There never has been a time when changes in taste, social outlook and lifestyle have been faster and more fundamental. Coolsearch shows that the revolution that is going on inside the workplace and that which is taking place in the marketplace are two sides of the same coin. Traditional divisions between work and play and between home and the office are being eroded. Twenties-somethings are using their mastery of new technology to transform product development, marketing and merchandising as consumers and ideas generation and decision making as workers.
But how can older companies with deeper vested interests and complex hierachies keep in touch with the needs generated by the new generation? Syrett and Lammiman show how street-wise market research, better use of technology, shorter decision making hierarchies, corporate venturing and bottom up leadership has helped a variety of seeming dinosaurs get abreast of the trends. Stories and case studies of companies such as IKEA, GMT, 3M, and L'Oreal and their championing the latest trends and thinking are throughout the book.
Coolsearch draws on original research by the authors on how new ideas are inspired and shaped in organisations as well as on interviews with leading thinkers in innovation including London Business School's Costas Markides, Strategos's Gary Hamel and Insead's W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.
Jean Lammiman is a human resource development specialist whose career has spanned roles as a practitioner, academic researcher and consultant. She was Training Director at the International Stock Exchange and Management Development Director at Grand Metropolitan during a period of intense organisational change. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Michel Syrett has written on a wide range of business issues over 20 years. His work has been published in, among others, The Financial Times, The Sunday Times, Management Today, Director, Asian Business and The South China Post, He has also conducted research on innovation and leadership for Cranfield School of Management and the University of Hong Kong.
Jean and Michel co-lead a research programme into innovation at work at the Roffey Park Institute. They are co-authors of twelve books and reports, most recently Successful Innovation, published by The Economist. Jean also led at Grand Metropolitan a marketing forum focusing on the global marketplace for leading brands such as Smirnoff, Haagen-Dazs and Burger King.
