Lean Enterprise: Innovation Colonies Explained

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I’d like to share with you an experience…

Trevor Owens (@TO) - Author & Entrepreneur

I’ve met thousands of innovators in big

companies

FACT: They are just as smart

as the best entrepreneurs

I can’t even count how many times…

They did everything the right way

They had a breakthrough product

They were positioned to be extremely successful

in the market

But then…

The corporate anti-bodies came around…

They said, “We don’t like this.”

“This is threatening.”

And the project got quietly shut down.

Their only mistake was thinking too big…

Enterprises are not structured to disrupt themselves

Most have tremendous pressures to deliver short-term results

To hit their quarterly numbers

Business unit leaders want quick wins

That’s how the system is designed.

But there IS a better way

A structure to support disruptive innovation

INNOVATION COLONY

(Most) Innovation Labs talk about disruptive innovation

But they are beholden to what business unit

leaders need

SUSTAINING INNOVATIONS

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS GET LEFT ON THE SHELF…

Innovation Flow Spin-Out Spin-In

123

Innovation Colony

Innovation Flow

FACT: 1 in 10 VC investments

pays for the other 9

FACT: 1 in 1000 YCombinator

investments is worth more than all the others

combined

Table stakes means a massive sample size of ideas to choose from

Enterprises have the people

They need the entrepreneurial energy

This is how Intuit fosters innovation flow…

#1 Education

Employees need training to deal with uncertainty and

use Lean methods

Not just a few, a critical mass (30%), so the culture

will change

Intuit runs quarterly bootcamps on Lean, design thinking, and

brainstorming

After several years, almost everyone has attended

them

#2 Opportunity

Unstructured time (10% time) shields

employees, so they can think outside the box

Innovation Challenges engage the whole company

and make disruption a sport

#3 Rewards

Innovation Vacation rewards employees for

testing new ideas

The Founder’s Award gives employees who create

significant new business lines an exit strategy

Hint: They don’t have to leave the company to earn

a 7-figure payout

SPIN-OUT

Once we have enough ideas, we spin-out the most promising ones

Shield them from corporate anti-bodies

Bring in outside talent and expertise (if needed)

But maintain ownership and control through preferred shares and

board seats

Most will fail

But a few will mature into incredible opportunities

SPIN-IN

When they get customers and prove the product

When most of the uncertainty is gone

We want to acquire the remaining shares in the

business

This process is not unlike the one Corp. Dev. does

every day

1. P/M Fit!

2. Corp Dev

Big win for the innovators!

Even bigger win for us.

Let’s put it in perspective

According to YCombinator, every successful disruptive innovation follows the same

pattern

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Scale

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

The Trough of Sorrow is the hardest part

Most startups fail here because they can’t find

customers

Corporate bureaucracy kills the agility startups need

to pivot and survive

Without bureaucracy, less than 5% make it to

Product / Market Fit

But a single win creates enormous wealth

This is how the Innovation Colony maps to this process

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssInnovation ColonyInnovation Colony

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssInnovation ColonyInnovation Colony

Generate Innovation Flow

Education, Opportunity, and Rewards

To get a big sample size

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssInnovation ColonyInnovation Colony

In. Flow

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssInnovation ColonyInnovation Colony

In. Flow Spin-Out

Letting innovators take the risk is best for them

AND for us

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Scale

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Innovation ColonyInnovation Colony

In. Flow Spin-Out

The Startup Curve

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

BeforeStartup

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ssThe Startup Curve

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Hap

pine

ss

InitialEnthusiasm

Reality Sets In

TROUGH OF SORROW

BeforeStartup

Product/Market Fit!

Scale

Starts Working

Experimenting & Pivoting

Source: Paul Graham; avc.com

Time

Innovation Colony

In. Flow Spin-Out Spin-In

Bring them back in for the good part

When our resources can be used to scale the business

When the product is proven

There are smart innovators in every company

Who dream big

Don’t let their only mistake be

Growing up in the wrong environment

Expand your horizons

“Actionable insights that will allow any successful enterprise to continue to innovate in today’s fast-

changing environment.”

Brad Smith, CEO of Intuit

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Follow Trevor on Twitter @TO

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