THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM LAYS THE GROUND FOR AN INNOVATORS ECOSYSTEM
The Zwolle region makes a qualitative impact as an innovative region with the ORIGINAL initiative, by the registration and accelerated development of the innovative power of the region.
Where in the past different actors delevered their support to individual startups, each in a different way, the region will have a common approach to coaching both startups and Scale-Up organisations, in which all the necersaary connections will be laid to even help the fast developing enterprises in creating their complete and well-functioning management teams and helping the organisation to grow.
The ORIGINAL program will thus emerge to a real Innovators ecosystem.
The support to innovative talent in the region has been limitied to coaching startup enterprises. The diffferent parties had all their own method and there was hardly any exchange of information between them.
The neccessity of support to enterprises that were to grow from startup to Scale-Up organisations was more or less neglected.
Such a support would have been very difficult to deliver, since the region failed the type of overview information that is necessary for connecting different parties.
A regional innovators profile database and a commom approach of talent support will make it possible to deliver the right type of support to also Scale-Up enterprises. Especially the necessary support in creating a complete and competent management team and in helping them to growth their organisation.
This is one of the main objectives of the ORIGINAL initiative.
The other objective is to create an innovators network and ecosystem. To organize meetings and Centers of Excellence that co-operate in developing the innovation profession, both on a national and international level.*)
A unique set of instruments, LDpe's LD-Toolbox (LDT), will help to realise the ORIGINAL objectives.
The LDT was originally developed in Capgemini**) and since then further developed by LDpe.
The LD-Toolbox has been used by thousends of leaders and professionals and many organisations around the world. The toolbox enables the accelerated development of individuals, the formation of complete and successful team, and adequate support for growing organisations.
Every talent-coaching professional service organisation can, after certification, participate in the ORIGINAL process, by reviewing talents with the LDT-reports.
*) LDpe has been involved (in Sweden) in developing the ISO-standard for Innovation Management. This was a worldwide co-operation. Today the involved professionals are organised, both nationally and internationally, in organisations like Innovationsledarna (Sweden) and PDMA (the Netherlands and other countries, like the USA). The ORIGINAL program will entertain a close co-operation with these organisations.
**) Developed by Henk Bremer in his role as Senior Vice President for Global Leadership Development for that organisation. Henk Bremer has, at his retirement early 2008, bought out this toolbox and he has further developed it since then. Some years ago, he moved to Zwolle and he has, together with a team of important influencers in this region, developed the ORIGINAL concept
The above picture with 'red balloons' shows us what has become of the 'blue layer' in the scheme that was called 'ecosystem for entrepreneurship': a number of local 'small gardens' with coached startups around the different coaching institutions. Not a real innovators ecosystem, thus...
The ORIGINAL program aims att using a common approach, setting up an innovators profile database and, important enough, support also Scale-Up organisations in creating their teams and growing their organisation, and by connecting innovators grow a regional innovators network.
The possibility of support to Scale-Up organisations is due to the regional innovators profile database, in which all innovative powers will be registered.
And the network promoting ORIGINAL activities will set the scene, when innovators meet each other, develop their profession and interconnect.
The Zwolle 'innovators community' will, by using the same standards for both individual and organisational development, gradually build it's common standards and use the same language.
In the coming half year we will start with the registration of innovative talent, startup entrepreneurship, Scale-up teams and innovative, entrepreneurial employees from other fast-growing organisations. The members of the ORIGINAL program, the Originals, will get the opportunity to accelerate their own personal development parallel to the development of their enterprises.
Young talent, while still being students, but eager to become entrepreneur, will probably just have the need for understanding their own talent (the report Your Crativity Mapped), while the individual partners in a fast growing enterprise will have the need for information about their own possible roles in the organisation and about how they themselves, together with their team members, can form a complete management team.
Also having insight in their own leaders talent and style is what they need.
Having insight in the quality ot the own communication, and it's pitfalls, is a necessity for everyone, when starting an enterprise.
The need for 'team effectiveness' is obvious for any management team. In such a team effectiveness learning process, the quality of the interaction between the team member is the first important issue to address.
A coherent and consistant interaction of the management team members with the different subteams is the next issue to address and the quality of the teams effort in creating the organisation's preconditions to play a role in the market and towards their customers is the third important issue.