Businesses are not built to change. Most have very strong immune systems that protect the core from operational threats but make innovation very difficult.
I recently sat down with Brian Ardinger, host of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, to discuss the “antibodies” corporations develop over time. We discussed my new book, Lean Startup in Large Organizations, which is subtitled, Overcoming Organizational Resistance. Brian asked about “the underlying fears companies have when trying to change and implement innovation initiatives.”
Innovation in general, and the Lean Startup method in particular, will almost inevitably trigger an organization’s antibodies. But with complementary practices that tailor the methods to the corporate context, those methods can make innovation a far less risky proposition than many believe it must be. These complementary practices help address the fears that are almost endemic in large companies
Lean Startup relies on experiments to refine an innovative concept and increase its chance of succeeding in the marketplace. But within the corporate setting, these experiments can feel chaotic and disruptive to functions that may need to support innovation.
Those functions have typically developed sets of operating norms and procedures that work.
The people in the functions are naturally more comfortable adhering to established practices – not making exceptions for new innovations. There are approaches that can help to overcome this, however. All of them start by understanding the challenges the people in the functions face and finding ways of reducing their risk of helping.
Brian and I covered a lot of ground, from the common fears that executives have about innovation to how innovation approaches have changed over the years. We discussed the different types of innovation – not all ventures are game-changers that require new business models (though many are). And we discussed how executives can build a culture of change and develop the confidence to bet to win.
Listen to my entire conversation with Brian here, or skip to the following time stamps:
3:00: The fear of chaos and the Innovation Stage Gate
3:57: The fear of disruption
5:45: “Do not keep people in the dark” – the importance of transparency
7:43: Will the new venture hurt or “cannibalize” the core business?
9:51: Type I innovation vs. more aggressive scaling methods
12:50: Building a corporate culture of innovation
14:45: How do you know if you’re on the right track?
17:54: Let the customer be your guide
Recent Comments