London Y NOT

The Thinking Hotel is a vision for a future social enterprise that will design places for thinking around the world. This visionary idea is now one step closer to reality with a business model prototype weekend planned for 7th and 8th August 2010 in Soho.

The event is a 24 hour nonstop innovation session where guests will be creating and thinking about the Hotel, its future customers and its potential revenue streams.

Over 30 people will join us in fluid 3 hour sessions of co-creation. Sense Worldwide, an innovation leader, engaged with this innovative idea opening The Loft for the first time ever 24hr co-design and innovation workshop in this space. The session breaks with the stereotypical idea of away-days. It also breaks with the traditional idea of a small group of people visioning. Instead we have developed an event that allows the greatest number of people possible to engage with the process for as long as they can manage.

I have always felt that something as important as thinking shouldn’t be left to chance, too much in our life (and society) depends on the quality of thinking, and this includes imagination, decision making and understanding the information we capture. We are designing the ultimate thinking experience over 24 hours, and it is brilliant to see how so many people are enthusiastic about this process of designing new businesses, and co-create society!

If you would like to check-in - make your Booking here !

Event details:

Venue:  The Loft  (London)

Time: the event starts on Saturday 7th August – at 12pm (Midday) and ends on Sunday 8th August (Midday) – your participation is flexible, and you are invited to check-in at your convenience!

Hello thinkers!

I have great news to share.

The Thinking Hotel © vision is moving forward – and hopefully, the aim to find partners interested in making this vision happen over the year 2010 is getting closer to reality!

The story so far:

In 2008 I shared the idea of creating the very best place for thinking under the concept of a Hotel, combining environments, tools, resources and services for thinking, with friends.

It did sound an interesting proposal, as everyone one’s first reaction was: WOW! or AWESOME!

Got the webdomains, registered the Ltd Company, and started defining the concept.

Shared with experts and advisors, presented to a few companies, VC investors, experts in Hotels, and so on. The positive feedback and fantastic insights helped me build confidence, and continue the journey.

Two weeks ago, I posted a comment on a TED LinkedIn group connecting someone’s post with the idea of The Thinking Hotel © - and that generated a number of positive reactions, including a suggestion to start a linkedin group: Let’s Create The Thinking Hotel, which I did, just about one week ago: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2882471&trk=anet_ug_hm

So far, this has been a brilliant experience – and you are welcome to join the group, share you views and opinions and comment on the other’s.

And here is the link to an online survey, that I’d really appreciate your feedback: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KRYCL6R

Beyond that, I had the honour to be a guest in a very special visit to a place that may have the potential to become our first Thinking Hotel! This is the Poltimore House (www.poltimore.org) which is an impressive place with great potential to a synergy with The Thinking Hotel © - if you visit the website – I suggest you have a look at their vision.

So, what’s next?

Why not… join the group, be a guest and check into this journey?

We are all thinking about thinking…and I am really thrilled with the members in this group!

Be my guest and get linkedin with this idea!

…to our economists, managers and other human executives?

If so, can you imagine Nature frenetically cutting costs everywhere possible, to solve its self-created economic crisis, determining life with less air, less light, less land, less water?

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MOST WANTED:

An innovative business leader with the excellence agenda at the heart of its business.

WHEN: As soon as possible.

WHAT FOR: To conduct an Excellence Audit.

I am now looking for a company who has the need and the goal to become Excellent.

If this is meaningful for you and your business…be the first to get in touch!

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At the top of the waste hierarchy we have ‘Prevention’ and I share this vision of a world without waste.

Research suggests to achieve the target of “waste free world”, we require a system that designs out waste and designs in value. I see this is as an opportunity for innovation investments and business leaders, however the current barrier is lack of real financial return to not produce waste, since such value is not measured, whereas waste has gain increasingly trade value leading to profits.

In our journey to identify funding for an innovation platform dedicated to develop a new generation of packaging without waste, myself and Dr. Joyce Tsoi successfuly attracted interest from potential partners accross all packaging stakeholders, however we still had to demonstrate how such investment can create value (economic and financial). As a response to this challenge we found the need  to develop a calculator (Negowaste©) that quantifies and converts the positive value of no-waste production into financial returns which would support the design of a new sharp tax system proposed by Nanako Kawauchi and myself.   Read the rest of this entry »

We are all in trouble with a world that is demanding change, for social, environmental and now financial reasons.
we saw the ‘world of plenty’ dominating our economies, and believed we would achieve common wealth through products, plenty and profit. It was all based on the Success Metrics of MORE and usually measured in ROI (returns on investment)

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Design Week’s Editor, Lynda Relph-Knight challenged designers to post ideas and enter a debate on how can design best help to increase awareness of its value.

Lynda’s challenge comes from a recent debate about public procurement to purchase design, and the issue that, despite the value of design to improve communication and services, and despite the existing funding for innovation, it (design’s value) still misunderstood by governmental bodies (or is the society in general?), and therefore not correctly procured. It seems a large majority of design stakeholders - inside and outside the design industry - still don’t know much about design and even less about new disciplines and roles of design, beyond traditional areas of the design of ‘things’, ‘messages’ and ’spaces’.

Ideally, and strategically we would need to replace the idea that design is just good to make things look pretty, or the tool to manipulate ‘perceived value’ of products and brands for a profit-driven aim.

My thinking: why not…Establish a VAD © stamp!  (Value Added Design)

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Business schools are questioning what skills should be developed for the tomorrow’s company. Science and technology schools are wondering about the same. Design starts to escalate upwards in the organisational framework to a strategic level, and other countries (Canada, USA, China, Finland) are already integrating Design skills into their business schools.

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Should we question the need to produce waste?

Waste isn’t a problem, it is a consequence of human decisions.

Or a design fault.

So imagine if you were asked to opt between paying for management of your waste, or pay for not having waste, which would you chose? Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I went to a presentation about the power of data analysis for marketing and as a tool for value creation for commercial business.

Most people buy into a loyalty card based on the idea they will be rewarded through their loyal behaviour.

But what really happens is that the loyalty card user provides detailed data about their purchase choices (or shopping behaviour), which then will classify the ‘consumer’ in one of the ‘consumer profiles’ as ‘loyal’, ‘promotional sensitive’ or ‘price driven’.
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