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GEARING UP FOR A TSUNAMI OF INNOVATIONS
One key theme at KONE has involved moving away
from a centralized approach to scouting for innovation
opportunities. “We need to immerse ourselves in
opportunities,” says Pihkala. For KONE, this means
inspiring all of its 50,000 employees to use their personal
and professional networks to prospect for ideas.
“We started getting many good partner proposals from
countries, but I want to see a bigger tsunami,” says Pihkala,
whose ambitions are not restricted to certain geographies.
“We need to tap into Silicon Valley, into southern India and
into Shanghai,” he says drawing a quick wish list for KONE.
The ultimate compass for the company’s innovation
journey is its innovation strategy. At KONE, this has also
brought about improvements in areas such as sales, finance
and other key functions that make the company more
competitive and improve customer value. /
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