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With the “set-your-own-price after reading” model, I gamble on readers’ fairness. If I am right, this bold distribution model represents a significant threat for traditional book publishers. By challenging publishers’ business model, this direct approach could encourage other authors to circumvent them too.
Simply: the book can be downloaded free of charge at www.winning-opportunities.org. Readers decide, after reading the book, what it is worth for them and so pay what they can afford. Deciding on the value after reading is a radical change of paradigm, not to be confused with donations or shareware, that can affect the entire publishing industry 10% of what readers pay for this book goes to support entrepreneurship education as well as job creation.
The absence of publisher means that I must rely on viral marketing tools to build awareness. A complete strategy has been designed to inform potential readers. It relies on LinkedIn and Facebook as well as on a series of other viral components. If successful, this strategy could become a model of innovative web 2.0 marketing that others will be able to replicate. This may even become the subject of another book…
I wrote the book in Geneva, Switzerland, and in many airplanes/trains, on the go. Since English is not my mother tongue, I have asked a British expert proofreader located in the South of France to make the appropriate corrections. The cover page was designed in Montreal. The book layout was made in Australia. The Kindle and iPad/ePub versions were converted in India. The website was designed in Serbia and the hardcopy publisher is located in the USA. In other words this simple book, a 200-page guide to seizing opportunities -jokes included-, mobilized resources on 4 of the 5 continents, all managed remotely from tiny Switzerland.
Despite any evidence to the contrary, a management book does not have to be serious, and so I have also taken the liberty of breaking this rule by including an entertainment factor and inserting a joke at the beginning of each chapter to illustrate or help anchor its content—or indeed simply entertain the reader in a relevant way. These jokes I call “Metaphors” because of the “philosophical” nature of the idea they convey. Readers of the French edition often stated that they were looking forward to reading the next joke… J
Humor is a key component of my life. My lectures and training sessions are always filled with hilarious videos that help the audience remember what is being discussed. I even moderate a joke distribution list where subscribers receive free of charge funny videos and jokes (people can subscribe on www.supercohen.com). So many enthusiastic testimonials have come in from people who have used the IpOp Model for launching a new initiative, promoting an intrapreneurial project or creating a start-up, that there is no doubt about the impact that the IpOp Model has had on their career. A large majority of the participants who have attended my training sessions in large corporations have been promoted. Why? Because the model helped them demonstrate their ability to innovate and act as change agents.
The executive education programs exploiting the IpOp Model have delivered a measurable return on investment for the companies and organizations that have implemented them (from multinational corporations to hospitals). Since such training brings in more money than its cost, it means that education is no longer a cost but a profit center.
Many examples are available to show the impact that the IpOp Model has had on boosting innovation in diverse organizations. The content of this book encapsulates some of the key messages I have been teaching in corporate environments since 2001. After ten years of positive feedback, concrete results and repeat clients there is no doubt that the IpOp Model delivers results. Companies like Nestlé, Oracle, Microsoft, sanofi-aventis, Orange, Deutsche Telecom, PARC (Xerox) as well as banks or public sector organizations are convinced users.
Also presented in this book are the five pillars of Management by Opportunity. By effectively outlining ways to successfully promote intrapreneurial behavior and mindsets within an organization, it enables executives in any organization to boost its innovation capabilities. Ultimately, Management by Opportunity empowers employees to become proactive change agents who bring real competitive advantages to their employer while increasing their level of engagement to the company. My experience is that it fits Generation Y’s expectations.
The book proposes an alternative to business plans. Before “Winning Opportunities” and its earlier French version “Concevoir et lancer un projet”, there was apparently no alternative to convince decision-makers. Business plans were the “least bad” option to sell an opportunity. The business plan is an excellent corporate tool for converting a strategic analysis into an action plan. In addition, it is a very good vehicle to teach entrepreneurship. But this does not make it the appropriate instrument to analyze an opportunity or to convince decision-makers.
The two-step approach, Opportunity Case followed by an Implementation Plan, as explained in “Winning Opportunities, proven tools for converting your projects into success (without a business plan)” might become the next best practice for convincing decision-makers, replacing the traditional (and painful) business plan. It is based on the investors’ mental decision tree presented in the book. The Opportunity Case is now used by organizations as their standard decision-making process to more rigorously allocate resources to projects or new initiatives, regardless of their innovation content. The Geneva University Hospitals have, for instance, already implemented a customized version of this mechanism.
Book Factoids (top)· Book website: http://www.winning-opportunities.org ( please link to this in articles )
· Title: Winning Opportunities, Proven tools for converting your projects into success (without a business plan)
· Formats: 201 pages (for the PDF version), available in the following formats: PDF, Kindle and ePub (iPad/iPhone)
· Author: Raphael H Cohen
· Publication date: ebook release: July 11, 2011. Worlwide
· Publisher: Management Boosters, a division of Getratex SA, 7, avenue Krieg, 1208 Geneva, Switzerland
Pictures with captions (cover, author, illustrations...)(top)
Who should read "Winning Opportunities" ? This book has been written for people who belong to one (or more) of the following groups: Decision makers and board members who Executives and managers who want to contribute to their organization and boost their own career through innovation and intrapreneurial behaviour. The content of the book should help them become change agents Innovators, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs desiring to present their project to their superiors or decision-makers in a more convincing manner Marketing, R&D and business development experts who need a structured model to supervise and assess projects at the “ideation” stage Fundraisers and anyone involved in non-profit or public sectors, to help them obtain more support for their projects or initiatives Project Managers interested to master the ideation or pre-project stage People in charge of licensing and technology transfer who must assess the benefits of a new discovery before deciding to patent or license it. Public sector executives who want to promote dynamism and constructive change in their department Students studying entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship and innovation Anyone allergic to failure because the IpOp Model reduces the chances of failure for any existing or future project Anyone who wants to increase the chances of success of existing or future projects Anyone with a sense of humor (although there is no obligation to read the jokes!). What this book is about (top)This book finally gives innovators an alternative to the painful writing of business plans. Not only an alternative but also a more effective, faster and easier way to convince investors and decision makers: the Opportunity Case is a more user-friendly way of analyzing and presenting a project, which has been quickly adopted by those who have been exposed to it.
It also addresses a central problem in existing businesses: many people have good ideas but very few of these innovations are actually implemented. The content of this book proposes the first practical process that has been demonstrated to boost innovation by up to 56%.
“Winning Opportunities” presents the IpOp Model, which models, in a very concrete and down-to-earth way, the core process of innovation that successful entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs use, even unconsciously. The model acts as a simple hands-on roadmap for innovators who want to increase their chances of success. The book contains a large number of real-life examples that are also a source of inspiration to the readers.
Besides helping start-up initiators, the IpOp Model improves and complements the existing innovation selection process used by large organizations (staged gate, six sigma, etc.). The IpOp Model may become a best practice for innovation to the same extent that the “six sigma” model has become a best practice for quality improvement.
Table of content (top)
Press release (top)Innovative pricing model for a new book on innovation
Geneva, Switzerland, 11 July 2011-- Today’s web launch of “Winning Opportunities, proven tools for converting your projects into success (without a business plan)” gives innovators an energizing, witty guide with an established alternative to writing a business plan, more effective at convincing investors and decision-makers. It is the first use of the new “set-your-own-price” business model applied to a management book. .
The reader can download (www.winning-opportunities.org) and read the book free of charge before deciding what s/he wants to pay; 10% of the payment goes to support job creation and entrepreneurship education worldwide (www.winning-opportunities.org/whowesupport) The “set-your-own-price” formula was pioneered by other industries, including music (e.g. Radiohead’s album, In Rainbows), restaurants and hotels. Prof. Raphael H. Cohen states “I trust readers. They will pay what they can afford, according to what they think “Winning Opportunities” is worth for them and their future”.
In this book, the rigorous IpOp Model, which describes the intuitive core process of innovation behind successful entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, is presented. This structured and user-friendly roadmap helps innovators turn an idea into a tangible opportunity, outline measurable deliverables, learn how to address all the key issues critical to the success of their project, and identify early in the process whether an opportunity is worth pursuing.
To illustrate its concepts, a large number of real-life examples are included as inspiration to the reader. Nespresso’s strategy is used throughout the book to demonstrate each key step of the IpOp Model. It is the first description of the strategy that shaped the fascinating success story of Nespresso, a $3-billion business with double-digit annual growth. Both Nespresso and IpOp Model were developed in Switzerland, recently ranked No 1 in innovation worldwide.
Since learning is easier when emotions are included in the process, each chapter is preceded by a joke
illustrating its serious content. This witty business book delivers invaluable lessons without being dry or boring. The IpOp Model analysis complements and brings improvement to various existing selection processes available to decision-makers, such as stage gate or six sigma. Capitalizing on the comprehensive Decision Tree – as identified and described by the author – the IpOp Model enables decision makers to allocate resources to projects more efficiently, thereby increasing their return on investment. Its application is not restricted to innovation; it is relevant to any project or request for resources. The IpOp Model has been successfully used by multinational corporations like Nestlé, Microsoft, Oracle, sanofi-aventis, banks and industrial companies, as well as by startups and hospitals.
Author Professor Raphael H Cohen, Ph. D. is a successful serial entrepreneur. He teaches innovation in business schools and customized executive education programs, and is academic director of the entrepreneurship specialization of the MBA of the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
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