Leading By Design Conference

Livework and Brandcell  held a conference on “Leading by design” at the Beirut Design fair on Sep 21st with the aim of showcasing how design is impacting businesses today with a focus on three themes that are pressing topics for organizations: customer experience, the shift from products to services, and digitalization. The Team shared then practical cases of how companies are using strategic design to tackle these challenges followed by a reflection on patterns seen across industries and previsions for the future. A panel discussion followed the conference with experts from the academic, social and business fields.

When Innovation Isn’t Enough

THE ALLURE OF innovation has always been in the chance of finding the next “big thing;” however, businesses often find themselves on the treadmill of relentless innovation as markets mature and technology advances. In addition, innovation has a poor track record of delivering commercial success for businesses. Often, the value of the innovation requires a broader system of products and services for the true benefit of experience to be available to consumers.

Great customer experience is both a necessity and an advantage as competition for customers intensifies. Unfortunately those that use this to their advantage are often the nimble start-ups who emerge free from legacy constraints. They can often set the bar higher than many pre-existing businesses will be able to meet.

How BMW Is Driving Innovation

As the world’s best-selling manufacturer of luxury cars, creativity has been important to the success of the BMW Group. A century-old company, it has achieved an impressive tradition of innovation.

Now, however, as a tidal wave of change is sweeping through its industry, the need for rapid innovation at BMW has become more urgent than ever before. For example, as a result of autonomous driving, they expect their business to change more over the next decade than it has during the past 30 years. The escalating reality of cars without a human driver means coming to terms with new customer habits and expectations, changing global markets and all-new competitors as tech companies foray into their industry.