Go to where the puck is going, not to where it has been.
Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky, the world's best ice hockey player.
A Pretty DIG Christmas letter
The time since March 2020 has forced us all to explore new areas - areas that we believe are better for society, business, ourselves, and others.
Many employees have taken up the challenge of working from home. While the hybrid form of work has come to stay, the permanent solution is still in the making. The discussion is very timely.
Managers have sought new ways to create and capture value by adopting new production methods, new distribution methods, new ways of charging for goods and services, and new ways of communicating value. We call it innovation.
For example, the retail trade has found new ways to make itself available by developing efficient e-commerce solutions and new "last mile" forms of distribution. Professional service providers such as psychologists, pastors, doctors, teachers, and professors use video conferencing in meetings with clients, fellow believers, patients, pupils, and students. Everything is very timely.
Bergen municipality has kept the wheels in motion despite a shutdown of society and home office. To be able to maintain a full-fledged service offer despite all of this, calls for respect.
Gjensidige is in the process of "redefining" itself as a sustainable and re-use-oriented company in non-life insurance. The right thing to do!
Posten's new commercial about how they help Santa Claus with the distribution of Christmas packages so that he can spend more time with the one he loves, was very timely.
COOP and Norway Post cooperated and within weeks Coop had in place a home delivery service of goods ordered online to almost 80% of Norway's population. Impressive.
Telenor has developed fast and safe network solutions for data traffic that form the highway for most of the innovations and communication between companies, people, and objects based on AI, 5G, and IoT. This shows responsibility.
In the DIG research center, we applaud these innovative solutions. Our task is not to come up with practical solutions, but to support leaders and others in their many choices for good future solutions with a background in what the research literature or our research says about the decision one is facing. Nothing is as practical as a good theory!
Through several projects, together with one or more partners, we explore in DIG four research areas that are important for the partners to position themselves for the future; 1) adoption of new digital services; 2) digitization and innovation in business models; 3) strategies in and for ecosystems, and 4) endurance capacity in larger companies. New this year is that NHH has made an AI server available to us to explore the potential areas of this technology in a "business context".
We look forward to 2022. A year that will be as exciting as 2021. The difference may be that we have all somewhat stronger legs to stand on in terms of a little better digital competence, a little more flexibility in where we work, and a little more insight into change, sustainability, and profitability.
The latter was the theme for "The HUB Summit 2021" which on 3 and 4 November gathered almost all the top leaders among the DIG partners for dinner, round table discussion, professional seminar, and meeting with students. The experiences were undividedly positive.
To further strengthen the link between technological inventions and commercialization in a digital age, we are now exploring, together with our research partner, the Norwegian Open AI Lab (NAIL) at NTNU, to arrange "The HUB Summit 202x" by annually alternating between NAIL / NTNU and DIG / NHH as hosts. Very innovative and timely.
We wish all members of The HUB@NHH, and DIG and RaCe partners, including KPMG as our new strategic partner in 2022, a peaceful Christmas and a new year filled with excellent conversations, excellent meetings, and excellent projects that will bring us all closer to an innovative and sustainable future.
From all of us to all of you!
Happy holidays