http://www.business21c.com.au Business in the Twenty First Century Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:28:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Business in the twenty first century thrives on change, risk, knowledge, debate, diversity, inspiration, and innovation. Produced by the knowledge hub at UTS Business School, Business21C Weekly features lively weekly discussion around broad business issues featuring notable guests - business people, academics and other randoms. Hosts Mike Hanley and Kirsten Lees keep you up to date on the conversation that is Business in the Twenty First Century. Business in the Twenty First Century UTS Business http://www.business21c.com.au/graphics/itunes.jpghttp://www.business21c.com.au business, australia, sydney, sustainability, management, economy, leadership, innovation no UTS Business editor@business21c.com.au http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/03/connect-me http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/03/connect-me#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:20:47 +0000 B21Ceditor http://www.business21c.com.au/?p=3223 Glenn Wightwick oversees projects as varied as huge space telescopes, enterprise collaboration technology, and the instrumentation of our environment. He speaks with Business21C editor Mike Hanley.]]> http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/03/connect-me/feed 0 Glenn Wightwick manages 600 scientists, most of them smarter than he is. As chief technologist and director of the IBM Australia Development Laboratory, he oversees projects as varied as huge space telescopy, enterprise collaboration technology, and the instrumentation of our environment. Interview and podcast by Mike Hanley. BUSINESS21C: Where do you get inspiration in terms of managing your people? Clearly you’re managing a large number of people, most of whom are likely smarter than you. WIGHTWICK: It’s absolutely true. The people I manage tend to be very creative types, deeply technical and very interested in exploring all sorts of different technologies and ideas. I get an enormous amount of my inspiration from just being part of that team. I was in Perth recently with one of our teams, whose background and area of expertise is developing software for our mainframe. Our mainframe in IBM traces its history back to the 1960s, but it’s been evolved and modernised. The discussion I had with our team was quite inspirational. They’d come together and brainstormed for about half the day and came up with 14 or 15 ideas for potential projects to do interesting extensions and development, and new technologies, new ideas on the mainframe platform. Most of my time was just spent listening to the team, and they came up with some wonderful, different approaches. BUSINESS21C: How does IBM direct the efforts of its research? How does it decide which areas look promising and which ones, not so much? WIGHTWICK: We have a global innovation management system that has developed over the decades. It is a huge undertaking in itself. Thirty or 40 years ago, we had a more linear technology development process, in which we would understand a particular key trend or make some sort of observation about a key trend, assemble a team of people around it, think about the business opportunity that might evolve, plan a development project and program around that, and go off and execute that; then, five years later, bring some sort of product to market. These days, things are happening in a far more organic fashion with inputs and advances and inspiration coming from all sorts of places. IT has become so pervasive that you and me at home can create a new idea and take that to market tomorrow. As a consequence we have to be far faster and more nimble in terms of thinking about where we get to and where we need to drive things. So we developed this global innovation management system that has many different elements to it. We have global innovation outlooks that are deep studies in important areas within society where information technology has a significant part to play. We also have an IBM Academy of Technology, which is modelled on the US National Academy of Science and Engineering. You have these sets of programs that all contribute perspectives, and that gets integrated both from the ground up and from the top down, through mechanisms that ultimately lead us to the specific investments we make. BUSINESS21C: IBM is pushing the vision of the Smarter Planet. What does that actually mean, and what does it mean for the nature of technology development and how society achieves its longer-term goals? WIGHTWICK: A couple of years ago, our Global Innovation System observed increased instrumentation, with a lot of sensors and actuators being infused into all sorts of different places. A lot of the devices we carry and appliances we have at home now have computers inside them. Also, a lot of wireless networks are being set up, and not just in the home but in all sorts of interesting places – some of them in the environment. We’re seeing a range of different environmental sensors being deployed, and the sensor network is being used in rainforests and all sorts of interesting places. As a consequence of that, we recognise that there is this opportunity to interconnect all of those systems and try and make sense of information flowing from them. [...] As chief technologist and director of the IBM Australia Development Laboratory, <i>Glenn Wightwick</i> oversees projects as varied as huge space telescopes, enterprise collaboration technology, and the instrumentation of our [...] http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/02/the-consulting-club-how-to-get-in-and-do-a-good-job http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/02/the-consulting-club-how-to-get-in-and-do-a-good-job#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:00:04 +0000 B21Ceditor http://www.business21c.com.au/?p=2042 Francoise Michel, Andrew Price, Ian Douglas, Natalia Nikolova and Doug Davis tell us how to achieve excellence as a management consultant.]]> http://www.business21c.com.au/2010/02/the-consulting-club-how-to-get-in-and-do-a-good-job/feed 2 At its core, management consulting is about two things: people and people. Of course consultants need to have brilliant technical skills, problem solving capabilities and business nous, but you can have all that and still be a lousy consultant if you don’t understand your clients as people: their motivations and frustrations, and how the world looks from their perspective. In this series of podcasts, Business21C presents the insights of a group of seriously experienced consultants talking about the business of consulting, its challenges and rewards. Francoise Michel: Francoise Michel has one important piece of advice for graduates looking to venture into consulting: if you don’t have a passion for solving problems, don’t apply. In this podcast she discusses the interview techniques many graduates face and the rigor that is required if applicants are lucky enough to be selected. Through discussions on cases and interview preparation, Francoise Michel gives valuable insights to anyone interested in the world of consulting. Francoise Michel is a former consultant from Bain and Co. She now owns and operates her own business, Francoise Michel Executive, which aims to develop and coach graduates for roles in consulting. Andrew Price: As a consultant to major financial firms, Andrew Price has seen dramatic change over the last six months. While the global financial crisis may have impacted many consulting services, business is steadily improving. The big four banks are now spending huge amounts on consultants to assist them in overhauling their 25 year old systems. In this podcast Andrew Price also addresses the idea that good regulation saved Australia from the brunt of the GFC, saying that, although it helped, Australia’s position as a capital constrained economy was the primary factor in the avoiding the worst. Andrew Price is a partner at Ernst & Young and currently is the head of Financial Services. Ian Douglas: Ian Douglas believes that the airline industry is in seriously bad shape. Drawing comparisons to a prior experience with a Californian media business, Ian reports that poor managerial decisions and a lack of retained earnings stemming from cost cutting have led to precarious and ultra-competitive industry between airlines. Ian Douglas is currently a consultant & senior lecturer in Aviation Strategy at UNSW. Natalia Nikolova: Natalia Nikolova believes that there are many times where the relationship between consultant and client can become very complex. Often consulting tasks may be simple and require the consultant to apply tools and methodologies that have worked before. But it can become complex when the client’s problem requires a new tools and vastly different solutions. As she reveals in this podcast, the junction of consulting expectations and resource/participation from the client present a complicated area of differing outcomes. Natalia Nikolova is a researcher and lecturer in Management at UTS Business School. Doug Davis: Doug Davis believes that there is a key area of consulting that is almost never discussed – the psychological contract. He argues that for consultants to truly be successful, they need to understand the psychodynamics of their client and determine the unwritten expectations. It could be anything from extra advisory work to the client using consultants to advance a hidden management agenda. In this podcast Doug Davis discusses these aspects of psychological expectations, and why it is necessary to probe why the client really wants a consultant. Doug Davis is currently a senior lecturer in Management at UTS Business School. Consultants need unsurpassed technical skills, in-depth understanding of their clients' business environment, and people skills to rival those of a psychologist. In five exclusive podcasts, <i>Francoise Michel</i>, <i>Andrew [...] http://www.business21c.com.au/2009/08/podcast-daniel-petre-on-technology-innovation-in-australia http://www.business21c.com.au/2009/08/podcast-daniel-petre-on-technology-innovation-in-australia#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:33:25 +0000 B21Ceditor http://test.business21c.com.au/?p=194 Daniel Petre thinks there are two major issues holding back Australian technology innovation: We fail to see ourselves as part of a global market; and investors are impatient for a return. He talks to Mike Hanley about the factors holding technology innovation back in Australia. ]]> http://www.business21c.com.au/2009/08/podcast-daniel-petre-on-technology-innovation-in-australia/feed 1 According to Daniel Petre, technology innovation in Australia faces at least two major issues: firstly, Australian innovators fail to see themselves as part of a global market, and so fail at the first hurdle. Secondly, although there is a good mezzanine funding structure for firms that have got through the first difficult parts of the innovation process, there is a real lack of patient capital for start ups. Daniel Petre is one of Australia’s top information technology investors. He is the executive chairman of Netus, a technology investment arm of News Corporation, which invests in internet start ups. The company’s portfolio includes niche blog publisher Allure Media, and search engine marketing agency, Downstream. Daniel’s resume includes a stint as CEO of Microsoft Australia and boss of eCorp, Kerry Packer’s technology investment vehicle. Serial technology investor <i>Daniel Petre</i> thinks there are two major issues holding back Australian technology innovation: We fail to see ourselves as part of a global market; and investors are impatient for a return. He talks to [...]