San Francisco 2009
Summary
Digitalization, innovation and value creation in practice
Introduction and reflection
The San Francisco seminar in 2009 marked a clear shift in the understanding of digitalization and innovation. This was no longer a seminar characterized by technological optimism alone, but by sober experience. The financial crisis was fresh in our memories, and many of the companies we met were in the midst of demanding restructuring. That is precisely why 2009 became a decisive year: It was here that it became clear who had built real, long-term capacity, and who had relied on short-term gains and superficial digitalization.
For me personally, this seminar was a turning point. Not because it introduced revolutionary new technology, but because it confirmed a realization that would follow me in both the private and public sectors:
Digitalization is not a project. It is a continuous learning journey.
Main academic topics
Digitalization as a strategy – not as a measure
A recurring theme in 2009 was how digitalization needed to be understood as an integral part of business strategy, not as an IT initiative. Successful businesses had not outsourced responsibility for digital development to technology teams alone – they had embedded it in senior management, in organizational culture, and in day-to-day operations.
User data as a basis for decision-making
2009 was also the year that the term data-driven business took on real meaning. Not as a buzzword, but as a practice. The best organizations used user data to:
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understand actual behavior, not assumptions
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improve services step by step
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Give employees insights, not just reports
This was as true in highly commercial companies as in public and non-profit organizations.
Innovation from below – not on command
A clear distinction became visible:
Businesses that forced innovation from the top often failed.
Businesses that created space for innovation from below are more likely to succeed.
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Innovation occurred where employees:
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had confidence
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had time for reflection
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was rewarded for learning, not just for delivery
International perspectives
San Francisco 2009 showed a clear international pattern:
The most robust businesses were not necessarily the most capital-rich – but the most capable of learning.
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Across industries and national borders, we saw:
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flat structures rather than hierarchies
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multidisciplinary teams rather than silos
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leaders who asked questions, not just gave answers
Particularly interesting was how American businesses, despite a more market-liberal framework, in practice invested heavily in human capital – competence, culture and interaction.
Reflections and discussion:
The discussions in the groups revolved around how Norwegian businesses can draw inspiration from Silicon Valley without copying the model. We saw the need to build trust, collaboration and a learning culture as a framework for innovation – rather than believing that technology alone creates change.
What did we take home with us?
For me, the learning outcomes from 2009 were profound and lasting:
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That people are the most important capital, regardless of sector
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That employees who meet customers, users and residents daily have invaluable insight
That technology only creates value when it enhances human interaction, not replaces it
This was also the year in which the concept of Invisible Capital began to take shape – not as a theory, but as an experience.
Relevance today
Looking back from today's perspective, the 2009 San Francisco seminar appears almost prophetic.
Far too many businesses – including in Norway – are still struggling with:
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skipper roof management
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project-based digitalization
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short-term focus on delivery rather than learning
At the same time, we see that those who succeed:
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invests in employee competence
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uses user data systematically and ethically
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understands service as a core value, not an add-on
Digitalization and innovation are fundamentally not about money, but about:
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the ability to prioritize
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the ability to learn continuously
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the ability to see the person behind the numbers
Final reflection
The 2009 San Francisco seminar taught me that lasting value creation occurs in the encounter between people – between employee and customer, between organization and society. Capital is important, but without human insight, culture and long-term perspective, it is empty. This is learning that I still use – every single day.
Peder Inge Furseth
Peder Inge Furseth was a central academic driving force behind the San Francisco seminars and helped make the meeting with Silicon Valley relevant for Norwegian and European businesses. Through his role as professor at BI and as academic director of the program, he helped the participants put the lectures into a larger context – where technology, innovation, business development and people had to be seen in context.
In San Francisco, participants met entrepreneurs, researchers, technology leaders and investors from some of the world's most innovative environments. Furseth's strength was his ability to connect these experiences to practical challenges and opportunities in Norwegian businesses. He helped translate Silicon Valley's ideas and working methods into a Nordic context where collaboration, trust and long-term value creation are strong.
Throughout the entire seminar series, he was an important bridge builder between research, business and technology. For many participants, he therefore became more than a professional leader – he also became a mentor who inspired new thinking about innovation, digitalization and commercialization.
Read more about Peder Inge Furseth here
From studies and seminars to today's professional universe
The studies, seminars and field trips documented on this page are part of the knowledge base behind The Invisible Capital. Topics such as customers, technology, innovation, digitalization and value creation have followed developments over several decades – but the disciplines have also continued to develop.
At The Invisible Capital, we are therefore continuing to work on these questions in our own subject series. Here, we connect previous theory, research and experiences with newer knowledge, new technologies and today's challenges for people and businesses.
Innovation
Innovation is not just about new ideas. Value is created when knowledge, technology and ideas are developed into products, services, processes, organizational forms and business models that are actually used. The series on innovation goes from Schumpeter to modern innovation research and covers, among other things, incremental, radical, disruptive, open and user-driven innovation.
→ Explore the Innovation Series
The customer
The customer is not just the recipient of what the business produces. In a competitive market, the customer is a crucial determinant of whether the business actually succeeds in creating value. The series about the customer goes deeper into customer orientation, customer insight, customer experience, satisfaction, loyalty, trust and the encounter between people.
→ Read the subject series about the customer
Value creation
What does it really mean to create value – and who creates it? The series on value creation moves from economic theory and key researchers to a broader understanding of how people, expertise, institutions, businesses and the public sector contribute to value creation.
→ Read the series on value creation
Digitization
Digitalization has evolved from stand-alone technologies to a fundamental part of how businesses work and create value. The Digitalization from A–Z series follows developments through internet, web, e-commerce, search, UX, social, mobile, omnichannel, cloud, data, platforms and digital transformation – up to today’s AI First developments.
→ Read the series Digitization from A–Z
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents the next chapter in digital evolution. In our own AI universe, we investigate how artificial intelligence works, how AI finds and uses information, how it evaluates sources and websites, and what the development can mean for people, businesses, and value creation.
→ Go to the articles about artificial intelligence
Recommended literature
Internet Marketing and e-Commerce
A seminal book from the early eMarketing era written by Ward Hanson and Kirthi Kalyanam , the book shows how the Internet began to transform marketing, CRM, and digital commerce through new digital business models and customer journeys.
