Paul Nunes, global managing director for thought leadership at Accenture Research, discusses creating a company that values innovators, balancing Wall Street expectations with innovation goals, managing to Wall Street, effective communication and leadership, predicting heart attacks and improving sleep patterns, the profound importance of cell phones, companies breaking new ground through strategies and resource allocation, and Jio's success in leveraging 4G technology.
Companies should prioritize long-term strategic vision over short-term financial performance.
Successful companies invest in diverse talent and leverage the power of networks to drive innovation and create new opportunities.
Deep dives
The Seven Wrong Turns in Business
In this podcast episode, the speaker discusses the seven wrong turns that companies often make, leading them off the path of success. One example of a wrong turn is creating a capital structure built to fail, where companies imitate the capital models of large successful companies, investing heavily in hard assets, talent, and debt without considering the flexibility needed for future growth. Serving regulators instead of customers is another wrong turn discussed, where companies focus on regulatory compliance at the expense of customer needs and innovation. Losing sight of the importance of visionary leadership is highlighted as another wrong turn, as companies may overlook the need for founders and innovators who understand how to drive future growth. Another wrong turn is managing to Wall Street instead of managing Wall Street, where companies prioritize short-term financial performance over long-term strategic vision.
The Seven Winning Strategies for Future Success
The podcast also explores the seven winning strategies that companies can adopt to thrive and pivot to the future. These strategies are not always adopted in their entirety, but successful companies have pursued at least one or more of these strategies. One winning strategy highlighted is being talent-rich, where companies invest in broad talent management and diverse skill sets to drive innovation and creativity. Another winning strategy is being network-powered, where companies leverage the power of networks, both in terms of partnerships and technological connectivity, to create new opportunities and value. The importance of balancing innovation, finance, and resource allocation is emphasized. Companies need to strategically allocate resources to reinvent their industries, whether through centralizing or decentralizing innovation, directing or undirected research, and choosing to be a disruptor or a fast follower in the market.
Resource Allocation and the Wise Pivot
The podcast delves into resource allocation and its role in the wise pivot. It explores how companies allocate resources in terms of innovation, finance, and people. Innovatively, companies need to make choices about centralizing or decentralizing innovation, as well as directing or undirected research and development. In finance, companies must consider how they allocate resources to fixed assets, working capital, and human capital. The example of GEO, an Indian telecommunications company, is highlighted as a company that made strategic choices in asset allocation to accelerate obsolescence of older technologies and launch cheaper 4G technology. Finally, in terms of people, companies need to consider the use of artificial intelligence and robotics, finding the right balance between human and machine collaboration to optimize processes and drive innovation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this podcast episode provides valuable insights into the wrong turns companies often make and the winning strategies they can adopt to pivot to the future successfully. It emphasizes the importance of strategic resource allocation, including innovation, finance, and people, in driving future growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the ever-changing business landscape.
To truly profit from disruption, an enterprise must be prepared to manage increasingly short windows of profitability, scaling up rapidly as customers embrace the new all at once, then scaling down nearly as fast when demand declines. Paul Nunes is the global managing director for thought leadership at Accenture Research. He leads the company in developing ground-breaking insights into technology and strategic business change. He is co-author of three books, Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in the Age of Devastating Innovation, Jumping the S-Curve: How to Beat the Growth Cycle, Get on Top, and Stay There, and Mass Affluence: 7 New Rules of Marketing to Today’s Consumers. It has been an absolute pleasure learning from him.
00:00:00.256 Introduction and Overview of the Series Finale 00:11:25.254 Creating a Company that Values Innovators 00:16:20.936 Balancing Wall Street Expectations and Innovation Goals 00:18:31.172 Jeff Bezos' Approach to Investor Relations 00:21:14.030 Managing Wall Street vs Managing to Wall Street 00:22:46.440 Effective Communication and Leadership in Challenging Times 00:32:40.338 Predicting Heart Attacks and Improving Sleep Patterns 00:36:12.004 The Profound Importance of Cell Phones 00:40:47.441 Companies Breaking New Ground through Strategies and Resource Allocation 00:45:35.337 Jio's success in leveraging 4G technology 00:48:06.392 Final thoughts
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