Innovative value creation - lessons from the IPL

Sitting here watching the opening Indian Premier League [IPL] games this weekend made me realise how smart those guys and girls [that developed it] actually are. They have innovated to create something that is unleashing immense value.

iplWhat have they done? Think about it for a minute - there are some excellent lessons about value here for us. Here’s what stands out to me:

Blending a mixture of old and new to innovate

The Age-old game of cricket [about 400 years old]

+ professional sports marketing [fairly established]

+ a new exciting format [20/20 games - only a few years old]

= a brand new product

Very simple in theory, but it hadn’t been done before like this. They weren’t afraid to try it.

Sharing what they’ve created

Political instability in India meant that the IPL could not be held in India this year. So what did they do - simply move it to South Africa. They were not afraid to share the benefits of what they’ve created with another country - smartly realising that they would gain more by letting go than by cancelling the IPL season because they refuse to share the financial benefits.

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