We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Any corporation can act like a startup, MHI speaker says
newsworthy

Any corporation can act like a startup, MHI speaker says

October 3, 2017
Ben Ames
No Comments

Companies can overcome business challenges by acting like nimble startups even if they are actually large corporations, keynote speaker Josh Linkner told the Monday lunchtime crowd at the MHI Annual Conference in Boca Raton, Fla.

Leaders often face problems in budget, shipping, or distribution that look intractable, but can be overcome by highly creative solutions, said Linkner, who is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Ferndale, Mich.-based consulting firm Fuel Leadership LLC.

The core mindsets of startup leaders include the ability to borrow ideas from other sectors, to see opportunities where others see restrictions, and to believe that every barrier can be penetrated, Linkner said in a session titled "Entrepreneurial Fire: think and act like a startup (even if you're not)."

Leaders who think like startups can "judo-flip conventional wisdom" and find unexpected solutions to common problems, he said. In contrast, companies that become fixated on problems instead of solutions will never make headway. "Always keep innovating, because deer in headlights die," Linkner said.

One example is Jessica Matthews, a Harvard University student who in 2008 designed a soccer ball that generates electricity as kids kick it, Linkner said. The "Soccket" product was a quick way to solve the problem of residents of rural communities who were often forced to use loud, polluting diesel generators when their electrical power failed, he said. Matthews soon went on to found a company called Uncharted Play Inc. that distributes the ball and related devices.

In another example, the Dutch bicycle manufacturer VanMoof found that its electric bicycles were frequently damaged during shipping. VanMoof executives realized that delicate television sets with similar dimensions were seldom broken in transit, Linkner said. Instead of investing in expensive new packaging standards or "white glove" delivery, the company simply printed a picture of a plasma TV set on their cardboard shipping boxes. Because drivers thought they were transporting fragile items, they were more careful in handling them. Incidents of damaged shipments soon plummeted, the company said.

Linkner said any company can achieve superior results by relying on the innate abilities of its employees. Because human creativity can't be outsourced or automated, it is one resource that can never be depleted, he said.

"All of us are creative; we're hard wired that way," said Linkner. "If we could embrace that creativity we had [as kids], we would become unstoppable."

Publications & Associations
KEYWORDS MHI Uncharted Play VanMoof
  • Related Articles

    MHI speaker: Appoint a "chief disruption officer" for your company

    Hyster says it can handle any load, from ship to store

    Startup says its solution can prevent texting while driving

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Reimagining the TMS for the age of e-commerce

XPO says strong fourth quarter results show company has turned a corner from pandemic impacts

German trucking fleet Hegelmann launches U.S. division

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Walmart launches plan to build micro-DCs inside dozens of retail stores

  • Relaxed regulations for drone parcel delivery to take effect in March

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Increasing Urgency for Vaccine Supplies Drives Launch of New Vaccine Manufacturing Resources on Thomasnet.com

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

7d82a38f f300 4f37 aac7 93ec8a60c08a

Heads Up: Your CEO Could be Calling!

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
The challenge on the table is how to make the best of a tumultuous transportation market. Watch this video to hear some tips to consider. Check out last week's 2MW: https://blog.tranzact.com/2-minute-warning/note-to-ceos-dont-blame-the-logistics-department OTR with Peter Tirschewell, from the Journal of Commerce...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

  • Shaping Up Last Mile Delivery to Surpass Customer Expectations

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing