Lift11: Jean-Claude Biver, The importance of innovation and thinking different [en]

Live and India-lagged notes from the Lift11 Conference in Geneva. Might contain errors and personal opinions. Use the comments if you spot nasty errors.

“See what people will do for a Hublot watch?” (ad with pic of a guy who got mugged and beaten up for his).

To grow, a child must innovate. From day one! With education and growing up, we close that up — which is why so many artists etc say they want to find the creativity of their childhood once again.

Difference between people who have learned something and people who innovate. Creativity and innovation are more powerful!

Jean-Claude’s company: always strive to be first, or to be unique, or to be different.

They don’t care about watches (people don’t buy them anymore anyway). Buying an expensive watch is completely stupid and irrational (above 50 CHF). So the important thing is not the watch — above 50 CHF, you don’t get better quality. Produce watches which aren’t needed for time-keeping — we look at the time on our mobiles or on the computer or on the car dashboard.

So they made a watch that was all black. Everything black! Forget that a watch is about showing the time. Imagine an all-black Big Ben… would cause so many accidents!

Conceptual innovation. Old Swiss watch-makers are turning around in their graves. The role of the watch has changed. It’s not a rational product to show what time it is anymore.

Creativity and innovation is a way of thinking. To encourage that in the company, they have nurtured an atmosphere which allows people to make mistakes. Give a bonus to people when they make mistakes! (Big mistake? Big bonus. Small mistake? Small bonus. Haha!) Then they’ll be happy to make mistakes. They become active! They start trusting themselves! Innovation brings uncertainty. It’s like a vision — it’s not reality. Take risks, be active. *steph-note: this makes me think about taking hundreds of crap photos with a digital camera for one magical one to appear.*

Our creativity is something we all had, but lost. We can find it again. No work anymore, all play. Time flies!

Story. Japanese discover football, many years ago. To be nice, FIFA gives them the World Cup to organize. Yay, football will be popular in Japan! JC’s boss says they should take a Japanese guy as an ambassador, for football. JC says “no, crazy, they’re not that good” — but goes to watch. 25 players + referees: same height, same hair… can’t identify the guy! Identify him with the number… but really didn’t manage. They insisted. Ended up saying he’d take him if he died his hair in Ferrari red. Not so crazy! They accepted. He died his hair, on from that day on, he was the only one you could see on the field… they took him as an ambassador, and was then transferred, etc… known because he was different, unique, and the first!

That’s how we’ll survive. Must be the first, unique, and different. *steph-note: echoes with some of my thoughts these last days on how what a platform does is not as important as how old it is — regarding usefulness and popularity*

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