Else/Where Mapping and New Opportunity Development

Recently at the Rotman School of Management, I had the opportunity to hear Janet Abrams of the University of Minnesota Design Institute discuss Using Maps to Make Arguments and Processes Visible. She presented ideas from Else/Where: Mapping: New Cartographies of Networks and Territoriesor see Else/Where: Mapping

One of the notable maps was from They Rule which discusses a small group of powerful Americans in business referred to as the Magnificent Seven because of the number of network linkages they possess via board seats and other business ties.

Abrams also said something that really resonated with me which was "Innovation [should come] from the spaces between disciplines." This certainly provides further validation of the need to draw on different perspectives in order to innovate and change strategy.

Another of the Rotman Design Thinking Presentations was by Dev Patnaik from Jump Associates of San Mateo, California. His presentation was entitles New Opportunity Development - Emerge, Reframe, Connect.

Dev talked about Jump and their staff of "peripheral visionaries" and corporate misfits. It's always good to hear about cultures that endorse people who think differently.

Although I agree with much of what he presented, I feel especially strong about "reframe" as a concept. Many companies are stuck or complacent and they need to reframe their situation and formulate a new perspective on one or more of the following; themselves, their business, the competition and, in a broader sense, their marketplace in order to become unstuck when it comes to innovation.