2. Agenda
Today, we’ll look at some seemingly disparate concepts, and draw them
together:
Innovation and motivation
Detour I…The “Innovator’s Dilemma”
Detour II…The “Fractal” mindset to drive innovation in the context of the
organization
“The Godfather” as a model for driving innovation and change
Lessons learned at the frontline: Culture and situational awareness
Project, product, and solution companies
Bringing it all together through “joined-up” thinking
Finally, time-permitting, we’ll discuss fractals and artificial life as a potential model
for organizations
Please feel free to ask questions as we go
3. So, You Want to Have an Impact?
Explore deeply and personally what “impact” means to you
Is it: Execute on established paths for change and innovation?
Is it: Define & shape change and innovation?
Is it: A seat of considered wisdom at the C-level table?
If not, what does impact mean to you?
Surprises in motivation…
Money? Yes…and no.
For creative tasks, higher rewards can lead to lower performance…
Impact
Mastery
Self-direction
Optionally: RSA Motivation Video
4. Intrapreneur
Defined
In 1992, the American Heritage Dictionary acknowledged the popular use of a
new word, intrapreneur, to mean:
“A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for
turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-
taking and innovation”
Source: Wikipedia
5. Detour I…The Innovator’s Dilemma (ID)
Ground-breaking book by Clayton M. Christensen:
How “good” companies can do everything “right” and still lose market leadership, or
disappear altogether!
Incremental vs. disruptive innovation:
Incumbents tend to pursue incremental (“listen to customer”)
New entrants pursue disruptive
Low-end disruptions eventually gain market share:
New entrant, inferior at first, crawls “up-market”
Later, incumbent loses market share, and often misses opportunity
Examples:
5.25” 3.5” Disks
Minicomputers PC’s
Desktop publishing
6. The Innovator’s Dilemma Visualized
10% Growth = $10M
Incumbent
Features, Value, etc.
• Listens to the customer
• Inferior product…at first
• Incremental innovation
• Mostly ignored by market and incumbent
• Organization optimized for high price point
• Pursue low-end features
• But, add more over time…
New
Entrant 10% Growth = $100K
$ (Cost, Price, etc.)
7. The Innovator’s Dilemma Visualized
Incumbent
• Perceived as legitimate in mid-market
Features, Value, etc.
• Converts some customers from
incumbent…others notice and may follow
• Eventually begins to threaten incumbency
New Entrant
$ (Cost, Price, etc.)
8. Another View of the ID End State
Typical Incumbent Strategy:
- Sustain Market Share
- Sustain Customer Satisfaction
ID Impact:
- Lose Market Share
- Decrease Customer Satisfaction
- Struggle to Recover
Organizational Scale (Typically, Time)
9. Detour II…Fractals: Emergent Complexity from Recursive Simplicity
The Koch Snowflake & Coastlines
“Self-similarity”
11. Fractal Examples In Practice
Social Networks
Programming/Project
Methodologies
Digital Image Compression
Cell Phone Antenna
12. Fractal Behaviors of an Organization Drive Emergent Results and Culture
Executive Sponsorship vs. Sleepership
Emergent project results (Good or Bad)
Information/Knowledge Silos
In retrospect, can observe small factors that
Roles and Responsibilities
compounded to the final result (Good or Bad)
Responsibilities and Authority
Can observe self-similar behaviors at differing
Commitment and Accountability scales
Performance Metrics Company “culture” is emergent
Etc.
Elementary Organizational Emergent
Behaviors Structure Outcomes
13. Fractals: Not Always What You Might Expect
Fractal geometry will make you see everything differently. There is a danger in reading further.
You risk the loss of your childhood vision of clouds, forests, flowers, galaxies, leaves, feathers,
rocks, mountains, torrents of water, carpet, bricks, and much else besides. Never again will
your interpretation of these things be quite the same.
— Michael F. Barnsley
Fractals Everywhere (2000)
14. OK, so you want to be an Agent of Change
Regularly evidence deep understanding to Execs/C-levels
What it takes to execute an idea in a company/industry context
Know thy personal and company culture
Create a shared “sense of urgency” through communications
Gain awareness of “fractal” behaviors and weigh against desired project outcomes
Only “joined up” thinking makes it happen
Generate results…tangible and intangible
Projects, products, and solutions execute with highest success probability
Company and deliverables are crisply branded
Build resilient trust with Execs/C-levels
Executive sponsorship vs. “sleepership”
“The Godfather” consigliere as a model
15. Execution and Communication in Context
Understand
Industry trends and causal relationships
Competitive, revenue, profitability, and growth impacts
Get into stakeholder’s heads
The CEO’s
The customer’s
Others (internal and external)
Navigate any dual/mixed C-level roles
CIO reports to CFO
Dual CTO/CEO role
Who really drives change/innovation?
Engineering vs. product management (projects vs. products)
Be forward thinking, but balance tactics and strategy
If you only listen to customers, then you will only be as smart as them
For disruptive innovation, paradigm shifts must be “on the table”
16. Know Thy Personal and Company Culture
Alignment is essential in any organization
Clear definitions of roles and responsibilities
Project administrators vs. project managers
Useful process vs. worship of process
“Centers of excellence” delivery and metrics
Commensurate responsibilities and authority
Misalignment can lead to overly political environments
Join commitment and accountability
The union builds on what we know about motivation
Is it a Project, Product, or Solution based company?
Core to understanding what/how change and innovation can/will occur
17. Organizational Maturity Model: Projects, Products, or Solutions?
Recognize that everyone says they want a solution
Projects
Customer says “Jump!”, and company says “How high?”
Company brand centered in capability to execute
Products
Company willing to gently say “no” to customers
Typically “market” driven
Solutions
Company says, “We are all things to all people.”
Bring together People, Process, Technology
Professional services consumes/customizes company products
Typically viewed as “end-to-end” by customer
So, which type is your personal sweet-spot? Is it aligned with the company’s?
Note: Projects and products do not play well together
if they share execution resources.
18. Project, Product, Solution Visualized
Typical Incumbent Strategy:
Leadership Changes - Sustain Market Share
Typically Required - Sustain Customer Satisfaction
“Solution”
• Core engineering builds product
• Professional services handles customization
• Business scales in products and services
“Product” ID Impact:
- Lose Market Share
• Build what the “market” wants - Decrease Customer Satisfaction
• OK. We need a “platform” and API gate-keeper - Struggle to Recover
“Project” •
•
Truly, have a “product”
Still, can we service mass customization?
• Build whatever customer specifies
• “Recreate the wheel” several times
• Eventually, claim a “product”
• Suffer code fragmentation Organizational Scale (Typically, Time)
• How do we contend with NRE-based business scaling issues?
19. Bringing it All Together – “Joined Up” Thinking
Understand current company projects, products, and solutions
Projects
Leverage knowledge of present “organizational maturity”
In company cultural context, is the change/innovation realistic?
Is it worth the professional risk? Solutions Products
Truly “partner” with people/teams/organizations to bring it about
Think like a developer, project manager, CEO, etc.
Politics of change: Create buy-in
No buy-in = No change
Assert with passion and create excitement
Be proactive, not reactive
Take reasonable risks, but mitigate
Change is hard: Empathize, but don’t fully sympathize
Appeal to the “arrogance” of others (by making it their idea!)
Ultimately, “Developers own the code”
20. Communications: Create a “Shared Sense of Urgency”
Facilitate joined up organizational thinking/execution
Partner with Marketing for communications
Internal communications
Be crisp and clear about why it is urgent (“an offer they can’t refuse…”)
Does everyone share the vision, or just versions of it?
Authorized internal communications can serve as a lock-in
Care and feed the messaging, don’t abandon it
External communications
Media and trade shows must reflect the change/innovation
Align or revise branding strategy, as required
21. Finally, Claim Your Seat at the Table
Significant change/innovation rollouts typically have material impact on company
The stakes can be high
Successful change agent championing is usually career-making
Failure to execute (for any reason) can create a stigma for those that championed
While execution of an idea is almost everything, its not the only thing
Don’t burn too many bridges, as you will need them to come along next time
And, contrary to “The Godfather”, a carefully placed horse head won’t quite do it…
22. Today, We Covered…
Some seemingly disparate concepts, and drew them together:
Innovation and motivation
The “Innovator’s Dilemma”
The “Fractal” Mindset to drive innovation in the context of the organization
“The Godfather” as a potential model for driving innovation and change
Lessons learned at the frontline: Culture and situational awareness
Project, product, and solution companies
Bringing it all together through “joined-up” thinking
23. Thank You for Participating Today
Questions & Answers
Steve Gladstone, spglad@hotmail.com
Your comments & suggestions are welcomed