Paul Iske from the Institute of Brilliant Failures to speak at inNOWvate

The second keynote speaker at inNOWvate can now be revealed as Paul Iske, founder of the Institute of Brilliant Failures which promotes better understanding of the complexity of innovation and entrepreneurship. Organized by Supply Chain Media, the inNOWvate event will be held on 24 May at the Rijtuigenloods venue in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. During this interactive event revolving around supply chain innovation, delegates can learn to turn their own ideas into reality.

Until mid-2015, Paul Iske was Chief Dialogues Officer affiliated with ABN-Amro, where he connected people and things in order to open up new opportunities for innovative and sustainable value creation. He is also a professor of open innovation & business venturing within Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics, where he is mainly focused on innovation in services and social innovation, with a specialization in ‘combinatoric innovation’.

In an article in Academy Magazine, Iske explains that academics and business experts from a broad range of disciplines should enter into dialogue with one another in order to develop new solutions. Combining one’s own intellectual capital with that of others from both within and outside of one’s organization produces a group process that leads to new forms of value creation. This process is the opposite of the open innovation process, which is focused on bringing in knowledge to solve specific problems. The Senseo product, co-developed by Philips and Douwe Egberts, is a good example of combinatoric innovation.

So the starting point for combinatoric innovation is to look at how people can create value by combining and applying their own expertise with that of others. Supply Chain Media is taking this idea a step further with its innovation-centric inNOWvate event, which is expected to attract around 250 delegates who are keen to exchange ideas and practical experiences. This may even result in new value creation possibilities.

Brilliant failures

In his keynote speech, Iske will focus mainly on brilliant failures. Failure is a close relative of innovation, because ‘having a go’ without necessarily being sure where it will lead is all part of being a researcher or entrepreneur. Sometimes, failure can actually work out for the better. Viagra, the successful treatment for erectile dysfunction, is perhaps one of the best-known examples. Pfizer was actually trying to develop medication to treat angina, chest pain and high blood pressure. After six long years of research, the pharmaceutical firm had still not found a cure, but many patients were reporting side effects including erections and increased sexual potency. By presenting a series of similar examples and real-life situations, Iske will demonstrate that there should be no shame in failing.

Besides Iske’s contribution, the other keynote speaker on the plenary programme is Fons Trompenaars, who will explore the culture of creativity and innovation and what is needed to create a culture in which individual creativity is given room to flourish. Furthermore at the event, supply chain professionals can see the very latest technologies for themselves. Ten high-potential start-ups have been carefully selected from all over Europe, each offering innovative supply chain solutions, and they will be presenting themselves during the day. In the interactive break-out sessions, suppliers of supply chain solutions will update delegates on how their innovative solutions are being used in practice.

In addition, the nominees for the annual Supply Chain Professional Award will be pitching themselves to the public throughout the day, sharing their thoughts on supply chain strategy and the role of innovation, and presenting details of an innovative supply chain project within their company. Besides that, previous winners of the Supply Chain Professional Award will share their own innovation-related experiences and participate in a panel discussion on prerequisites for success.