Rapid Growth, Disruptive Innovation & Execution

RAPID
GROWTH,
DISRUPTIVE
INNOVATION
& EXECUTION
Uncommonly Applied
Common Sense
Building Blocks
©April 2017 Michael Tan All Rights Reserved

"No problem can be
solved from the same
level of consciousness
that created it.“
~ Albert Einstein
2

OLD SCHOOL FUNNIES
Today’s episode: Running In Circles
Featuring…
Jane the
Project
Manager
Mary from
Marketing
Jason
from
Logistics
Karl the
Developer
Wendy
from
Digital
Wendy makes a suggestion…
We really need to be more
responsive to our customers
through this top priority
initiative that everyone else in
the market is working on.
Here we
go
again…
Well, Amazon’s already
piloting this offering
locally. We’ve gotta do
something!
Jason
never
gets it…
continued…
Do you know how much this is going to
cost the warehouse? No one needs
that kind of service level!
Jason plays the cost card…
3

Mary appeals to a her focus group results… …but Karl plays his developer card.
I think there’ll be a problem
between ERP and every other
system we have; this request
will require 12 months of
development…even before we
touch the website. And I’d
need all requirements clearly
defined and documented
before I commit any
resources.
I hate my
life…
continued…
Oh, our customers don’t
expect us to be that fast…I
don’t think. Just a little
better and just in Toronto.
Don’t worry about other
regions. Let’s not spend too
much on this.
Well, what does everyone
think?
Karl
never
gets it…
Mary from
Marketing
Wendy
from
Digital
Jane the
Project
Manager
4

4 weeks later, Amazon announces a global
roll-out…
Meanwhile at Amazon…
OK. We didn’t anticipate this.
The customers are loving
Amazon’s new offering. I think
it’d be best if we were better
than Amazon across the entire
country. Let’s spend whatever it
takes. This remains a top
priority. What does everybody
think now?
Six months later…
Did we ever make a decision on a
solution?
I don’t know, but I’ve got all my
resources on developing user
interfaces for our Big Data
initiative. I was told it’s a top
priority. I don’t have the
budget to work on anything else
until the next fiscal year.
Here we
go
again…
I hate my
life…
I hate my
life…
5

Your top 3 barriers to
maximum growth in your
department can’t be
barriers next year, so here’s
XX million dollars!
With this and the 20,000
product releases this
week, I’m gonna “turn up”
and produce something
next level for the
customer twice as fast…
The End
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with
actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Special thanks to Steve Krug, author of “Don’t Make Me Think” for the comic strip formatting idea.
Hundo P!
I’ll have a releasable product
increment ready to review in
2 weeks!
6

Amazon’s Approach To Innovation Isn’t a Secret
7
“If you decide that you’re
going to do only the things
you know are going to work,
you’re going to leave a lot of
opportunity on the table.”
~ Jeff Bezos

Netflix’ People Manifesto Can Be Found Online
8
“Most companies that are great at
something - like AOL dialup or Borders
bookstores –
do not become great at new things
people want (streaming for us)
because they are afraid to hurt their
initial business.”
~ Reed Hastings

Zara’s Model Is Open For Everyone To Study
9
"We cannot limit ourselves to
continuing on the path we
have already opened… .“
~ Amancio Ortega

…Yet Many Companies Are Either
Uninterested And/Or Incapable of
Emulating Disruptive, Rapid Growth
Companies.
Why?
10

Research Approach…
What are the building blocks that rapid growth,
disruptive companies have in place to breed
innovative thought and excel at execution? 11

The Four Building Blocks of Innovation
3 4
1 2
12

On Innovation…some levity
13

The First Building Block Of Innovation:
Create An Environment That Drives
Innovation
1
14

Create An Environment
That Drives Innovation
A. An agile approach and it’s organization is simply
part of the environment’s DNA and is applied to
everything applicable
B. People processes are obsessively built around
recruiting, engaging & retaining innovative thinkers
and doers
C. There are no limitations to where innovative thought
originates - innovation labs, accelerators…or the
most junior of product managers
D. MOST IMPORTANTLY The c-suite & the board are
made up of innovative thinkers and doers!
1
15

The Second Building Block Of Innovation:
Think Ahead …Way Ahead…Unconstrained
2
16

Think Ahead …Way Ahead
…Unconstrained
“I don't think that you can invent on behalf of customers
unless you're willing to think long-term, because a lot of
invention doesn't work.
…and if you're going to fail, you have to think long term.”
~ Jeff Bezos
2
17

…Unconstrained
A. Be obsessed with delighting the customer
and anticipating dynamic needs
tomorrow,
next year,
10 years,
20 years from now…
2
“As a company, you need to get to the future first, ahead of your customers, and be
ready to greet them when they arrive.” ~ Marc Benioff 18

…Unconstrained
B. Stay miles ahead of the competition
through execution excellence…of frequent
releases of minimum lovable products
C. Size for long-term rapid growth – not just
the next 2-3 quarters
2
19

The Third Building Block Of Innovation:
Have, Know & Live By A Set of Crystal
Clear Leadership Principles & Values
3
20

Clear Leadership Principles & Values 3
“Now you want diversity
– you want diversity of backgrounds and age –
but you don’t want diversity of values.”
~ Brian Chesky
21

# of employees:
Amazon: 300,000
Zara: 160,000
Expedia: 20,000
Netflix: 4,000
Airbnb: 2,000
A disruptive, rapid
growth enterprise
would be in chaos if
the entire organization
didn’t beat to the same
rhythm in the form of
core values
3
22

• We Believe In Being
Different
• We Lead Humbly
• We Are Transparent
• We Organize For Speed
• We Believe In The
Scientific Method
• We Act As One Team
3
Expedia’s Cultural Norms
23

• Be A Host
• Champion The Mission
• Every Frame Matters
• Be a “Cereal” Entrepreneur
• Simplify
• Embrace The Adventure
3
Airbnb’s Core Values
24

• Judgment
• Communication
• Impact
• Curiosity
• Innovation
• Courage
• Passion
• Honesty
• Selflessness
3
Netflix’ People Values
25

• Vertical Integration
• Customer Driven
• Speed to Market
3
Zara’s Core Values
26

• Customer Obsession
• Ownership
• Invent & Simplify
• Are Right, A Lot
• Learn & Be Curious
• Hire & Develop The Best
• Insist On The Highest
Standards
• Think Big
• Bias For Action
• Frugality
• Earn Trust
• Dive Deep
• Have Backbone; Disagree &
Commit
• Deliver Results
3
Amazon’s 14 Guiding Principles
27

The difference between these companies and
others?
• Core values aren’t just a poster on the
boardroom wall
• They’re not just visited at every performance
review
• Every one regardless of level or position can
rhyme off the values, knows how to apply
them, applies them, and believes that
leadership holds themselves accountable too
3
28

How many employees at traditional
companies can even simply rhyme off their
company’s core values?
3
9/9
29

The Fourth Building Block of Innovation:
The Environment, Long Term Thinking and
Values MUST Be Driven From The Very Top
4
30

ALL Of The Above MUST Be
Driven From The Very Top
The CEO AND CHAIRMAN MUST be the drivers
of making sure the 3 building blocks of
innovation are part of an organization’s DNA…
4
the CMO
the CTO
the CFO
the COO
the Head of HR
Or anyone underneath
31

ALL Of The Above MUST Be
Driven From The Very Top
The entire organization, of course, must
espouse an innovative and rapid deployment
mindset, but it starts from the very top.
4
32

Core
Values
Driven
From The
Top
Innovative
Environment
Unconstrained
Long Term
Thought
33
The Four Building Blocks of Innovation

On Execution…
“It doesn’t matter how
great your original
product or idea is,
if you can’t build a great
company, then your
product will not
endure.”
~ Brian Chesky
34

The Four Building Blocks of Execution
3 4
1 2
36

The First Building Block Of Execution:
Begin With Mission-Driven Customer-
Centric Systemic Process Thought
1
37

Every product or process:
• Has a clear OWNER
• Starts with a mission that articulates the
WHY
• Intimately knows the CUSTOMER and her
aspirations
• Knows or invents HOW to exceed the
customer’s aspirations
1
38

Just like no one system of the human body works
in isolation, the symbiotic nature of the various
functions of rapid growth organizations work
systemically vs linearly
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT across the entire
organization on the WHY, WHAT, HOW – inclusive
of financials such as the resulting growth plan and
costs) is paramount
1
39

The Second Building Block of Execution:
Bring In The Best Experts From Day 1
2
40

Bring In The Best
Experts From Day 1
•The best internal leaders
•The best delivery team
•The right advisory board
•The right consultants
•The right vendors
•The right integrators
2
41

The Third Building Block of Execution:
Rethink The Capital Approval Process
3
42

Rethink The Capital
Approval Process 3
WHY
WHAT
HOW
WHEN
HOW MUCH
HOW MUCH
PAYBACK
ROI
WHEN
BUSINESS CASE
43
Disruptive,RapidGrowthApproach
TypicalApproach

Rethink The Capital
Approval Process
What would your solutions look like if you
were free to adequately cost:
• the changing and increasing demands of
the customer?
• the capabilities of the competition?
• Rapid long-term growth?
• the limitations of technical debt
3
44

Rethink The Capital
Approval Process
This isn’t to say that ROI isn’t important.
It’s not the 55th consideration.
It’s the 5th consideration – just never the 1st.
3
45

4
46
The Fourth Building Block Of Execution:
Structure The Delivery Team And
The Entire Enterprise To Fail Fast

The Entire Enterprise To Fail Fast 4
“Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and
they frequently die from moving too slowly.”
~ Reed Hastings
47

The Entire Enterprise To Fail Fast 4
48

A. An Agile approach – and its organization
– is simply part of the environment’s DNA
and is applied to everything applicable
B. Agile is led by example without any
“unmalicious lack of integrity”
C. Product development is customer driven
and is never fixed in scope
D. The mentality of “build it right the first
time” leads to complexity
4
49

The Brutal Fact: There is not one organization
that did not start off as agile that has
successfully shifted its mindset towards agile.
4
50

INNOVATION EXECUTION
To Summarize…
Core
Values
Driven
From The
Top
Innovative
Environment
Unconstrained
Long Term
Thought
Capital
Approval
Approach
Fail Fast
Systemic
Process
Thought
Highest
Performing
Experts
51

How Does Your Company Compare?
 Does your company foster an innovative climate
from the top down and throughout?
 Does your company think long-term and
unconstrained?
 Does your company have clear values and does
everyone live them daily?
 Do your CEO and board chair drive the innovative
environment, long term thought and core values?
 Does your company strive to employ the best
resources from day 1 (and can it attract it)?
 Is your company mission-driven, customer-centric
and systemic in thought?
 Where does ROI rank in solutioning and execution?
 Is your company truly set up for agile execution?
52

Each Of The 8 Building Blocks Are Required
to get from here…
53
…to here…
…and while not impossible, would require a massive
cultural transformation to achieve.

Rapid Growth, Disruptive Innovation & Execution

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