What Could Go Wrong?
In March 2009, my colleagues and I anxiously waited for our managing partner to begin the meeting. 10% of our office had been laid off this week, adding to the 10% laid off the previous month and the 15% laid off a few months before. Since the financial crisis had started, our office had shrunk by 45%.
Finally, the managing arrived, confidently looked at us and gave a speech I will never forget.
Of Course, Your Company is Unique
We exaggerate the specific elements that make our company's innovation culture or market different, ignoring that we live in a vast world. Many other people have faced these problems before us. Some have failed; others have succeeded. We could learn from both.
The Cost of Not Acting
When revenue drops sharply, we devote all our energy to finding a new growth engine. However, when the decline is only gradual, there's not as much impetus to change.
To overcome this, it is vital to quantify the cost of not acting.
Place your Bets
This summary highlights why innovation all-or-nothing statements are misleading and how to use probabilities to change the dynamics of the conversation.
The Longer We Wait, The More Difficult It Gets
This summary highlights why when facing disruption of our core business, the longer we wait to transform, the more difficult it gets.
Who’s Going To Take The Risk?
This summary explains the framework we used to categorise innovation at Swisscom. While we excelled at sustaining and efficiency innovation, we avoided market-creating innovation ... and gave up on many chances to grow.
Behind the Curve
This summary illustrates why it is so difficult to prioritise the important over the urgent when it comes to innovation.
At the heart of the problem is the mismatch between our company's planning horizon and the much longer time required for new-growth ventures to flourish and generate significant revenue.
Don’t InnoWaste
This summary articulates three vital questions that result from the frustration of wasting innovation creativity and budget.