Melt - The theory

As material and immaterial worlds melt, new business opportunities arise.

M i i k k a L e i n o n e n

#melt The Theory

Imagine the world as a box that contains everything we do,

sense, know, and imagine.

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The box can be divided in two.

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THIS IS THE MATERIAL WORLD

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THIS IS THE IMMATERIAL

WORLD

THIS IS THE MATERIAL WORLD

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ObjectsActions

Emotions

KnowledgeCompetences

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Defining qualities of these worlds?

SCARCITY

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SCARCITY

ABUNDANCE

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Immaterial can’t be owned, boxed, or protected.

Material can be controlled, repeated,

and measured.

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2NDMILLENNIUM

Business models of the

Business models of the

3RDMILLENNIUM

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Reasons Why companies are migrating towards the immaterial world?

3

OUR NEEDS ARE MORE IMMATERIAL.

1

Immaterial value has overtaken material value as a

competetive factor.

FIERCE GLOBAL COMPETITION IN THE MATERIAL

WORLD.

1

2Material world offers fewer ways for companies to outshine their rivals amid global competition.

TECHNOLOGY IS MELTING THE MATERIAL AND

IMMATERIAL WORLD. 2

1

Networked computing enables the creation of new services,

communication channels, and revenue generation. Companies

no longer necessarily need to manufacture material products.

3

How?3

Technology is melting worlds?

Immaterial elements are becoming more tangible.

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Thinking


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Emotions and thinking gain increasingly visible and concrete

forms of existence through, for example, the social media.

Emotions


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Emotions and thinking gain increasingly visible and concrete

forms of existence through, for example, the social media.

The material world is pushing into the immaterial world.

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Information


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News, entertainment, and information have begun to lose their one-sided, material form.

Services


As a company’s services become more immaterial,

immaterial elements like preferences become inseparable parts of the

service.

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3D Printing?


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3D-printable plans and models can be endlessly combined and

shaped in intangible form, and traded in both intangible and

tangible forms.

Technology has caused the material and immaterial worlds to increasingly overlap.

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Technology has caused the material and immaterial worlds to increasingly overlap.

melt

I decided to call this new world…

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Internet

melt

Melt has many names:

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Data networks

Servitization

Industrial InternetHome

automation

Sharing economy

Social media

AIInternet of

things

Digitalization

In melt the material and immaterial worlds interact constantly,

forming two loops.

IMMATERIAL

LOOP

MATERIAL LOOP

To be utilized as tools for innovation

and strategy, loops need to be divided up.

For example, information can be extracted from an object.

Elements become scalable and can be conveniently combined with other elements, creating

new innovation potential.

MAKES MATERIAL ELEMENTS INTANGIBLE.

Free

Melting has always had an effect on the material world.

For example, the digitalization of a company’s products soon influences the requirements

and success factors of the entire sector.

SHAPES THE MATERIAL WORLD.

Shape

Immaterial elements flow towards the material world.

Flow means turning elements into something that can be accessed and

shared by others.

MAKES IMMATERIAL ELEMENTS MORE TANGIBLE.

Flow

An immaterial loop amplifies immaterial elements, thrusting

them into motion. Some immaterial elements are

important amplifiers of the immaterial world. Boldness

creates boldness, love creates love.

AMPLIFIES THE IMMATERIAL WORLD.

Amplify

Let me give you an example…

Just had an exceptionally good run! And the weather was just perfect!

EXAMPLE

SmartphonesControl of fire, agriculture, the wheel, printing machine, steam machine, vaccinations… A smartphone may not exactly compare to these inventions, but it does represent a key innovation that defines our life as we know it.

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You buya smartphone.1

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The phone and apps provide information.2

Information creates knowledge, competences, and emotions.3

You buya smartphone.1

AUTONOMOUS ENRICHMENTDevices support human thinking and

action even when people don’t actively produce information.

This is calledA B C

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4 The phone affects your behavior.

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AUTONOMOUS ENRICHMENTDevices support human thinking and

action even when people don’t actively produce information.

This is calledA B C

Your behavior creates information. 5

PERSONAL ENRICHMENTPeople generate information, which is

then enriched back by their device.

This is calledA B C

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Information creates knowledge, competences, and emotions.6

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This is calledA B C

7You allow the phone to tap into your

competences and emotions.

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This is calledA B C

8 The phone affects your behavior.

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This is calledA B C

SOCIAL ENRICHMENTPeople produce information for each

other, which influences their thinking and behavior.

This is calledA B C

9People share information.

10Information multiplies knowledge, competences, and emotions.

11People share competences, experiences, and emotions.

12Other people’s emotions and competences affect your behavior.

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Learn to see the loops in your business, and you may find some surprising insight.

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You are now familiar with the basic theory behind melt.

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Don’t fix your strategy. Fix your philosophy.