Defining innovation: how Whirlpool transformed an industry

Environmental issues and the pressures for companies to “go green” are among the biggest facing businesses across the globe currently. For Whirlpool Corporation, this commitment is being matched by a push to ensure that every single electronic product in the company is smart grid compatible by 2015.

Behind this push is Bracken Darrell, the President of Whirlpool Europe – a wholly owned subsidiary of the Whirlpool Corporation. The move will allow energy companies to smartly measure the rate of each use of an electrical appliance, and while Whirlpool have been pushing for this from the early ‘90s, there is a now a revived effort with this new innovation so that the products being produced by Whirlpool will sit in line with these requirements.

Darrell, however, is no stranger to innovative thinking. In his previous role at Braun, Darrell was accredited with giving the company “their mojo back”, helping create a series of new and innovative products that not only helped to boost sales, but also played a critical role in helping the company to grow to what it is today.

In an exclusive and insightful interview with executive business channel MeetTheBoss.tv, Darrell demonstrates just why green issues are taking on such significance for modern businesses – and, beyond this, explains why innovation has to be at the heart of successful business leadership.

“If you grew up playing sports, you know the real competitors. You know that the people who have the biggest drive to win respect their competition. And we do that,” he says. “When they come out with something that’s terrific, we break it down. We tear it apart. We weigh the parts. We look at every innovation, we look at every feature, and we try and figure out how in the world did they get to market with that before we did and how can we do it better?”

Doing it better is definitely something Whirlpool measures itself against in everything it does. “All of us in leadership positions have to have the wherewithal to throw ourselves into everything we do as if it was a big turn around because change management is just what we do.”

So how are issues like company culture related to making innovation happen? And what advice would Darrell offer to those organizations looking to change the culture of their firm and stretch innovation?

“Well, at the risk of sounding boring,” jokes Darrell. “What most people want to hear is you know to put bean bags on the floor. Bring a pool table into the lobby. You know have a – everybody wear flip-flops to work day, and you’re going to get more innovation.”

Sounds a little too much like Facebook? “Well it might,” adds Darrell. “They definitely have a pretty good story. But I guarantee you, the companies that do that have the processes that drive, that attract, that drive innovation.”

So how does something like Darrell define innovative success? “We’re a growing business,” he notes, “We’re growing market share or improving our overall value creation as a business. We’re also creating higher engagement for employees, so when you put those three things together, you have the best definition of ‘are we winning in the innovation race’.”

To see the interview in full, please go to http://www.meettheboss.tv

Are you Green or Not?

In a shock announcement, Steve Odland, CEO of Office Depot, throws down the gauntlet to other businesses by accusing them of “green washing” their products to adhere to consumer trends.

The comment comes as part of an exclusive interview with Odland for the executive business channel MeetTheBoss.tv, where he talks about the difficulties Office Depot faced during the global recession and how leadership in tough times isn’t for the feint hearted.

In fact, at one point during the economic crisis, Office Depot stock was pushed down as low as 60¢, and the future for the company looked bleak. Fortunately, under Steve’s leadership, disaster was averted and the company is finally riding high once again.

When Steve brought Office Depot back from the brink of near-bankruptcy, one of his fundamental changes was to go green. “Our customers now have become very engaged in this process and have recognized the importance of green products and sustainability,” Steve explains to MeetTheBoss.tv.

Starting with the Green Book in 2004, Office Depot began their assault on the sustainability world. Defined as a simple compilation of products that were all environmentally friendly, Green Book products varied in their “multiple shades of green” across the globe: light green if the product has some postconsumer content, and dark green if it is 100% recyclable and carbon neutral.

“I’m really proud of these distinctions because it’s not just about being green or not,” explains Odland. “It’s about ensuring our products continue to get greener over time, so our continued progress will be to get everything in our catalog in some phase of green and then to continue to deepen our commitment to the darker shades of green.”

What’s more, Steve is adamant that a “traffic light” system is the only way to illustrate to the consumer your efforts to help the environment. “You know, I remember the first Earth Day in 1970, and I was in school at the time and we marched the school children with signs to the park and we cleaned up a park. Now it’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and we’re very proud at Office Depot to be participating in that with events all over the world,” he explains.

“We have many promotions that we have going on for our customers around Earth Day in awareness of our trade-in events and awareness of our green catalog. We don’t want to overkill it, because there’s this notion of green washing where companies overstate their efforts, but we are proud of what we have done and what we offer for our customers. “

To see the interview in full, please go to MeetTheBoss.tv

Sustainability key to growth in Africa

Africa is the most mineral rich continent on earth and open for business in a big way, this has not gone unnoticed by the industry’s executives who have announced their meeting at the latest NG Mining Africa summit.

The continent's mining industry is continually expanding and adapting to changing conditions with more international companies scrambling for a piece of the continent's resources. But is now the time to start considering the environmental impact.

For good reasons, the mining sector has come under more scrutiny globally than any other in the past two decades. Whereas mining has attracted considerable foreign direct investment into Africa, has generated ancillary infrastructure, and boosted export earnings, it’s environmental, developmental and governance records have been highly uneven, ranging from the exemplary to the corrupt, unscrupulous and destructive.

Yet the mining sector has and continues to reform itself in significant respects and a new genre of mining operation is evident in Africa. Its role is to not just be a good Corporate Citizen but also a potential driver of local, regional and national development.

New age mining in Africa is not only possible, it is essential for long-term sustainability and a need for real, rather than nominal, trilateral partnerships between mining houses, government and local communities are fundamental to success, a committee of African Mining Execs has now been formed to confront the environmental impacts while sustaining profitable growth. The Committee consisting of executives from African Diamonds Plc - James Campbell, Managing Director , Banro Corporation - Michael Prinsloo, President & CEO , Ghana Chamber of Mines - Joyce Aryee, CEO and the Xstrata Group - Andile Sangqu, CEO Africa Executive Director, will meet at the NG Mining Africa summit (hosted by GDS International) to discuss the future.

With considerable environmental complications, including chronic soil degradation, chemical contamination, and air pollution it is the responsibility of a few to protect the many and the sustainability of Africa’s mining future will be key in its viability. Is the industry ready to face its responsibilities?

Google’s new ‘PowerMeter’ sparks excitement at the NGU Europe Summit

It is not very often the words ‘Google’ and ‘energy-saving’ appear in the same sentence. However, in Portugal last week at the industry-leading Next Generation Utilities Summit, over 50 European Utility leaders were presented with the company’s new venture; Google’s ‘PowerMeter’.

Utilities, Power, and Energy have the potential to change the way the world operates in today’s environment. Saving money and reducing global energy usage is a familiar occurrence in the media, but there is not enough accessible information for the consumer on where to start. Posted paper bills are made up of complicated figures which give little information on energy consumption and how to save power. Google’s Jens Redmer, Director of Business Development for Europe discussed at the summit of a way to help the consumer in making the right decisions on their energy usage.

Google’s ‘PowerMeter’ provides customers with data on their personal electricity usage right on their own iGoogle homepage. It does this by receiving information from smart meters and energy management devices, calculating a customer’s energy consumption, and allowing each individual the ability to see what, in their homes, wastes the most energy.

Currently Google are testing the tool in the US, India & Canada, with the hopes of expanding later in the year. Not surprisingly, the NGU summit was the perfect place to introduce it to the European market. Redmer’s presentation sparked the interest of utility heads including João Torres, President of EDP Distribuição, Frank Borchardt, Head of Smart Metering at E.ON, Corne Meeuwis, CEO of CASC-CWE, Odd Håkon Holsæter, Chairmanof Nordpool and CEO of Statnett Norway, and Inge Pierre, Head of European Affairs at Svenskenergi. The innovative product was a mere catalyst for this esteemed group to discuss new ways to develop global energy supply with technology leaders from Siemens, Oracle, Alcatel – Lucent, SAP and Navita.

Many different companies will need to work together in order create a “path to smarter power”. Platforms like the NGU Summit need to become available to the industry’s figureheads for discussions and collaborations to occur more frequently. Already, Utility heads are booking their travel arrangements for the next NGU Summit in Europe, which is due to occur next February.

It is not very often that influential companies like Google take the time to develop innovative tools with the ability to aid in the reduction of energy waste. Having said this, it is clear technological applications like ‘PowerMeter’ are just the beginning and alone will not solve the energy saving issues that surround us.

But can Google’s’ initial contribution be the first step needed to move forward, before it’s too late?