Disruption and Innovation - Change as the new “Status Quo”

Some industries are finding change as difficult as keeping up with innovation 

It is hard to imagine Madonna going out of style in the late 1980s but as entropy carries us forward, Madonna must have seen her pending decline in music could only be reversed with a refocusing of her music, skill-sets set and approach to the marketplace. Madonna has since had a reasonable career as an actress, a highly successful (refocused) music career and a successful career in business. The twice married mother of 4 has currently a net worth of $520 million, which is a testament to Madonna’s call to action when faced with decline. By her actions, it’s not hard to see that she embraced change as a good thing and got ahead of the curve in a dynamic marketplace.

So if an Madonna can do it, can’t we all? I think so! That said, not everybody agrees, which is why we have what is often referred to as ‘the agents of change and the guardians of the status quo’. Needless to say, a happy balance of change and stability fit into every company and product lifecycle that exists in the increasingly hyperconnected world we live in.

The fact is that we are now in a hyperconnected age and to quote Marc Andreessen “Software is eating the world”. Companies, industries and society has a whole has had to come to terms with the new information era and deal with disruption as the new norm. What has become glaringly clear (in addition to positive changes society wide) is that some companies and indeed industries are better at dealing with change and innovation than others. What makes one better at change then the other is varied, but in general terms, the more successful change agents as companies tend to be:

Less dogmatic and thus less resistant to change. Instead of looking for ways to stop or stall change, they look for ways to embrace it.

More dynamic in terms of how one approaches problems with the marketplace. The glass is always half full and not half empty ergo priority is placed in innovating a way out of a problem that creates a better outcome instead of finding a way to restore the prior state to the problem. Thinking outside of the box is seen as a cherish virtue, not a despised vice.

Organisationally flexible to the point where organisational structures are set to allow horizontal workflows in orga charts and project management to occur based on people, not transactions. Company culture underpins this point of people, process, technology, not the other way around in terms of priority.

Innovation as a process (IAAP) is a reality, not a powerpoint chart aspiration. The management practices, leadership practices, financial planning and analysis processes of the company are geared up for innovation noting X% of people’s time will be on new product generation in all areas of the business participating in project teams, idea generation platforms and process management. This “non chargeable” portion of employee time is spent generating new products and bringing them forward to market.

Competition defined by collaboration, not confrontation. A careful monitoring of competition and collaboration with suitable competitors on “common good” goals for community and/or society (e.g. Open Source Hackathons) along with a set of ethics that define not only company policy but capture company culture and employee beliefs. It’s important that the substance of integrity is not watered down by some cheap “certification” by disengaged team leaders on an annual survey that their employees have “integrity.”

People first. The new age of collaboration in the information era favours companies that value people first allowing for the emotional quotient (EQ) to succeed. The days of awareness are here with hyper connectivity generating more and more understanding of the world around us thus connecting with our humanity, which is becoming understood as an essential driver of successful change. If employees are made redundant, it is the last, not the first port of call in reducing costs and is never done by tweet.  

Cultural expectation is one of change and considered normal. The business practices of companies who are comfortable with change are geared up to not only survive it; they are geared up to thrive in it. The culture becomes comfortable with a cycle of innovation that sees cyclical projects arise disrupting their workflow and augmenting it with new innovations, which they contribute to for best possible outcome. They are in essence comfortable with a cycle of innovation/ disruption/ change/ understanding new working reality/ stable workflows/ innovation. This makes employees a driver of innovation, new product generation, high performance process structures and long term financial viability.

Innovation and disruption are often seen as threats, when infact they should be embraced fully taking the people who innovate into processes allowing a fusion to occur where like Madonna, something better is created as a result of embracing change that will not stop coming no matter how much we try to deny it. Even in the most rigid, dogmatic and vertical industries, change will reach its shores sooner or later and now is a great time to plan and effect change not only of R&D, but of the entire company making all functions innovative and connecting them by innovative connections as much as by functional lines. The outputs will herald change and flexibility along with a new sense of longevity thanks to the new version of the company, which is a powerhouse of process awareness, effective innovation and people oriented culture.  

Sources/Credits:

Pics;

www.colombiabankonline.com

www.magforwomen.com

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1436377734980-0ee004df570b?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&q=80&fm=jpg&s=c3ebb8709eea2235a3151fd7f9e44da8

Credits:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/ | Forbes for information on Madonna 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460 | Marc Andreessen “Software is eating the world”

Entrepreneurship, there's no time like the present!

Entrepreneurs, a story of Innovation and rebirth!!..

Our economic outlook after the epically acclaimed banking crises along with subsequent economic “recessions” is finally looking like it’s changing with a positive growth trajectories ahead in key macroeconomic indicators across the globe. Business wheels of all sizes are starting to move a little easier and positivity is creeping back albeit cautiously given the state of our world today.

Many successful people whom I respect in business for their vision and achievements like Richard

Branson, Jeff Weiner, Warren Buffet et Al are all saying the same thing. Now is the time for entrepreneurs to launch their business ideas. They correctly state the economy is dependant on a rash of new ideas turning into new business success stories. They cite many economic factors, which are undeniably favourable for the successful start-ups with impressive upward trajectories for the right guy/gal with the right idea in the right place at the right time! I agree noting the entrepreneur faces enormous challenges in ‘climbing the mountain’ of business success that if surmounted brings enormous rewards to match the hard work and clever thinking behind that success. If I had an idea worth pursuing as an entrepreneur today, I would think about the following:

• a     Feasibility.  Is my idea, product or service one that is commercially developable in a specific market niche? Is there a market for my end product? Am I a market disruptor? Is my product susceptible to market disruption?
• b     Component parts of success. Is my business idea going to be ‘successful to market’ in the start up phase and if so, how? Will my success be based on what I put in place, or is circumstance affording me a lucky break? The former bodes well for a sustainable success story if predominant in ones conclusions. The latter will always feature in a success story, but if the predominant element, the story may well be short lived if successful changes/timely additions are not made/added to the business.
• c    Internal engine. What will be the business model for my idea? Do I have a business plan detailing the product plan(s), organisational structures and business processes both now and into the future as the business grows? Are my growth projection metrics comparing reasonably to my competitors?
• d     External structure. What will my enterprise look like 5 years from now? On envisioning size, will it be just 10 others, and/or just me or shall it be a national operation or international operation? The reasoning being that if one start’s with the end in mind, they will have chartered a journey that is a vision to be shared with those they bring on board. Early employ’s are critical to the success of a growing business especially when you share your vision.
• e     Risk Management. Is there a clear understanding of internal risks, financial and non-financial along with external risks such as market risks, country risks, political risks, etc? A detailed and comprehensive risk register should be established in the planning stages, which should influence the strategy, internal structures and operational processes of the enterprise.
• f      Values. Will what I am translate into a set of values for my enterprise? Only if one proactively thinks about it and maps it out. What values are kernel/core thus should be inserted as unchangeable into the business. I would also think about values in three areas, firstly the core/kernel ones that will guide the business to success or failure but will never change. The second being values that are not core or challenge core values thus are changeable to facilitate sustainable market success. Finally, one should consider how one imports new values and discards existing ones along the way. The two layers of values along with the process should form part of the enterprise mission statement.
• g     Finance. What financing is best? A kernel question for the entrepreneur who should consider very carefully the above points and drill down into the detail identifying contingencies for funding along the way. In this process, one should think about all the elements (business size, scalability, product demand, market access, market penetration, organisational structure, future plans) and then look at the cost/supply side of the enterprise seeing what finance is needed, how it will be got (loans/overdrafts/government agency backing/ equity from operations/venture capital/private equity/etc.) achieving the best “financial fit” for the organisation. When dealing with finance, be very aware of the trade offs for finance both now and into future on the basis of what will it cost in finance and non finance terms like cost of finance through future growth phases, FX risk, loss of business decision making control, etc. Your conclusions should be compatible with your overall business model, values, strategic plans and approach to market both present and future.

Finally, the entrepreneur has many well-documented hurdles to get over. Recent initiatives in the UK and other countries have made progress in giving a “little security” to start up entrepreneurs which is great.

However, failure comes at a price, and if new entrepreneurs are to be successful, their minds need to focus on the success of their venture, not the absence of the familiar social security net they enjoyed as payroll employees to their decision to ‘go it alone’. I think government can help here with a programme as part of the assistance package that delivers social security benefits to transitioning entrepreneurs for a period of time allowing more and more talented people to float brilliant new business ideas more freely. It’s a brave new world, which for the budding entrepreneur is even truer a saying. They also say an entrepreneur should “prepare to learn from failure in order to succeed” but maybe a more methodological approach could increase the success rate and longevity of the new enterprise in the market place.