the innovation but not the commercialisation thereof, let alone other areas of the business. The lack of patenting innovations and protection of intellectual property (IP) is often also overlooked, with little focus placed on people management, from employee retention to succession planning.
George Rudman, Director of the Licensing Executive Society stresses the importance of intellectual property as becoming an ever valuable asset in obtaining and sustaining market share in a globally competitive economy and as such, IP needs to be effectively managed in order to maximise value. “Entrants seem to underestimate the value and importance of registered and other intangible assets within their organisation and its role in creating a differential advantage.”
Suffice to add that entrants are reminded that the TT100 Awards programme looks at an organisation comprehensively drawing on the Da Vinci TIPS model as a platform, which talks about the Management of Technology, Innovation, People and Systems. TT100 also takes other key areas of the business into account such as sustainability both in the environmental and commercial contexts. Certain areas of this model are more prevalent in larger established organisations than in the small and medium sized businesses such research and development. The adjudication process takes all the fundamental elements deemed necessary for businesses to succeed into consideration, however the panel adjudicates entrant companies on their own individual merit while comparing ‘apples with apples’.
Every year TT100 features a pool of innovative organisations where new angles are highlighted as are regions, with the Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal provinces being the most impressive in 2011.
One of the Kwazulu Natal adjudicators, Mike Davies, Director of Optimum Learning in Durban says that organisations were highly entrepreneurial, priding themselves on their agility, responsiveness and innovation. All entrants were cognizant of the fact that they needed to ensure that their revenue moved from project income, which is largely bumpy, to annuity income that is far smoother and which also has the potential to provide greater margin.
Davies witnessed leadership roles, as did other adjudicators, that demonstrated passion and a strong belief in both their products and their organisations, while also displaying humility by down-playing their status and openly admitting their mistakes, particularly within the larger organisations. Davies says, “The leadership is clearly strategic, providing vision and values that focus on three elements namely: superior economic performance, a truly meaningful societal value and striving to be a vibrant organisation that installs trust and respect among both leaders and subordinates.”
Davies adds that there also seems to be a strong sense of knowledge management where organisations represented are aware that their industries and business environments are both complex and dynamic and therefore require constant scanning. “These organisations know their industries well but also know how to leverage their organisations within their industries. They constantly process information into insights and remain relevant in the market place,” says Davies.
Davies went on to say that many of the successful entrant companies compete on value determined by innovation, customer service, relationships and agility while knowing all along that it is their people that
24 EDGE | November 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100