learning have boosted the power of screenless interaction exponentially. We believe its time has come to make its mark on the future of Energy, Utilities, Banking and Insurance.
Voice assistant adoption is accelerating faster than the smartphone ever did — further indicating that we live in Mary Meeker’s world of shortening adoption cycles (see last week’s 5).
This slideshow from SXSW will challenge your preconceptions of screenless and quell any scepticism of a screenless future.
I’ve Got No Screens: Internet’s Screenless Future | SXSW 2018
📺 149 slides (irony not lost on us — Ed)
This isn’t business as usual: IFTTT and Monzo 🎉
A big theme this week has been how to get the ball rolling on innovation.
This is a particular problem in Banking, where the media talk relentlessly about API platforms and the possibilities of open data partnerships, whilst banks scratch their heads about where to begin addressing this so-called golden opportunity.
Rather than obsessing over API strategy, banks need to start to actually design and curate experiences from the perspective of a good data custodian (see article #4); then they can see how they fit within a commercial strategy.
And on that note, we’d like to recognise two companies this week, in the form of a recent collaboration between If This Then That (IFTTT) and Monzo Bank.
Their partnership showcases banking data in action, allowing Monzo customers to connect their accounts to various applets, from savings automation to glitzy payday notifications.
Hats off to IFTTT and Monzo — product design in action.
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Hppn does what now?
Hppn (ˈhap(ə)n) is a design and innovation agency. We specialise in anticipating evolving customer needs within the Financial Services and Utilities sectors, and then leading the creation of transformative products and services. So whether you want to build radical new products, make drastic improvements to processes, or explore the most difficult questions in your industry, we can help.
- Email: steve@hppn.co.uk
- Web — Hppn.co.uk
- Twitter — @hppnCo
