Lego: Raising the Bar in Fan-Based Innovation

When Lego launched its product called Mindstorms NXT some years ago, the rules for customer collaboration was changed. It is amazing how Lego has managed to capture the lead in the toy industry when bankruptcy has threatened the sector of videogames back then.

Lego introduced online interaction and community development in 2004. This strategy led to the creation of virtual development teams which allowed Lego to regain and grow its share in the market. After eight years, Lego has record breaking double digit growth rate of 17%. The growth trajectory is still rising as competitors Hasbro and Mattel stagnate. The impressive growth is attributable to direct-to-consumer activities, electronic platforms and other innovative products that Lego introduced to the market.

There are at least three core elements that contributed to this success. One is customer interaction. Lego has created the platform designbyme.com where clients can create their own designs and share it digitally with millions of other users.

Another core element is board games. Lego has introduced family board games where the board and the parts of the game are built from bricks. This 2010 board game was readily accepted by 12.6% of the US toy market. The growth allowed Lego to leverage on its Batman, Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises.

The third core element is online games. Lego launched the LEGO Universe, a virtual space with multiplayer online games. What seemed like a threat for toy industry players in the past was tamed by Lego when it has also invaded this turf with its own barrage of multiplayer online games.

Lego’s executive has been on the hunt of launches that would glue the company’s firm hold in the toy industry while continuously enhancing the development of Mindstorms. There is no sign that Lego would let up in its fan-based innovations.

A Hospital, a Business, and a Step Towards Health

Successful businesses, by and large, display a balance of numerous factors including strong financial leadership, sturdy customer accommodation strategy, committed staff, and investment in the future. When we think of powerful businesses, we most often consider technology firms, department stores, investment banking ventures, home goods manufacturers, and magazines: entities that create and sell products that offer a rewarding consumer experience service. Unfortunately, this definition of business, while understandable, overlooks a large faction of companies, namely, those that provide entirely necessary goods and procedures. An elementary school, which teaches our children how to understand our world at the most basic level, still maintains its property, updates its policy, plans for its fiscal profile in years to come. Another example of this remains healthcare; while we generally turn to hospitals only in our time of need, they still require a complex leadership model.

Gustavo Stringel, MD, joins Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center as Director of PediatricSurgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery. He draws from a diverse expertise that affords him the ability to see both the short and long term of the institution. Gustavo Stringel earned a Master of Business Administration at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and attended Harvard Medical School’s seminar, Leadership for Physician Executives. Throughout his tenure with the children’s hospital, he executed the multi-tiered negotiations that led to acquisition of state of the art tools and four operating rooms equipped with advanced technology. Stringel further expanded the hospital’s capacity through the recruitment of a string of specialists and the architecture of a quality and performance evaluation infrastructure. By treating the center as a business, Gustavo Stringel, MD, effectively serves the future of its and patients and secures its reputation as one of the top 100 institutions in the nation. 

Lufthansa: Flying Ahead of Competition

The airline sector has been losing billions each year. Some airline companies have forged mergers in order to save financially distressed ones. With the way the airline industry has been performing lately, only a few names are leaving positive marks: Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Ethiad.  However, Germany’s Lufthansa remains the largest airline in Europe.

Lufthansa is using innovation to enhance passenger travel and improve cargo business efficiency. For instance, Lufthansa has introduced the First Class and Business Class seats in 2011. The “V” layout of the seats provides more spaces while still allowing the passengers to face forward. The First Class seats in A380s are most spacious. Plus the luxurious seats are accompanied by excellent service, making it very attractive to many passengers.

In the midst of a sea of sameness, Lufthansa has proven that innovation can withstand the difficult financial situations. It is not just price that can attract customer but also the kind of innovation that brings a new taste to the all-important customers.

Don’t Be a Stranger: One Group’s Successful Approach

Everywhere we look today, there’s a new product or service that promises to improve our life through technology: a map application that uses items on our calendar’s to do to list to direct us towards places to manage these errands, an interactive document sharing system that allows employees to work together while physically apart, a social media site that allows epicureans to share and rate the restaurants they patronize with other gourmet enthusiasts.  While these tools have irrevocably shaped our lives, the importance of other kinds of communication remains untouched in some regards. Inalink, a company that caters to organizations throughout the United States, built a business on this principle.

Because professional organizations depend on their members to thrive, Inalink offers a host of member relations services based on the value of interpersonal relations. The staff of Inalink pride themselves on a deep knowledge about their clients, which they leverage in one-on-one conversations with the membership population. Inalink assists with a number of objectives, including the analysis of membership lapses and the targeted recovery of cancellations. In addition to offering a listening ear to those who recently withdrew and translating this information into helpful reports, Inalink pays close attention to new members and conducts keep-in-touch initiatives with longstanding members. With the support of the company, organizations benefit from a stronger understanding of their clientele and their wants within the context of the associations. Inalink additionally provides customized campaigns to increase conference registration, engage members with information about new programs, and participate in evaluations about current offerings. 

Humana: Forging Partnerships that Improve Health and Wellness

Humana is an insurance company headquartered in Kentucky. Recently, Humana has embarked into some interesting moves that changed the behavior of insurance consumers.

The company understood that it could not compete in the growing insurance market head on with just the premium payments from 7 million specialty insurance members and 11 million medical plan holders. Humana retains its principal product which include Medicare and other healthcare products that cover vision, dental and other supplemental health protection to individuals and groups.

However, Humana has recently entered into partnered innovation to connect its business strength with those of other players in the healthcare arena. The company believes that the results would not only enhance healthcare services but also open up opportunities for new businesses.

In 2011, Humana launched a joint venture with Discovery Holdings called HumanaVitality. With the project, members have access to wellness and loyalty plans that are actually driven and science based. These programs feature tools and rewards based on the patients’ needs.

But the most notable innovative initiative was the one launched in partnership with Trek. It is called B-Cycle. The concept of B-Cycle has worked in the cities of Paris and London and has since been brought to the US. The idea is bike sharing which helped address the issues of transportation and environment in many key US cities while also addressing the issues of health.

Another program which Humana launched in partnership with Ubisoft incorporates gaming and health. The partnership also allowed a new media venture that aims to simplify the way insurance and other important information are shared among different healthcare providers that would make the processing of claims more efficient for patients.

Humana continues to study opportunities where innovations can be made across several fronts at once. The goal is to tackle the healthcare challenges imposed by our time.

Reckitt Benckiser Is a Recruitment Savvy

Reckitt Benckiser Plc is a UK-based consumer goods company. It is the biggest manufacturer of household cleaning products in the world and a major player in the personal and healthcare products industry. Some of Reckitt Benckisre’s bestsellers include Strepsils, Dettol, Veet and Air Wick. The company operates in 60 countries.

To hold its place in the consumer market, Reckitt Benckiser has focused on 19 of its most profitable brands. These brands account for 62% of the company’s revenues in 2008. The company was awarded with The Economist Corporate Use of Innovation in 2009.

Most remarkable in the company’s strategies is the graduate program with over 200 graduates-beneficiaries around the world. These graduates are hired to work with the company for a couple of years. These are training grounds for the graduates. They are given the privilege to excel in their work. Outstanding graduates of the program are deployed for employment overseas.

The Guardian, a British newspaper, cited the company as one of the top recruiters in UK in 2011. The company was ranked number 11 in the Forbes’ list of the Most Innovative Companies in the World.