At first sight, tradition is not a genuine
source of innovation and dynamism. However, the Jura region, one of the most
peripheral areas of Switzerland, has a long tradition in watch making, and is
one of the most dynamic regions of the country. What might be the reason? A few
thoughts on leadership,
innovation, stakeholder-networks and tradition.
The news: According to a Credit Suisse study, the
Jura, one of the peripheral, rural areas of Switzerland, ranks among the top 5
of the most dynamic regions of our country http://snipurl.com/22lul1s.
Switzerland is often associated with banks, chocolate,
cheese and watches. Among the respective industries, the watch making industry
is the most dynamic presently. The Swatch-Group, mother of many world famous
brands, is growing rapidly, and presenting new record-breaking results. Growth
comes from all regions of the world, and from all
customer segments.
But not only the great market dominator, also many
smaller Swiss watch brands are very successful and dynamic. Many – or almost
all of them – are located in a peripheral area of Switzerland, where no one
would expect dynamic global industries. Some of the most delicate, complicated
and sought-after pieces are handcrafted to highest precision standards by
dedicated people with very specific skills and knowledge in the region of the
Jura mountains.
Asked for the reasons of success, one of their answers
is that there is no other place in the world, where so many people have had the
knowledge and tradition of watchmaking for such a long time. In many towns and
villages, watches have been made for more than 200 years.
Tradition may be a source of success, just as much as
it may be the reason for lethargy. So the question is how tradition can
contribute to success. Tradition is a form of sharing knowledge, not only
today, but also through generations. It is a form of sharing knowledge in a way
that cannot be replicated by the most sophisticated software. Tradition expands
the stakeholder network to the dimension of time.
In the case of watchmaking in the Jura, tradition is
the success-critical intangible asset of a whole region. It preserves
supra-individual inspirational resources that condense to creativity and even
to innovation if the right people are brought together, to follow the same
vision.
In the 1970ies and early 80ies, when cheap Japanese
quartz watches conquered the global markets, the Swiss watchmaking industry
almost disappeared. The watchmaking companies of the Jura regions lost their
license to innovate, as well as their license to compete, and people lost their
jobs. But most obviously, knowledge, tradition and specific skills survived. When
Nicolas Hayek, the founder of the Swatch Group reanimated the Swiss watch
industry from its coma, he could rely on what I previously called the
“supra-individual inspirational resources”.
Hayek was the core of condensation for the
resurrection of a whole industry, and a whole region. Of course, he was a
visionary leader. But visionary and charismatic individual leadership is not
the whole story. Leadership flourishes on the foundations, and out of a
specific culture and tradition, of shared knowledge. It emerges within a
stakeholder network that reaches out not only in space, but also in time.
Tradition, culture – “supra-individual inspirational
resources” – may trigger leadership, innovation and dynamics with people, in
regions where no one would expect them.
Christoph Weber-Berg
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