First Published In The Music & Sound Retailer’s October 2007 Issue.
If we had to sum up the NAMM Global Summit VI in one word, it would be “innovation.” With that said, what better person could NAMM have than Robert Tucker, president of the Innovation Resource, as one of its keynote speakers? Tucker asked the 80 in attendance at the event, taking place from Aug. 22 to 24 at the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, Calif, “Where does innovation come from?”
One way is what he called “happy accidents,” or “serendipity,” when we come up with an idea by mistake. He cited several examples. However, Tucker added you don’t need to wait for happy accidents. He said four things are necessary to promote innovation: 1. Making innovation a manageable process. 2. Implementing idea management systems. 3. Collaborating with partners and customers. 4. Involving everyone in the process.
“Innovation is the way we create new value,” he said. “Take Ryanair for instance. The airline actually has been giving away free seats. But it charges for every amenity. If you want your bags checked, that’s $9 please.”
Tucker added that every innovator he has spoken to always thought there had to be a better way to achieve something and had a voracious appetite for new ideas. “Ideas can come in the shower or while you’re driving,” he said. “Then there are what I call ‘Doug Days.’ I named it after a person named Doug, who decided the best way for him to innovate was to take a day every month and go sailing. Make an appointment with yourself. Answering e-mails, phone calls, and having appointments all day can [rob] the innovation process. A Gallup survey revealed we receive an average of 200 e-mails per day, 36 phone calls, and 23 voice mails.”
Tucker asked the audience—primarily consisting of supplier decision makers as well as retailers including Denny Senseney, Tom Schmitt, Kevin Cranley, and Stephen West—to cultivate the culture to innovate. Many ideas come from employees in non-management positions. “You need to be willing to reward failure,” he said.
Mark Thompson, author of the book Success Built to Last, continued the same theme during the last day of the event. “World-class leaders are experts at harvesting failure,” he said. He also picked up another theme of the summit with the “dirty little secrets of innovation.” “There are a few traits of world leaders we didn’t expect,” he said. “One is they become experts at setting expectations. And [regarding] innovation, it takes a leap of faith; a tolerance for controversy; be prepared for the fact some won’t make the journey with you; be willing to not be right every time; and focus on a few things. Don’t try to excel at everything.”
Thompson added that decision makers can follow the advice of Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer, whom he interviewed. Thompson said Dell went from “first to worst,” in its industry, especially regarding customer service. To avoid that, “Success is not a good teacher,” Dell said. “Most organizations lost the plot after being successful.
“Make it safe to experiment and fail,” he added. “And innovate as if your life depends on it before it does depend on it.”
The Case for RMM
When the summit’s focus shifted to how to grow the market in the next 10 years, recreational music making was discussed extensively. Dr. Karl Bruhn, chairman of Yamaha’s Music and Wellness Group, explained that MI needs something like the movement that propelled aerobics into the wellness spotlight. “The studies we have connecting the link between music and wellness have been peer-reviewed and haven’t been challenged,” said Dr. Bruhn. “More than 70 percent of doctor’s office visits are stress related, including colds when the immune system is weakened. Music making is good for you. Do salesmen ever promote the health benefits of making music in the stores?”
On a broader scale, India is another place we can see massive growth during the next 10 years and beyond. Soumen Bagchi, who moved to the United States from India two years ago, mentioned India has 1.027 billion people now, with 550 million under the age of 25. And unlike many other countries, India’s 0- to 49-year-old population is expected to grow massively until 2030. And the economy is growing massively as well. Goldman Sachs’ BRIC report, which discusses the financial prospects in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, said not only does India have an 8 percent growth rate, but it is expected to grow 5 percent until 2050. Although these facts about India perhaps don’t affect your business directly, one factor Bagchi discussed does. The country can become a good manufacturing destination in the future. So although we’ve all seen “Made in China” stickers on products, will you someday be selling many instruments made in India?
Speaker David Price looked at other ways to grow the industry. “The best way to attract new customers is to expand the 11- to 16-year old customer base,” he said. “One in three adolescents playing a musical instrument is a realistic goal. Right now, one in 10 do. How do we close the gap?”
Price’s answer was to find why teenagers stop playing music and what they really want. Price conducted studies to find out in his native England, and learned these are among the things kid musicians want: “Hands on experience with real instruments; they want to choose the music studied; they want to play ‘real’ music; they want to work in groups with friends; minimally invasive learning; and regular opportunities to perform and publish their work.”
Although the summit focused on the future, it didn’t forget the present. Chris Larkin of Red Octane, a division of Activision, discussed the possibilities for collaborations between his company, manufacturer of the immensely popular “Guitar Hero,” with MI. According to Larkin, video games are a robust $7.4 billion industry, and 3 million copies of “Guitar Heroes” have been sold. “We want to build the industry more by getting into new types of music.”
That opens the possibility for “Drum Hero” and video games correlated to other instruments.