Fujitsu at Thinkers50Ideas, hope and the importance of innovation
Article｜2023-12-20
6 minute read
Innovation is central to Fujitsu’s purpose, and to solving the challenges that face our societies. Fujitsu is proud to support the Thinkers50 Innovation Award, presented last month in London. SVP Ichiro Aoyagi reflects on the event and the importance of innovation.
From problems to opportunities, and from ideas to hope
There are many ways to define innovation. But one thing is always true. Any journey we make to solve a problem, or make something better, always starts with a single idea.
With this in mind, I was delighted to attend the Thinkers50 Awards Gala, in London in November, and spend time with some of the world’s best business thinkers.
The event, held every two years, recognises original management thinking and ideas. But if this wasn’t reason enough for attending, I was proud to be there to present the Thinkers50 Award for Innovation on behalf of Fujitsu.
Fujitsu has supported the Innovation Award at the Thinkers50 for over a decade, presenting awards to previous winners Vijay Govindarajan, Scott Anthony and Linda Hill.
Out of the many awards presented on the night, why do we choose to support this one?
Innovation is not only something we value at Fujitsu but is our reason for being in business. As a company with a long history, we have been able to remain relevant to our customers by finding new problems to solve and new ways to innovate. From a product manufacturing company to a solution services company, we are now changing to be a Sustainability Transformation company.
Delivering sustainability starts with understanding problems and challenges. We need wisdom and knowledge to see clearly what our priorities should be and where the solutions come from. Thinkers therefore give us hope. This for me is why ideas are so important.
Sheena Iyengar, who I presented this year’s Innovation Award to, is the embodiment of someone who brings hope.
She is the inaugural S.T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Division at Columbia Business School and she has written many books on choice and decision-making. Here she was being recognised for her latest book ‘Think Bigger: How to Innovate’.
It is a framework for thinking more effectively, having better ideas, and making them real. Professor Iyengar is a true inspiration and thoroughly deserving of the award.
